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msnbc headquarters in new york city. we got a lot to get to this hour. first a community in mourning as michigan state university remembers three killed during a mass shooting monday. students still trying to process the violence. >> all of us are numb to the whole situation. we have lived this our entire lives. >> i'm still processing it. >> i honestly don't know if i can ever take a step foot into na union anymore. >> you see it on the news, but you never think it's going to be your school. >> and in fact, it is their school. we're learning more about the victims now as well, 20-year-old brian fraser was the president of his fraternity, 19-year-old ariel anderson, an aspiring surgeon, and 20-year-old alexandria verner, an all state athlete studying biology. police are still investigating the motive. we are learning more about the suspected gunman, ahead, the details about his criminal background and the chilling details that his father is now sharing. also this morning, fear and

alarm about the health and safety of people in and around eastern ohio since the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals, and a forced burn to prevent a catastrophic explosion. residents there complaining of sore throats, headaches, and there are reports of pets dying. ohio's governor saying this earlier on the network. >> we're continuing to test the air. we're continuing to test the water, but what that is indicating is that it is very, very safe. >> ahead, i'm going to speak with epa administrator michael regan about environmental concerns and what they are doing to help. off to the races, nikki haley holds her first campaign event, but as donald trump's first 2024 challenger, does she stand a chance against her old boss. we're going to drill down on that as well. we start with the investigation into the shooting at michigan state university and what we are

learning about the victims. nbc's shaq brewster is in east lansing, and a former member of a hostage rescue team. shaq, as we're learning more about the victims here, tell us what you know. >> reporter: i'll start with some news we just learned in the past couple of minutes regarding the investigation and regarding the process. at this point we do know that any student who was in that student union will be able to go back into the union is and be escorted by members of the fbi. they're victim specialists and go and start retrieving their items. you mentioned around campus, there's still a lot of heartbreak. there's commemorations and vigils for those who were lost. there's prayers for the five who are still in the hospital and the three who lost their lives. ariel anderson, her family says was a straight a student, she was soft spoken, sweet and innocent. she wanted to be a surgeon, and in the family's statement, they say she was passionate about helping her friends and family assisting children and serving

people. then there was sophomore brian fraser, also from the gross point community. his father told the detroit news he was a good kid who was loved by everyone. you mentioned he was the president of the michigan beta chapter of phi delta theta. alexandria verner, her father told "the washington post" she was a beautiful soul. the high school superintendent said the student was a tremendous student athlete, leader, a person who, quote, exemplified kindness every day of her life. that is the focus that many people, many students who still come to this statue behind me dropping off flowers, taking a moment of prayer. that is the focus, their focus today. we do know there will be more vigils later tonight. >> yeah, more lives lost. i can't believe this has happened yet again, shaq, and as we are learning more about the victims of course, and before we get into these chilling details that we are learning about the shooter, what do we know about the motive here?

>> reporter: we still don't know much about a motive. we haven't gotten an update since that press conference yesterday. they did find a note on the suspect before he died of that self-inflicted gunshot wound. we don't know anything about the contents of the note, but they're emphasizing there is no motive that they are aware of at this point. they emphasize this suspect had no connection to the university, no known connection at this point. he was not a student. he was not a member of the faculty. one thing that we did hear from the suspect's father -- and i want to emphasize this is possible -- but the suspect's father says he might have been applying for a job on the university, but again, there's still much more that needs to be learned about this. one thing we also heard from the suspect's father is that he turned evil and was sad after the mother -- after the death of his mother about two years ago. so still a lot more information that we're waiting to learn. >> rob, if we can, let's drill down on some of this. we're learning about a weapons offense conviction of the suspect.

we're also now learning he was ineligible to possess or purchase a firearm as well. what does that tell you about the situation? >> he was stopped by the police and founded to have a loaded weapon that was concealed a couple of years ago. he ended up pleasing down to charges and got probation. that probation was actually extended. i think we're going to have to look into that and talk to a probation officer and find out why it was extended. obviously a weapon in possession of a felon is illegal. his father thought he may have had one and he talked to his son about it, and his son denied it from what his statements were. but then you get into what is a family member supposed to do? is there 911 for mental health. calling the police might not have been a great way to handle that because it could have escalated it sooner. and again, the father's worried

probably about the son getting arrested. is there somebody they can call if someone starts thinking, hey, my loved one has mental lnts, now there may be a deadly weapon involved. who do they call. i think we're going to have to start addressing and that getting that information out. >> how do we address that, rob? we have heard instanced like this before in parkland, for instance, right? there are hope visits that are made. sometimes these individuals are committed and subsequently released and go on to commit these crimes anyway. you have this father allegedly saying this man had turned evil, right, and then the father at one point also says you never know what your kid's going to do when they walk out the door. how is the follow-up supposed to look? what red tape stands in the way in making sure these vilks do not go on to commit these

crimes? >> it is tough. i have four children, and i just started the other night started thinking about if i thought one of them was having mental illness and was having problems and then got to the point where i thought they were dangerous, who would i call? >> yeah. >> and i'm in this, and i would try to call probably my friends who are psychologists to talk to them about what do i do. what does someone else do that doesn't know that? calling the police may escalate it. it may come into like if the police come in the home and start looking for a weapon, that may not be -- if you talk to psychologists, that's probably not the best thing to do. i don't think we actually have a system. like we call if someone's wounded, we call paramedics. we call 911, but what if we're having a mental health crisis, who do we call? is that really known? i think that has to start getting out more. and if you look at how much people have mental illnesses that don't go on to commit violent acts, so the ones that are standing out are really like highlighted.

but there's so many others that don't that you look at, again, how many have gotten through to actually do this. i think the system needs to be fixed on mental illness and who you call and how you treat it. >> yeah, this isn't a -- this is a conversation that we need to continue. shaq brewster, rob, thank you as well. the white house weighing a possible pivot in the response, the biden administration is having, quote, active conversations according to one official, about the right moment to have the president possibly address the nation about the unidentified aerial objects. right now a big obstacle is the incomplete information, as crews are still searching for the debris. even lawmakers on capitol hill who are briefed don't know what these objects are and are left

with many unanswered questions. >> if you're as confused as i am, then you understand the situation perfectly. >> there's a number of unanswered questions that it's reasonable they're unanswered. >> i wasn't unnerved by anything that i heard. i don't think we're being attacked by aliens. >> ryan noble is joining us from capitol hill, carol lee is at the white house for us. carol, let me start with you on this one. i understand there's some conversations happening behind the scenes inside the biden administration at the white house to address some of these questions. take us there. >> sure, well, the white house according to officials that we spoke with are having active discussions about both when is the right time for the president to step out and address these concerns and just what he exactly he might say, and so we've seen the president answer questions here and there about these objects, but he hasn't really come out and given a full throated explanation about what americans are seeing. he hasn't said things like we've heard from other white house

officials, for instance, that americans don't need to panic. there's a lot of pressure coming from capitol hill for the president to explain more to the american people including from some democrats, and so there is a discussion about when and where he might do this, but as you noted, there's concern that the information incomplete, that the president -- want to put the president out there when they don't have a lot of information. that is changing. we heard from administration officials yesterday, for instance, that the intelligence community is leaning towards the explanation of what some of these objects are setting aside the chinese spy balloon that they are benign and for research purchases potentially. there's a little more explanation there. the president also on monday ordered this interagency review where there are agencies who have skin in the game on this were supposed to report back to the white house with some findings both in terms whoof

-- what the protocols are for tracking these objects. that's supposed to happen. those initial findings are supposed to go to the white house on wednesday. by the end of the week they expect to have potentially new protocols this place. that could give the president an opportunity to speak to this. as i said, they're still discussing all of this. >> so potentially the white house saying new protocols in place. i know we're also watching this hearing with the acting faa administrator. you've got questions on both sides of the aisle when it comes to these objects that were shot down following the shooting down of the chinese spy balloon. what more do you feel can be done? especially since they're at the mercy of the department of defense right now. >> reporter: i think you nailed it. congress feels frustrated. they'd like to help. they want to know what the legislative branch can do to contribute to try and quell this problem, but they don't have enough information to come up with a policy prescription. and what you heard from many senators yesterday coming out of those meetings was that, a, the information they heard in what

was described as a classified briefing wasn't that classified. 95% of it they felt could be shared with the american public, and then the other 5% didn't really clarify exactly what the problem is and how they can go about fixing it. so you see members here starting to get a little frustrated, wanting more information from the administration, not only behind closed doors but out in public. you're starting to see republicans lay the blame on the president himself saying that he needs to be the one to speak to this issue with a degree of specificity that can kind of calm the fears of many americans. one of the things we heard over and over again yesterday was the frustration that this lack of information was allowing the internet to kind of fill the void. that's why you see these conspiracies running wild. members of congress would certainly like to see this more clearly defined to try and prevent that. one of the things we saw when you read between the lines is that the administration doesn't necessarily have all of these

answers, and that's part of the reason that they can't share that. perhaps that gets cleared up as carol points out over the next couple of days. >> we're going to continue to follow this, obviously. ryan nobles thank you. carol lee thank you as well. coming up, former south carolina republican governor nikki haley is set to officially kick off her presidential campaign this morning. what it means that she's taken on her former boss, donald trump. plus, new hits about how the special counsel investigating trump is going forward, how he could force trump's lawyers to testify. and then people in eastern ohio say they have sore throats. headache as well, and have even seen their pets get sick after the train derailment there. i'm going to talk to the epa about whether their water is safe. >> don't tell me it's safe. something is going on when the fish are floating in the creek. k

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welcome back, everybody, in the next hour, nikki haley is going to formally announce her

campaign. she's holding a campaign kickoff event in charleston. she announced her candidacy yesterday in this video. the big questions being raised right now, what does her bid mean for the former president, her former boss, and so far the only other republican in the race. and what about the other republicans who may still throw their hats in the ring, nbc's ali vitali is in charleston ahead of haley's campaign event, and joined by carlos curbelo, republican from florida, now an msnbc political analyst. first and foremost, what are we expecting in this 11:00 a.m. announcement, and then what about the others that are going to likely throw their hats in the ring? >> reporter: yeah, because this is really the starting bell. of course donald trump has been running for president for the last several months, but this is his first official challenger, someone coming from within his own former administration. nikki haley, of course, was his

ambassador to the united nations. i imagine that's something we're going to see on display even looking at once this event kicks off, you already see there are several hundred people packed into this area in charleston behind me, but then in terms of the speakers that we're going to see get on stage before former governor haley does, we have people like otto warmbier's mom, someone who haley spotlighted in her book about women and leadership, and also someone who allows her to highlight the work she has done on the world stage, not just touting her executive experience in a state like south carolina as its former governor, but also the role that she played in foreign policy since allowing her to add to her bona fide s as well. you're also watching her make this argument for generational change. and i think that's going to be important, when we think about the ways that all of these republicans have to thread a very fine needle around trump himself, not alienating people, but also finding ways that they can earn their own support without going directly at him.

trump for his part has said haley has previously said she wouldn't run if he's running. clearly they're both in the race at this point. there's also a question if governor ron desantis feels the pressure now to get in. this is what he said about that yesterday. >> nikki haley announced her presidential run today, do you plan on following suit? >> wouldn't you like to know? >> reporter: and i think yasmin, a lot of people would probably like to know, especially when you look at the polling for this field. nikki haley is in single-digits. at this point it's really a two-ran race between desantis and trump right now. >> it certainly is. let's get into this if we can for a little bit. if we're looking at polling, i want to talk about this for a moment, of course ron desantis being one of the individuals on this new reuters ipsos poll. you've got nikki haley down at 3.9%. she was seen as the future superstar of the republican

party at 38 years old when she was running for governor of south carolina way back when. she doesn't necessarily have the popularity now, though, amidst the republican party. what do you make of this polling considering her odds running for president? >> well, yasmin, i think the big takeaway here, something ali mentioned, which is that nikki haley had previously said she would not run for president if donald trump would try to become president again. so it really shows you how much internal dynamics in the republican party have shifted, have changed over the last year. donald trump is still the dominant force in the republican party, but his grip on the party has loosened. so while he's still on top of the polling, he's not at 50%. that means a majority of republicans prefer someone else, and this argument that nikki haley's going to make is going to be tested here in the first few months, this idea that republicans need to turn the page, that they need to select

someone who's younger from a new generation, who doesn't carry the baggage of donald trump. the next few weeks and months will be critical. and it seems, yasmin, she'll have this field to herself for some time because the likes of ron desantis and others aren't going to get in until later in the summer. >> it looks like this is going to be a pretty big field of folks that are running for president. it may not be the 17 that we saw back in 2015 to 2016, but it's going to be fairly big. if you're looking at the top two candidates on that latest poll, ron desantis, former president donald trump, who does a big field like this benefit the most? >> the bigger the field, the better for donald trump, yasmin. donald trump will always have 20 to 30% of republican voters. we know that he has a strong fan base. we know that there are people out there who defend him and support him no matter what he does. so that's why he didn't attack

nikki haley when she threw her hat into the ring yesterday. he welcomed her. he wants to see more people jump in because the more people get into this race, the more likely it is that he can be the nominee again. what republicans will have to do -- and it will be a big question as to whether they have the discipline to do this -- is what democrats did for joe biden in 2020. after south carolina this was a mass exodus from the primary field. we'll see if republicans have the discipline to do that once an alternative to trump emerges. >> former congressman carlos curbelo, thank you. ali vitali, thank you as well. the top two senators on the intel committee telling nbc news that the gang of eight are set to receive a briefing on the matter in the last week of february. meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter telling nbc news that special counsel jack smith,

who is leading the justice department's investigation into the former president is seeking to compel one of trump's attorneys to testify before a grand jury. that's according to the source. prosecutors allege they have evidence that some of trump's conversations with his lawyer, evan corcoran were in furtherance of a crime. now, the special counsel is asking a judge to allow prosecutors to bypass attorney/client privilege to get this testimony. neither trump nor corcoran responded to our request for comment. this is what is called crime fraud exception. how big of a deal is this to essentially compel the former president's attorney to testify in front of the grand jury? >> it's a big deal, and it's not a big deal. i'll explain why. the only way you can get an attorney to talk about attorney/client privilege communications is through a motion like this.

it's totally normal for someone, it's not his privilege to waive. it belongs to his client. that having been said for the department of justice and the special counsel to go back and ask for a second bite at the apple because they have reason to believe a crime was committed, that is, in fact, a big deal, yasmin. >> what do you expect that jack smith is wanting to glean from the former president's attorney? >> my guess is that the most important thing jack smith wants to understand is about the june 3rd certification that christina bob, another lawyer in trump's orbit signed. that was a certification in response to a grand jury subpoena where they said we're giving you all the remaining classified documents that are here at mar-a-lago. we obviously know from the search that was executed in august that that wasn't true at the time of. christina bob has apparently told federal investigators evan corcoran, the lawyer who's the search of this crime fraud exception motion is the one who drafted that statement and then

it was given to her to sign. they want to understand who asked you to draft this. what instructions were you under from the former president? how much did you know about what was really there? they're trying to understand whether evan corcoran was unwittingly used or whether he was a participant to criminal behavior. >> if this was an option, invoking this crime fraud exception the whole time was an option, why wait until now? >> we don't know when evan corcoran first testified to the grand jury. we were led to believe it was relatively recently. you don't seek the crime fraud exception until somebody invokes pruf. it has to happen in these two stages. why wait until now, not clear, but why do it now is more clear. bairl howell who is the chief judge of the d.c. courts has overseen all the grand jury disputes, she is about to hand over that position to another judge. my guess is that federal

prosecutors are eager to get before her, have her resolve as many of their disputes as possible because they know what they're getting with her. she's fast. she's knowledgeable, and most importantly she's given them a lot of what they've wanted. >> good to see you. coming up, everybody, residents of eastern ohio are demanding answers about whether their air and water is safe after the derailment of that train carrying toxic chemicals weeks ago. epa administrate michael regan joins me to talk about that. moments ago an incredible scene inside the courtroom where the gunman at the shooting at tops supermarket. someone in the courtroom rushed towards the gunman and had to be pulled away from him. we're looking at live pictures now inside that courtroom. more on this next. we'll be right back. we'll be ri. if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose...

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this morning outrage is intensifying and concerns are mounting for residents in eastern ohio. it's been nearly two weeks since

the dangerous train derailment and the subsequent controlled burn of hazardous chemicals on the train, and now more and more residents are complaining of health problems along with dying pets, farm animals, and wildlife. state officials continuing to stress they are monitoring the environment and the epa is also monitoring air quality, and assuring residents that they are safe. i'm going to talk with epa administrator michael regan about this in a moment. talk to us about what more we're learning about this, how the cleanup is going, what is happening inside this community? >> the cleanup is going -- it's one of the many things residents are concerned about. a lot of soil is being removed from the tracks area. the cars have been removed from the tracks, but it's a big mess, frankly. a lot of concerns the residents have. they'll be able to talk to town officials for the first time tonight at a town hall meeting. through it all, ohio officials continue to maintain that the environment is safe. >> reporter: it's been 12 days since the fiery derailment of a

train carrying hazardous chemicals through east palestine, ohio, and the planned burn to prevent a potentially catastrophic explosion. residents worry about what's still in the air, soil, and water in their rural community. >> something's going on if the fish are floating in the crick. >> reporter: ohio officials confirming 3,500 fish died in local waters in the days after the derailment, but insist extensive testing shows there's no threat to other wildlife or humans. they say there's only anecdotal evidence of residents getting sick and no confirmed connection to the hazardous chemicals aboard the train. >> i definitely have a right to know what was on that train. >> reporter: still, for the first time state officials suggested residents returning to the evacuation zone use bottled water e especially if they have a private well while testing continues. the governor was asked if he would return home, if he lived near the crash site. >> i think that i would be drinking the bottled water. i would be alert, and concerned,

but i would probably be back in my house. >> reporter: an answer leaving some residents with mixed emotions. >> i feel about 80% safe. >> reporter: ben ratner and his family live half a mile from the crash site. their kids are back in school after being out for a week. >> it sounds like you're still worried. >> i think more so worried for the long-term. >> some residents have also filed multiple civil actions, class action lawsuits blaming the company's negligence. the rail operator norfolk southern's negligence for damages. one thing that they're asking for is long-term health monitoring and screening as this process continues to play itself out. >> ron allen for us, thank you, ron. good to talk to you. all right, let's bring in the epa administrator michael regan to talk more about this. this is a statement from the regional administrator saying no detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were

identified. you also have local officials saying outright he would suggest drinking bottled water. what do you make of that? >> well, thank you for having me, and let me just say, we have been on the ground from day one working with state and local officials. we have deployed aerial monitoring and a high-tech airplane to detect air quality implications. we've deployed mobile sources, vans. we are stationary air monitoring equipment. we've been in over 460 homes testing air quality. we're going to test 28 more homes today. there are 27 others we're trying to schedule appointments. we feel very confident that the air quality is safe and we are supporting the state in their water quality monitoring. i think the governor is right for those homes that have been tested and the water is cleared, it is safe to drink. for those homes that have not

been tested, i think the governor is indicating that he would wait for those tests to come in and continue to drink bottled water. >> administrator, i hear you on this, but i can't help but think about these anecdotal accounts that we're hearing, which has got to be really troubling and scary for a lot of folks living around this crash site. 3,500 fish killed in a local stream according to the ohio department of natural resources. a woman's five hens and rooster dying. some residents reporting burning sensations in their eyes as well. that can't just be psychosomatic. these are real results of something happening there. >> we definitely understand the concerns of families in the community, which is why we want to be as communicative as possible, as transparent as possible, and we know that of the air quality monitoring that we've done, we have not detected elevated levels. but the state is leading an investigation to look at the impacts to wildlife, and we will support the state in any capacity that they need to test

the water. president biden has called the governor directly, made all federal resources available, and again, this federal agency, the environmental protection agency, we've been on the ground since day one, and we'll continue to support the state as they conduct their investigations. >> let me play for you, if i can, administrator, sil cajano, a hazardous materials expert. he hasn't visited the site. he was on our air yesterday. i want to play for you what he said, and then we can talk on the other side. >> the epa is concerned enough to where they have invoked the super fund act to get this cleaned up. they're admitting something is wropg. as of earlier today, i heard there was a possibility -- the epa is indicating there's a possibility that in order to get the train going, they buried some of the toxic chemical underneath one of the tracks. >> on another outlet he said we basically nuked a town with

chemicals so we could get a railroad open. what do you make of that, sir? >> let me just say that we are going to enforce the law and hold norfolk southern accountable. we've issued a notice of liability that holds them accountable. they have signed it and said they would comply. the goal is as we enter into the cleanup phase under our circle of law, we can hold this company accountable so that they foot the bill and taxpayers don't and so let me be clear. we p understand some of the anxiety of the community, but we are with the community. we're going to hold this company accountable, and we're going to be here until this problem is cleaned up. >> would you stay in your home there? would you drink the water, sir, if you lived in that area? >> for the homes that have been tested and, again, we have gone in and done indoor air quality for over 460 homes, if i were

living in one of those homes, i would stay. for the homes that have had their water tested by the state, and if they have been cleared, i would drink the water. if my home had not been tested, i would have concerns, and i would reach out to the state and the federal government and get my home tested. and that's what we're encouraging all to do. >> how long are you going to keep testing the water and air quality? >> we will continue to monitor the air quality 24/7 for the foreseeable future, and the state is leading the water quality process, and we will continue to support them and follow their lead as the primary in this investigation for water quality. >> michael regan, thanks so much. we've got some breaking news we're following right now, extremely tense moment in a courtroom in buffalo just minutes ago. tops grocery store shooter, payton again drin is now back in

court for a sentencing hearing after a man rushed at him during an extremely emotional statement. >> we never go in no neighborhoods and take people out. rehema ellis is following us for this. i was on the ground in buffalo after this yet another mass shooting at tops supermarket. that community really came together. it was an incredibly emotional time for that community and has continued to be since then. take us inside that courtroom, if you will, what details you're learning. it was such a stunning moment to see. >> it was indeed stunning. it happened so fast.

i was taking notes watching this all as it was unfolding in realtime, and i looked away for a second and came back and this was what happened. as you see, a man came out of seemingly nowhere and attempted to lunge at 19-year-old payton gendron. and what was going on in the courtroom prior to that, you saw a woman, she is related to katherine massie, who was one of those who was killed, a 17-year-old woman, and it was a very raw, emotional statement, impact statement that this woman was making. she looked right at payton gendron and said i would hurt you so bad. you don't know black people, you drove all the way from where you lived in baltimore to do this terrible thing, while she said that, then this man lunged at him. prior to that, there had been another very emotional statement that was given by another of the relatives of a victim, geraldine

talley's niece spoke to the court. she also looked right at payton and was very passionate in her statement to him. he at that time looked at her, took off his glasses, and he -- you could see him that he was emotional. he appeared to be crying. seems as though that this was very touching to him that they were reaching him, but prior to that, some of the statements had been the family members reading passages from the bible. one other woman talking about that it would be important for her to forgive because the weight of carrying the hate against this young man would be too much for her to bear, and she wouldn't allow him to have that victory. but she said while she would not hate him, she could not forgive him and wanted to make certain that he would live the rest of his life in prison. >> wow. rehema ellis for us, thank you so much. appreciate it. all right, everybody, this

morning jurors in the double murder trial of alex murdaugh are hearing from some of the final witnesses from the prosecution as they're expected to rest tomorrow. it's coming after hearing emotional testimony from his sister-in-law who described alex's behavior as odd in the weeks after the murders of his wife and son. lindsey reiser has been closely following this testimony for us and has been joining us with more. take us inside, if you will, that courtroom what we heard from the sister-in-law and what else happened. >> this morning before jurors were even in there, the two sides were talking about this roadside incident that happened three months after the murders of maggie and paul in which this was an alleged suicide for hire plot. so alex says he was shot in the head by this man named eddie smith. eddie smith said he never pulled the trigger. they were in a confrontation over the gun. the judge ruled that the jury won't hear additional details about that at this time because he says it doesn't really go to a motive. it goes more towards a propensity to commit violence,

and he said that was a bridge too far. the jury did hear about this briefly when marion proctor, maggie's only sibling said learning about that incident made her change her opinion about alex. we also heard her talk about murdaugh's addiction to bill. maggie called paul her detective making sure there were no pills in the house. while her sister's marriage to alex wasn't perfect, she did appear happy. when the jury was out of the courtroom, she talked about an alleged affair that happened some 15 years ago, in which maggie didn't think it was still going on but it still bothered her. the judge ruled the jury won't hear about that. the jury did hear marion talk about how she sort of found some of alex's behavior after the murders odd. let's listen to that. >> i just thought his priority should have been focusing on finding out who killed maggie and paul. >> and how do you know that wasn't a priority for him?

>> we never talked about it. it was just odd, and we were sort of living in fear. >> so we've also heard from a forensic accountant who talked about the finances closing in on alex. the prosecution is trying to say he committed these murders to detract from that. >> a lot of twists and turns in that trial to say the least. lindsey reiser for us, thank you. in the next hour, protesters in florida were gathered to speak out about against the florida governor. we are live from tallahassee where the rally will take place. first, the push to get ukrainians more military aid as they struggle to hold back the new russian offensive with equipment that's decades out of date. >> can you stop this russian offensive? >> translator: now we can only hold them off he says, but nobody knows how long we can keep doing it. dy knows how longn keep doing it.

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in 100 years. nbc's kelly cobiella has more on the rescue efforts from turkey. >> reporter: the death toll from those two powerful quakes is still rising, and you can see just how powerful they were. right at my feet where the earth literally broke apart, but every day there are still small miracles. this morning clinging to hope, this 42-year-old woman carried to safety almost ten days after the deadly earthquake. searchers and survivors refusing to give up. at least nine people freed from the mountains of concrete and twisted metal that used to make up their homes tuesday. these rescuers finding the outstretched hand of a 65-year-old survivor later pulled out after nearly nine days. rescue crews digging long tunnels to reach them, many exhausted, some sleeping on piles of debris. more than 200,000 homes in turkey were destroyed or so

badly damaged they'll have to be demolished. turkey's president saying more than 35,000 have died in this country alone. close to the fault line, the quakes changing the landscape. >> this used to be a single olive grove now separated by a deep canyon a mile and a half long. tens of thousands are homeless and hungry, these volunteers feeding a thousand people a day. >> there was no food. no water no help. >> reporter: amid so much destruction, incredible stories of survival. and today those two brothers who were rescued yesterday are recovering. one said they shared protein powder to stay alive. >> our thanks to nbc's kelly cobiella for that stunning report. russian forces are pressing forward with attacks on eastern cities in ukraine. today russia hit kharkiv luhansk

border with heavy shelling and missile strike. meanwhile, nato members pledged continued support for the war-torn country during the last day of their talks in brussels. all of this as concerns increase about the age of the weapons ukraine is using to fend off the military. joining me now nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez who's live for us in kyiv. if you will, talk about the push, right, for more -- for more aid going to ukraine, especially amidst this concern about how much of their -- what they're dealing with right now is aging? >> reporter: yeah, yasmin, the ukrainians are getting through ammunition at an absolutely blistering by some rates they're firing 7,000 artillery shells every single day in ukraine. far faster than nato countries can resupply them. and that is a cause for real concern. partly because of what you just mentioned. we talk a lot about ukraine

being supplied with modern nato weapons, but the majority of their equipment is soviet vintage. many ukrainian units are driving tanks that are 50 years old in some cases, and the problem here is there is only one country that still makes spare parts and ammunition for vehicles that old and that's russia. so, nato is not able to supply soviet era ammunition to the ukrainians. that's why they are trying to get as much in the way of new artillery, new battle tanks, on to the battlefield, to give the ukrainians the equipment they need. and that's one of the issues they were discussing today in brussels. >> of course, this is ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war in ukraine. raf sanchez, thank you. in the next hour, protesters in tallahassee will march on florida's capital against florida's governor and his decision to reject an ap african american studies course. why they say ron desantis is trying to bring florida back to

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teachings that define people as privileged or oppressed. tremayne lee joins us with more. great to talk to you. what are you hearing from folks here? what is the objective? what do they want the governor to hear? >> reporter: yasmin, that's right. people all across the state are coming here to tallahassee to make their voices loud and clear that what they see is a whitewashing of black history and in some ways an erasure of everything black folks have contributed and gone through in this country. i want to bring in pastor nix who drove in from jacksonville, florida, this morning. what message do you want to send to the governor and anyone listening and paying attention? >> anyone listening and paying attention, particularly those in the bible belt, this is our time, this is our moment to

amplify our message and amplify our voice. when it comes to blacks, james ball, malcolm x and dr. martin luther king, they all contributed to black history and american history. when it comes to our governor, he may be in a position of authority, but he's not qualified to dictate what should or should not be taught to americans of african descent. we are just as american as everybody else. and we should be able to determine what should and should not be taken out of our history books. we have added value since the inception of this country, since the declaration of independence, from chrismus attucks to this moment. this is not just a speech or this is not just an opportunity for us to get some symbolism, but this turns into mass mobilization of substance.

>> what is at stake here? why does this matter? >> there is so much at stake. even when it comes to women's rights, you -- god gives people a choice to choose. he gave you a right to choose, he gave me a right to choose, and i don't believe that our governor should dictate what should and should not be accessible to women. i don't think any man should have that right to be able to make that decision. and at the same time, when you look at disadvantages and gerrymandering, minority access districts, when it comes to, like, black and brown communities, their voice has been suffocated. >> i want to thank you for your time. we have to wrap. yasmin, clearly folks are focused on their intent and want their voices to be loud and clear. >> we appreciate his voice. thank you. that does it for me, everybody. i'll be back in the chair tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. eastern. catch me weekends 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. my friend jose diaz-balart picks up coverage next. my friend jose diaz-balart picks upov cerage next did you know if you turn to cold with tide

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good morning. i'm jose diaz-balart. we're learning more about the three students killed in the michigan state university shooting. as investigators try to piece together how and why this happened. any moment now, former u.n. ambassador and former south carolina governor nikki haley will make her first pitch to voters as a 2024 presidential candidate. we will bring it to you live. in turkey, and syria, the death toll rising to more than 40,000 after those two earthquakes decimated the region. incredibly people are still being found alive in the rubble more than a week later. in ohio, residents expressing fears for t