i just interviewed brandi carlile who holds loretta lynn up as a goddess along with dolly and tanya tucker. can you speak to the impact she had as a force in nashville to generations that followed? >> there's two things. there was the music. she was great at that. there was also the way she made people feel. every remembrance i've seen of her said i instantly fell in love with her or she made me feel like we had been friends for years. she had this ability to draw you in and make you love her. when you put those things together, that's magic. >> it really is magic. >> manager editor for "country insider," brian thank you so much. it's the top of the hour.

6:00 a.m. out west. 9:00 a.m. on the east coat. we have a lot to cover this hour including the republican party's increased optimism about regaining the senate majority despite the new allegations against their georgia candidate herschel walker. kristen welker has the latest reporting on that. also, donald trump asks the supreme court to intervene over the legal fight about the classified documents the fbi seized from his mar-a-lago resort. we'll explain why justice clarence thomas plays a big role. now elon musk wants to buy twitter again. why it seems he's serious this time? >> the thing is it's so fascinating that he's going back and will be talking about getting it at the same price he talked about at the beginning which most people thought was

way overvalued. >> maybe he can't get out of it. willie, for our friends waking up on the west coast aaron judge hit his 62nd home run. what an incredible guy, what a special moment. >> yes. 62 home runs. it was a long wait, but he did it on the second to last day of the season. he's now officially the all-time single season american league home run king, passing roger maris' record of 61 which stood for 61 years until that swing in texas last night. couldn't have happened to a better guy. it raises the question we were discussing about whether this is the record or barry bonds does he have the record. his career tainted by allegations of steroid use. he is without question, aaron judge, the all-time american

home run league hitter. the question for a lot of people, is he also because he plays the game clean, the all-time major league home run hitter. aaron judge making history in texas. let's begin with the latest on the recovery efforts from hurricane ian. in just over an hour president biden and first lady jill biden will depart for florida to assess the damage there. the president will meet with governor ron desantis for a briefing. the death to sits at 109 people. more than 300,000 residents still without power there. let's bring in jessie kirsch live from fort myers. what's the latest there? >> reporter: good morning. we expect for flights to resume out of the airport here in this region. even the airport making a point of saying there won't be drinking water in the terminal

until a boil notice has been lifted in lee county. there are plans to have a bridge connecting people back to pine island, one of the communities cut off in the next few days. a bridge to sanibel island is further off. you mentioned there's still power outages. it's been hot and sunny. we've heard from people just trying to get something as simple as ice at the supermarket because they're trying to keep food cold and there are people's outlooks on hurricanes who are changing. some people may not return to these communities. there are others who in the future are saying as soon as they hear word of a hurricane, they're not going to wait for final evacuation warnings. the president, when he gets here, is going to see debris after debris. you can see boats still stacked

up on the sidewalks. those are the scenes that will be here in an area that still does not have working traffic lights. many do not have power. many will have to find a new place to live. beyond that, others haven't seen their homes yet to assess the damage. this is a community with a long road of recovery. this around the clock effort to build the infrastructure again. we've seen how challenging that can be. there are any number of challenges trying to be tackled. all eyes will be on the president and the governor, people who do not see eye to eye on many issues. we'll look to see how those two political leaders from different parties will come together in a time of need for this community. >> jessie, do rescue teams feel like they've got to all the corners they need to get to to find and look for survivors? i'm thinking about sanibel and

captiva. are rescue teams touching all those places? >> reporter: according to the governor more than 79,000 structures, close to 80,000, have been checked so far. the search and rescue efforts are still ongoing. the further out you get from a situation like this, it becomes more of a recovery effort and you're hoping you'll still be rescuing people. we've not heard of an official pivot to just recovery. we know the search and rescue efforts are ongoing. that's what officials told us they're still focussed on. at this point close to 80,000 structures checked and we know unfortunately the death toll has continued to climb. one other thing, we know that the average age of the victims who died according to what we've been hearing is 71. when you think about it, it's a lot of elder people, people who may not have been able to get themselves out safely, as easily

as others and may have tried to bunker down and ride out the storm. there was a lot of devastation here. >> breaks your heart. jessie kirsch live from fort mice. guys, you look at the pictures from the drone, they still take your breath away. >> they really do. the destruction in some areas, completely decimated. you have to question some of the barrier islands and areas with canals, if they rebuild, how they rebuild, not just rebuild. there are a lot of questions about what to do in some of these areas that got hit so hard that are either surrounded completely by water or going to be up against the same thing the next time a huge hurricane hits. we'll continue to follow this. hopefully the death toll doesn't continue to rise. now to politics. with less than five weeks to the midterms national republican

leaders are standing by herschel walker, despite a report that he allegedly paid for a girlfriend's abortion. walker is calling it a complete lie. joining us now kristen welker. what's the latest? >> reporter: you know this, campaigns, the political world always brace for the possibility of an october surprise. here it is in the critical senate raise in georgia with the controversy surrounding herschel walker. gop sources are telling nbc news that senators are standing shoulder to shoulder with him on the air waves and the campaign trail. will it be enough with just five weeks until the midterms? republicans are closing ranks around former football star herschel walker, their embattled senate nominee in georgia, a swing state that's critical.

"the daily beast" reported walker in 2009 urged his then girlfriend to get an abortion and reimbursed her for the procedure and sent her a get well card. walker who said he wants to ban abortion after 15 weeks without exception is denying the allegation. >> i never asked anyone to get an abortion. i never paid for an abortion. >> reporter: the woman asked not to be identified citing privacy concerns. she backed up her story by providing the get well card from walker, the abortion clinic receipt and a copy of the check signed by walker. nbc news hasn't verified the documents. >> everything has been a lie. >> reporter: walker is facing fierce criticism from his own son christian, a conservative influencer who said the family urged him not to run because we all knew some of his past. >> family values people he has

four kids four different women, wasn't in the house raising one of them. he was out having sex with other women. >> reporter: herschel walker tweeting i love my son no matter what. walker is in a tight race with raphael warnock. many republicans are rushing to walker's defense led by former president trump who endorsed him, now saying walker is being slandered and maligned by democrats. it's not the first controversy to rock his campaign. he falsely claimed he was a member of law enforcement. walker's exwife accused him of holding a gun to her head and threatening to kill her, an incident walker blamed with his struggle with mental health. raphael warnock is not responding to the controversy.

will any of this make a difference? it's too soon to tell. here's the thing, guys, in a close race like this one, even a few votes in either direction could make a difference. >> kristen welker, thanks. i want to make sure i got this straight. he admits to holding a gun to his wife's head, but said he sought treatment for that. there's an allegation of abortion with evidence to back it up, plus a witness. he says it's a lie. his adult son is coming out saying that he was never there for him or for any of his kids. some of those kids herschel walker didn't recognize as his own until he was pushed to do so. joining us now executive editor of the "recount" and jonathan

lamiere. gentlemen, am i missing something? do these things not matter to voters? >> well, we're going to see about that, mika. that's the real question. you note raphael warnock in addition to being the winner of the special election was also the first -- senior pastor at ebenezer baptist church in atlanta. you have a stark contrast here. it's a very close race. walker has been an incredibly weak candidate throughout the entirety of the race, yet warnock hasn't been able to poll away. the average is about 1 point, which means there's no difference. you're seeing what's happening with the support of republicans. it's two weeks for early voting in georgia. to me, one of the questions is what's next? what's going to come in the course of the next week, ten

days, two weeks? this, i think -- it looks like a shot out of the cannon waiting for this timing this close to voting. >> the question is what's next, but also will it matter? it seems that even his son coming out and saying what he said right now doesn't matter, certainly doesn't matter to republicans. john, i've looked at this race and looked at the fact that it was as close as it was despite the fact that herschel walker may be the weakest senate candidate i've ever seen in my lifetime. i would stack him up with roy moore and todd aiken. i don't think i've seen anybody as ill equipped emotional, intellectually to be a united states senator. yet, i notice how close the race is in georgia.

you know arizona is going to be tight. pennsylvania is going to be tight. wisconsin is going to be tight. that should be a real warning sign for democrats. again, despite everything that's happened over the past six months, herschel walker being competitive in any state this year, bad news for democrats. good news for republicans. >> well, he's unusual in one respect. he's a challenger in a race where he's -- probably in georgia has 100% name i.d. he's incredibly famous. was a beloved football star in that state. there's not a lot of other challenges that have that good feeling prior to the campaign. one of the other things -- i agree with you that the closeness of the race is striking. the governor's race in georgia brian kemp has a high single

digit lead over stacey abrams which may suggest, not the prospects of democrats across the country, but that georgia, despite joe biden's victory there in 2020, georgia may not be as purple, let alone blue, as people thought and it may be it's a light red state that joe biden was able to claim because of the nonaffection of suburban white republican georgians who were so disgusted by donald trump that they walked away from donald trump, but may be coming home to the republican party in this race, in the kemp race and they're stick with herschel walker. that may tell us something about georgia, not the whole country. >> georgia is one case, a tight

case, bad candidate herschel walker, but has a chance to win. the polls are tightening in pennsylvania. john fetterman still has the lead, but dr. oz tightening. arizona less so. how are democrats feeling? they were jubilant about the candidates they got, but now things are tightening up. >> i think, willie, it's still the case that in house races -- let's focus on that. democrats feel like they're in a lot better position than they were six or nine months ago. i heard john talking about the fact that some of the optimism of democrats has receded a little bit. it's true, but it's still the case that the democrats are playing a better hand than six months ago. the economic issues are becoming more preeminent in the races,

but that favors republicans. the house will likely go to the republicans, but not in an overwhelming way. the senate races were always going to be close. i think democrats knew that. they knew the pennsylvania race was going to be close. this is a 50/50 country. i'm in arizona right now. mark kelly and blake masters have a big debate tomorrow night. if you look at the governor's race, kari lake, who a lot of people think is super dangerous, i saw her yesterday. huge crowd. a lot of enthusiasm. democrats are terrified she might be in the position to win the governorship and that would be dangerous for the state and country in 2024. >> she's in a dead heat right

now. democrats are holding out hope for the house. they're not optimistic. the dilemma is how to use president biden whose poll numbers have improved, but still middling. candidates not sure if they want him on the campaign trail. he's focusing on raising money for the party and speeches at the white house. that's been effective so far. as these races get tighter, mika, it will be interesting to see if the candidates want the president there with them. >> so interesting. >> it is interesting. those poll numbers in the mid 40s, there was an abc poll that had him at 39%, a poll yesterday had him at 46%. they're all over the place.

john gets to the most important point. we've learned over the past two election cycles that the polls are just absolutely horrid especially in states like wisconsin and other states. had joe biden up by so much. you could also look to arizona in 2020 and the martha mcsally race where she was supposed to be losing by 13 points. she lost by 1 or 2 percentage points. when you have these right wing populous, they under perform in the polls for whatever reason and we're looking at one of two outcomes, possible surprises. one, that the polls aren't getting the right wing populous to answer correctly and truthfully. there's the other, the kansas

effect, where that referendum on abortion was supposed to be 50/50 and ended up in a 20-point spread. when you talk to any pollster, they'll tell you we have absolutely no idea who is going to show up to vote. we're doing our best guess, but we're just whistling past the graveyard here. >> i think, joe, that might be what some pollsters tell you if you got them on sodium pentathal. they may be -- i'm not sure they're ready to admit it yet. there is an understanding that in the last two election cycles that pollsters got it wrong and underestimated the strength of republicans. they had been working trying to fix their models, their math,

their alalgorithms. they don't want to get it wrong. they hated being wrong in 2016. they'll hate if they're wrong in 2022. the other big question is what is -- does the polling miss -- do the polling missing get back to a normal degree of territory and not so uniform in one direction knew donald trump is not on the ballot? the polls have been most wrong in 2016 and 2020. both times donald trump was on the ballot. the question is with trump not on the ballot whether pollsters will be closer to right this time or whether there's something fundamentally broken in polling? that's one of the things we might learn more about on election night in 2022.

>> john, thank you very much. coming up, moments ago russia and opec made a major announcement on cuts to world oil production which will likely send prices soaring. plus, final preparations are under way for another spacex launch in florida. tom costello will join us live from the kennedy space center. up next, explosive new details from the sedition trial of five members of the oath keepers, including the revelation that their leader told them they needed to be ready to die for former president trump. "morning joe" will be right back. limu emu & doug♪ it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people

how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. showtime. whoo! i'm on fire tonight. (limu squawks) yes! limu, you're a natural. we're not counting that. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ my asthma felt anything but normal. a blood test helped show my asthma is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression.

i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms. and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. it's the subway series menu! 12 irresistible subs... like #11 subway club. piled with turkey, ham and roast beef. this sub isn't slowing down any time soon. i'll give it a run for its money. my money's on the sub. it's subway's biggest refresh yet.

♪♪ sun just starting to come up over los angeles at 6:26 a.m. in the west. testimony in the sedition trial for members of the oath keepers resumed yesterday as prosecutors accused them at an armed rebellion aimed at keeping donald trump in power. an fbi agent testified the bureau was sent a recording that captured the leader stewart rhodes told members to get ready to fight for donald trump in washington. it was apparently missed by the agency at the time. the agent testified it was not until the recording was sent again by the same tipster in march of 2021, after january 6th, that the agents saw the message. according to court records, rhodes said, quote, we have to

be in d.c. we have to make sure that donald trump knows you're willing to die for this country. joining us now ken delaney. ken, what more do we know about this tip and who it was sent to and how the fbi seems to have missed it until more than a month, two months after january 6th? >> we know that the fbi is not responding to our request for more information about this and they're not commenting on these revelations. it underscores what we reported which is there was a massive failure to act on available intelligence that all but predicted violence leading up to january 6th. this is a great example of that. this is a phone call that was recorded where rhodes was addressing more than 100 of his followers. it was introduced for the first time at this trial. the fbi agent acknowledged this was passed on to the bureau in

november 2020 and apparently was not acted on. it was only when it was resubmitted in march after the january 6th riots that the fbi acted and absorbed this as part of its investigation. you can only hope the january 6th committee, while they're doing a great job investigating trump and his inner circle and the people around him in what led up to january 6th, they're investigating the intelligence failures. they haven't had a hearing about that yet. the inspector general of the justice department is looking at what happened here and hopefully we'll get more answers on that soon. we're also learning in this trial that there's a whole lot of evidence that these oath keepers were meticulous in their planning almost from the moment that trump lost the election. they wanted to use violence to intimidate congress and other elected officials into not --

not adhering to the lawful transfer of power. it shows that a law yale degree, which is something that stewart rhodes has, does not prevent you from suffering from some pretty serious delusions. they were convinced that trump lost the election and the country was in peril if joe biden took power. >> they were stockpiling weapons at hotels across the river in case it came to a civil war. let me ask you, ken, about the motion filed by former president trump and his legal team against the 11th circuit court that said the justice department was okay to go back and go through these documents in its investigation, the ones seized from mar-a-lago. is this going anywhere for president trump? >> reporter: what's so interesting, willie, the circuit justice who gets to hear this first is clarence thomas.

in theory clarence thomas -- more than in theory. in actual fact clarence thomas could act on his own and grant this stay which is what the trump team is asking, that the special master be allowed to review the 100 classified documents to see if any of them are privileged. if thomas did that, it would be one of the most brazen acts in judicial history given the role of his wife and her involvement in the january 6th investigation. if he did that, the full court could overrule him. there's a question as to whether the court will even hear this request by the trump team. a lot of legal experts say it's not well-founded in law and the supreme court is reluctant to get involved in these discovery disputes. there's another interesting thing in this brief. the trump team says one of the roles of the special master should be to decide whether these documents were properly

classified. you guys know when the special master asked the trump team for any information about whether the president declassified the documents, they refused to answer. they said it wasn't a proper request and they want to hold that until trial. the trump team talking about out of both sides of their mouth here in this legal brief. >> ken, thanks so much. mika? now to some breaking news this morning on the global stage. reuters reporting opec and its allies including russia have agreed to a major cut in oil production aimed at bolstering prices. the move to cut 2 million barrels of oil today was announced just moments ago. for more, let's bring in frank holland. frank, what does this cut mean for gas prices? >> reporter: oil is moving

higher. that reported plan to cut 2 million barrels a day would be the biggest since the start of the pandemic. the cuts are expected to move oil prices possibly to $100 a barrel, that's about a 15% increase from today. that would lead to higher gas prices and higher prices for home heating oil in the u.s. as many are grappling with inflation. regular unleaded still about 20% higher than a year ago. just the expectation of these cuts have put the brakes on the rally on wall street. interest rates moving higher on questions about the fed that they could pause or pivot from their plan to raise rates. higher gas prices could contribute to higher prices and inflation in the u.s., raising more questions about our central bank. >> whoa. so now what are we looking ahead

to? what can we predict given this decision and the raising of interest rates we're experiencing right now? i'm reading scary headlines about the housing market. obviously gas prices and the prices of goods on the top of everybody's minds. >> reporter: of course, inflation is on the top of mind of the feds and main street. the one thing we cannot predict is when will china fully re-open. they're a major consumer of oil. there are plans that china intends to re-open. certainly something to watch. >> thank you very much. still ahead, the ten most eventful days in the history of the west wing. we'll speak to a former speech writer for president obama on the ten days he says were key

for the battle for america. we'll be right back. 's the greath roster ever assembled. next is the new great garlic. the tender rotisserie style chicken is sublime and the roasted garlic aioli adds a lovely pecan flavor. man, the second retirement really changed you. the new subway series. what's your pick? what's the #1 retinol brand the new subway series. used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena®

>> tech: at safelite, we take care of vehicles with the latest technology. we can replace your windshield ...and recalibrate your safety system. >> customer: and they recycled my old glass. >> tech: don't wait. schedule today. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

prop 27 sends 90% of profits to out-of-state corporations in places like new york and boston. no wonder it's so popular... out there. yeah! i can't believe those idiots are going to fall for this. 90%! hey mark, did you know california is sending us all their money? suckers. -those idiots! [ laughter ] imagine that, a whole state made up of suckers. vote no on 27. it's a terrible deal for california. we win. you lose. ♪ ♪

wow, we're crunching tons of polygons here! what's going on? where's regina? hi, i'm ladonna. i invest in invesco qqq, a fund that gives me access to the nasdaq-100 innovations, like real time cgi. okay... yeah... oh. don't worry i got it! become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq the new subway series menu. the greatest sandwich roster ever assembled. tony, the new outlaw's got double pepper jack and juicy steak. let's get some more analysis on that, chuck. mmm. pepper jack. tender steak. very insightful, guys. the new subway series. what's your pick?

♪ how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost, but now i'm found ♪ ♪ was blind, but now i see ♪

president obama back in 2015 in what was a beautiful and wrenching moment as he was at a church in south carolina. it capped off what our next guest calls ten of the most eventful days in the history of the west wing, starting with those horrific killings and ending with the supreme court's landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. how does he know what went on inside the oval office? he was there and wrote many of the words etched in our minds forever. joining us now former white house speech writer for president obama cody keenan.

thank you very much for being on the show. tell us what happened during those ten days that most people don't know about, what happened behind closed doors. >> at the time you don't know it's going to be this ten day period. we were preparing for the supreme court decisions on marriage equality and obamacare. we had to write speeches for every possible outcome. then there's this horrific mass shooting in charleston. you get the details and we get them faster because we had direct access to the fbi. the president had to decide whether he was going to give a eulogy. we were writing about 12 different speeches, my team and i. you were thinking what it means to be an american. whether or not gay people can get married like the rest of us.

whether or not black americans can be safe in society. whether or not they have to walk past the confederate flag every day on the way to work. >> cody, i'm curious as you and the president sat down to write that speech and the decision he was going to go to charleston, where do you begin? when was the decision made and how was it made that the president would sing "amazing grace" in that extraordinary moment? >> he didn't even decide to give a eulogy until like the sixth day. at first he didn't want to. it was about as cynical as i've ever seen him. he said he didn't want to give another eulogy if we're not going to do anything about this. it was after the families

forgave the killer. that changed everything. he said if i go down there, i want to speak about the concept of grace. we started to work on the speech. we ran out of words. there was a heated meeting where we were discussing whether or not he would speak. he said i have nothing left to say. do you? i said no. then the president saved what i had written. he tore up the back page of the eulogy and rewrote it himself. i wrote the phrase amazing grace, he decided to use the lyrics. when it came to singing, he spoke in the rose garden and we took the helicopter to andrews. he said if it feels right, i might sing it. i said okay. >> it was spontaneous. that's an amazing story. cody, you started with ted

kennedy and worked in his office. jon favreau recruited you into the white house. you were according to his memoir, president obama's right hand. what was that relationship like for you? how do you help him write his own story? >> i learned it all from jon favreau. they worked on the world view together. it's a collaboration. that's one of the most important things president obama taught me. you're not just writing for me. you're writing something i can work with. there were collaborations where we passed four, five, six drafts back and forth. each one better than the last. >> that speech that president's finest moment. your daughter, we should note, is also named grace. talk about writing for and with the nation's first black president when it comes to matters of race which loomed in that charleston shooting and so

many other moments. >> it's extremely difficult. i'm very honest about that. i was conflicted about being a white speech writer. our chief speech writer really was barack obama. i said what do you want to say here, what's the story you want to tell? he would take it to a higher place. >> tell us about the celebration of the marriage equality passed by the supreme court. what was that moment like, to write something that was viewed as such a triumph? >> euphoric. we learned about it watching television. we heard whoops and hollering in the west wing. we had a bunch of gay colleagues. i had just gotten engaged and my wife and i felt that it mattered even more. >> the book is entitled "grace."

cody keenan, congrats on the book. in just a few hours spacex will make a historic launch. tom costello is live at kennedy space center. we'll talk to him next on "morning joe." of those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uhh - here, i'll take that woo hoo ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and now in two new flavors (♪ ♪) i recommend nature made vitamins because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp... ...an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the number one pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. i'm on a mission to talk to people about

getting screened for colon cancer, and hear their reasons why. i screen for my son. i'm his biggest fan. if you're 45 or older at average risk, you have screening options, like cologuard. cologuard is noninvasive and finds 92% of colon cancers. it's not for those at high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. everyone has a reason to screen for colon cancer. if you're 45 or older, get started at missiontoscreen.com >> tech: at safelite, we take care of vehicles

with the latest technology. get started at we can replace your windshield ...and recalibrate your safety system. >> customer: and they recycled my old glass. >> tech: don't wait. schedule today. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

it's the subway series menu! 12 irresistible subs... like #4 supreme meats. smoky capicola, genoa salami and pepperoni! it's the dream team of meats. i've still got my uniform. it's subway's biggest refresh yet.

new astepro allergy. i've still got my uniform. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go. after months of try back out of the deal, elon musk told twitter he's ready to buy the company his original offer. to break it down in twitter term, the deal was followed, blocked and unblocked. after the news broke, twitter stock jumped more than 20%. twitter was like in that case, we're backing out of the deal. >> look at jimmy with the beard

and the throwback johnny carson curtain behind him. his legal team revived the original proposal to buy the platform at $54 a share, worth about $44 billion. this comes after months long legal fight over whether the tesla ceo could get out of the deal. trading of twitter stock was halted following news of the deal with shares rising by 22% once trading reopened. the buyout could be approved as soon as friday, though we're hearing they are at an impasse. they were set to go to trial in two weeks of the attempts to back out of the deal. meanwhile, spacex is preparing to launch a rocket to the international space station. tom costello joins us live from the kennedy space center in florida. tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is a spacex nasa mission. four crew members on board right now, on board the rocket preparing to lift off at noon

eastern time. now this is a mission going to the space station. it's international. as you know, the international space station is made up of a lot of countries, but america and russia play the biggest part. we now have the first russian astronaut on an american spacecraft in 20 years. so the question for her and for the crew, amid the tension of talk of nuclear strikes and war in ukraine, can they get along? how are they getting along? the tension with these two countries is right beneath the surface. for decades, russian and american astronauts have worked side by side in orbit. now amid war and sanctions, russia is threatening to pull out of the space station within a few years. but today two americans, a japanese and a russian astronaut will board a spacex rocket for a five-month station assignment. they have been training together for a year. the mission commander is a veteran combat pilot set to

become the first native american woman in space. >> you have a russian astronaut among your crew members. is there tension among you and your fellow peers? >> it's like working with any other true professional. they are true professionals. sglrt russian crew member is russia's only current female astronaut. >> do you and your crew members discuss the tension with rusia and america, or do you choose not to discuss certain topics? >> we are focusing on our common unique, single aim. and we have not a time for something else. >> reporter: because their lives could depend on each other, she insists they stay focused on the mission. >> it's like buddy system, and the second to help each other, to assist each other in the different tasks. >> reporter: and once in orbit, they all gaze at the same home, this is the view of earth from the international space station.

and the simulator at nasa in houston. outside the coupe la, the blue richness of earth and the blackness, the deep blackness of space and right there the canada arm, which has reached out to grab an incoming cargo vessel. rockets regularly give the station a required altitude boost. and crew members often eat dinner together, but they have also flown flags from the break away ukrainian regions, even an old soviet flag. still nasa's chief says both countries communicate and coordinate every day. >> this has been going on since 1975. in the middle of the cold war where the soviet union. and that cooperation has continued ever since. >> reporter: importantly here, nasa's mission control that deals with the space station and russia's mission control, they talk to each other constantly coordinating rocket launches, like today's launch, and issues on the space station. cooperation, communication, despite everything else going on

in the world and in ukraine. >> we're looking at a very cool live picture next to you as you speak. want to ask you about another mission. the artemis 1 mission to the moon. we were so excited on the launch several weeks ago. what's the status of that mission? >> reporter: i was here in august for the first attempt. we came back for the second attempt. both times scrubbed because they had a fuel line problem. they then put it on hold. hoped to launch in mid-october. and then we had the hurricane. so now it is back in the building behind me, back in the huge vehicle assembly building. now they hope to launch in mid-november, assuming the weather cooperates. >> we'll wait. we'll be excited whenever it happens. tom costello, thank you. we appreciate it. and that does it for us this morning. we will see you back here tomorrow morning on "morning joe." jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage after a quick final break.

the new subway series menu. the greatest sandwich roster ever assembled. for more on the new boss, here's patrick mahomes. incredible - meatballs, fresh mozzarella and pepperon- oh, the meatball's out! i thought he never fumbles. the new subway series. what's your pick? want your clothes to smell freshly washed all day without heavy perfumes? try downy light in-wash freshness boosters. it has long-lasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day. downy light! if you really wanna find out what you're made of, you can forget the personality tests and social media quizzes. because the only way you're ever gonna know is by heading into the big, wild, raging

so-damned-beautiful- it-hurts world and finding out for yourself. were you born to follow a path? or were you born free? these are the things we thought about when we made the new grand cherokee. made for what you're made of. ♪ ♪ there's a different way to treat hiv. it's every-other-month, injectable cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns,

and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. every other month, and i'm good to go. ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva.

♪♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks so good it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick? good morning, 10:00 a.m. eastern. 7:00 a.m. pacific.

i'm jose diaz-balart. in just a couple minutes, president biden and the first lady will head to florida to see firsthand the damage left behind by hurricane ian. one week after the monster storm made landfall here in the u.s. >> this is everything we worked our whole life for. and it's gone in a flash. >> people's entire livelihoods destroyed. meanwhile, donald trump is appealing to the supreme court over classified material in the mar-a-lago documents case. we're going to break down where things go next. in ukraine, resistant forces were greeted with flowers and ukrainian flags after pushing russian forces out of another village in the kharkiv region. we'll bring you the very latest from kyiv. and on the cusp of an unprecedented third term, the chinese leader pledged to take control of taiwan by any means necessary. what