♪♪ open talenti and raise the jar to gelato made from scratch. raise the jar to flavors from the world's finest ingredients. and now, from jars to bars. new talenti gelato new talenti gelato and sorbetto mini bars. ♪♪ hello. i hope you had a wonderful weekend. thanks for being here. it's 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we're learning more about the private plane that caused panic in our nation's capital before crashing in virginia. two f-16 fighter jets scrambled

as it drifted toward restricted air face, emitting a sonic boom that prompted 911 calls from d.c. to maryland. the pilot unresponsive as the jets reportedly repeatedly tried to make contact. at least four now confirmed dead. what went wrong. an nbc news exclusive. the grand jury hearing evidence about former president trump's handling of classified documents is meeting again this week. is that investigation nearing its conclusion? also ahead, a big week in the 2024 race, three more republicans set to enter the already-crowded field. this after gop hopefuls roared into iowa for the traditional roast and ride, everyone, that, but donald trump. >> i don't know. we're not big trump fans. a lot of bluster. some good ideas but a lot of bluster. i'm a republican. later, yet another close call with a chinese war machine.

the encounter with an american destroyer that's ratcheting up tensions between the u.s. and china. we'll begin with the new details out of virginia, no survivors from that crashed cessna. a sonic boom shaking the d.c. area as two f-16 fighter jets were scrambled when the private plane approached restricted d.c. airspace late yesterday. the pilot unresponsive. the plane eventually crashing west of charlottesville as you can see in this exclusive video from wrc tv. tom costello is in washington. can you walk us through what happened and what we know about those four people that were on board? >> an absolute tragedy. the owner of the family says he lost his daughter, his granddaughter, a nanny on board and a pilot. we believe a veteran pilot with a lot of commercial hours. this caused an awful lot of craziness yesterday afternoon in d.c. as these fighter jets were

scrambled. we all heard a sonic boom in d.c. that literally shook homes as they fighter jets scrambled to actually try to catch up with this runaway plane. scrambled from joint base andrews near washington sunday, two f-16 fighter jets racing to intercept a private cessna citation jet approaching restricted d.c. airspace. the air force pilots radioed the cessna pilots but got no response. >> this is an armed air defense fighter transmitting on 121.5. you have been intercepted. >> on the ground, the sonic booms from the fighter jets rattled the greater d.c. area, shaking hopes from annapolis, maryland, to northern virginia. the thunderous sounds so loud, concerned residents called 911. as the f-16s approached the runaway plane, they could see the pilot appeared unresponsive. the plane had taken off from

tennessee, headed to long island, new york, then did an unexplained 180, turning south again as air traffic controllers tried unsuccessfully to raise the pilot and told other planes to stay away. that's when the fighter jets were scrambled. >> if they were intercepting an aircraft that was doing 70 or 80% of the speed of sound and needed to intercept that aircraft quickly, the only way to do it would be to go ahead and go supersonic to increase the closure rate on the target aircraft. >> they tried to use flares to get the pilot's attention and continued flying the cessna as it flew over d.c., then into virginia where it apparently ran out of fuel and crashed. our nbc station, wrc, captured these images of the crash scene west of charlottesville. it was registered to a company in melbourne, florida. the owner says his daughter,

grandchild, a nanny, and pilot were on board. similar to the 1999 private plane crash that killed golf stewart payne stewart and five others. they became unresponsive after their plane lost oxygen pressure. in a similar situation, a pilot would have seconds to last. >> you've got to be on oxygen in five seconds or you'll begin to lose consciousness. >> to be clear, we don't know what caused this crew, this pilot to become incapacitated. was it a lack of oxygen? we don't know. norad says it did not shoot down the plane. the ntsb has an investigator on the scene. as you can see there's very little left of the wreckage. they will have to determine what happened on the plane based on the little evidence that survived. ana. >> so sad, so unfortunate. nothing they can do to try to save those people on board. tom costello, thank you for that update. new developments into the

investigation of former president donald trump's handling of classified documents. the grand jury hearing evidence about this capes is expected to meet again this week after a hiatus. we don't know whether prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment at this point, but by all appearances, it appears special counsel jack smith's investigation is nearing its end. if he is indicted, trump would be the first president ever to be charged with a federal crime. joining us now is nbc news senior legal correspondent laura jarrett, danny cevallos and barbara mcquade. laura, walk us through what more you know. >> it's really a story of timing. after weeks of lots of frenzied activity at the courthouse in washington, d.c., the grand jury went dark. the question is why. there are lots of reasons the prosecutors might be taking a break to re-evaluate their evidence, maybe they heard

something. someone said something interesting, they warrant to bring someone back. we just don't know. we're not prepared to report about what exactly is going on there, but the timing is worth noting, and the fact they're now come back this week after a lull is noteworthy. >> what's your interpretation of this return, danny, the fact that the grand jury is coming back after the break? is it an indication of a conclusion or a potential continuation of the investigation? >> here is the challenge with grand juries and scheduling. because everything is kept so secret, it could be true that the grand jury is wrapping up, they could begin convening to draft a report, a report that may charge nobody. it may be a report explaining why nobody was charged. then there's always the possibility it could be something totally mundane, like a scheduling issue. maybe one grand jury expires, the other comes in. there are many reasons why a grand jury may adjourn and reconvene later on. we have to keep that possibility open.

is it possible the walls are closing in or the end is near? maybe. there's nothing concrete about that right now. we have to leave open the possibility that this could be business as usual and that the end is not nye, that something else is coming, maybe not too soon. >> barbara, we have talked a lot about the recording of trump talking about a document he supposedly took from the white house that has to do with iran. "the new york times" reports that lawyers have been unable to find that document. if it is, in fact, missing, what are the legal implications here? >> i think there are two possibilities. it could be that this is a very sensitive document and it's gone missing because trump has mishandled it, destroyed it, hidden it, concealed it, sold it, given it away. if so, that's a very serious national security concern, if it is what it purports to be, talking about attack plans for iran. it could also be that there was

no such document. in that case i think it's largely irrelevant. one of the important aspects of that call is that in it donald trump admits that he understands that classification rules. to me that's the larger significance of this reporting. he has maintained that he could declassify documents just by thinking about it, without communicating it to anyone. i think most of us realize that's nonsense. but because the law requires that you prove that he violated it willfully, that is, that he knew what he was doing was illegal, it's important to show that he knew he could not declassify documents just by thinking about it. so this recording would seem to completely rebut that defense that he has put forward to date. >> but if the recording suggests one thing and then there's no physical evidence of what was discussed on that recording, if they haven't been able to locate such a document, could it be hard to prove its existence? and could that actually benefit

trump in some way? >> only if the government tries to charge him with mishandling that particular document. my guess is if they aren't able to find it or find it ever existed, they may not do that. so that piece of it might be something that is not of legal significance that can be used in the case against him, but that admission of his understanding of the classification system i think is very valuable evidence. >> real quick, barbara, i want to get your thoughts, too, on the grand jury reconvening and what it could or couldn't mean. >> all the things that laura and danny said are absolutely true. but here's one possible theory, just a theory. they last met may 5th, a period of quiet and now coming back. it could be that after the grand jury has done all its work, heard all the witnesses and testimony, jack smith would need time to put together a prosecution memo, submit that to merrick garland and get approval. remember he can reject a

recommendation by the special counsel if he finds it's unwarranted by law or inappropriate under the justice department policies. i imagine that process would have taken a few weeks. it could be that he has now been given the green light and he's ready to go back and present an indictment to the grand jury. >> guys, i want to play something that trump's former lawyer said on "meet the press" yesterday. let's listen. >> to me, even if he did a lot of the things they're saying he did, prosecuting him, the same reasons why you wouldn't want to prosecute him as to why back in 2016 i was of the opinion that hillary clinton shouldn't be prosecuted, because there are all of these other problems. >> laura, obviously this isn't apples to apples comparison here. what are differences? >> the problem with that argument is the facts are so different. we're talking about a much larger set of classified materials in the case of trump. it's really going to come down to an evaluation of content. he's presupposing in that answer that his former client didn't

have the requisite intent, he didn't willfully retain the documents. the worst fact for him on that score is he didn't give them back when he was asked to. he got a request the nice way. then they got a subpoena and then they had to actually get a search warrant. that's completely different than the case of biden, pence and clinton. >> danny, what are you watching for this week? >> a lot of what is happening over at the grand jury which is we're not going to know what's going on. going back to what laura said, i think there are similar -- if we're going to respond to what tim parlatore said in that interview, we have to acknowledge the similarities that they are, and that will make the differences stand out in even more stark contrast. by that i mean, is there a significance that this is a presidential candidate going into an election? yes. does this investigation involve documents? yes. beyond that, i think laura is spot on. it's the knowledge and the intent and all the evidence we have of the surrounding

circumstances. it's easy enough to prove that there were documents, they were in the white house, then they were in mar-a-lago. that's the physical evidence. the challenge for prosecutors is and will always be proving the mental element, the intent. they didn't really have it with hillary clinton. here donald trump is helping prosecutors by going on the air and saying things in his trumpian fashion that he doesn't realize are getting him in trouble. every defense attorney in the world since the dawn of civilization can tell you that every client who thinks he can talk his way out of trouble often talks his way right back into into or into deeper trouble. >> thank you so much. laura jarrett, danny cevallos, barbara mack quaid, i appreciate you all. when we're back in 60 seconds, president zelenskyy says his troops are ready and there's evidence the effort could be under way. collision course. a near-miss between a chinese warship and an american navy destroyer. just the latest incident rising

tensions between washington and beijing. what's china up to? later, prince harry set to break another royal tradition. the court case buckingham palace and royal watchers are following. this is "ana cabrera reports." we're back in just one minute. ." we're back in just one minute. m. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. and where it's going. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. (foreman) nice work. (vo) and retailers can get ahead of the fashion trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. with a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security. giving you more control of your business. we call this enterprise intelligence. from the network america relies on. as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much?

that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com we're following breaking news out of ukraine this morning where russia claims the ukrainian military has launched a new offensive in the east. kyiv did not confirm or deny the claims but worry about potential russian misinformation. it's unclear whether this is the start of the counteroffensive by ukraine. let's get right to nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter in kharkiv. we know ukraine has been planning a counteroffensive for months. is there any clarity on whether today's action is the start of that? >> reporter: hi, ana. there's not a lot of clarity. we've been trying to get that clarity the last couple hours. overnight the russian ministry

of defense put out a statement saying they've repelled a large-scale offensive. they use the word offensive. the ukrainians use the word counteroffensive. they say it happened in the southern part of the eastern donetsk region. the russian ministry of defense claimed hundreds of ukrainian troops died in this morning's offensive. nbc news has not verified that information. the ukrainians have not verified that information. ana, the ukrainian officials have long said they are not going to announce or confirm any kind of start date. as you mentioned over the weekend president zelenskyy got people talking, heightening speculation about being on the eve of a battle for a counteroffensive. he said we're ready to launch a counteroffensive. on sunday just after zelenskyy's comment, the army put out this video, about 30 seconds, ana, that has ukrainian soldiers literally shushing the camera. i have a statement from the last hour from ukrainian officials. the first is the spokesman for

the eastern groups of forces. he calls the russian allegations this morning an absolute lie. he says they did not cause us any losses. just a couple minutes ago, the deputy defense minister put out a statement and she wrote, what is happening now, we are continuing the defense we started on february 24th. she goes on to say that the defensive operation includes everything and includes counteroffensive actions. she says, therefore, in some areas we are switching to offensive actions. whether or not this is the long-awaited kind of much-anticipated, much-rumored counteroffensive, ana, we don't know. a close call in the taiwan strait escalating tensions between the u.s. and china. this surveillance video from the department of defense shows a chinese warship sailing right into the path of an american destroy on saturday, just 150 yards separate these two ships. the u.s. calls it an extremely dangerous move.

china's defense minister defended its actions and actually accused the u.s. of provoking china by sailing in this area. of course, this follows another close call in the air when a chinese fighter jet flew in front of an american reconnaissance plane last week forcing it to fly into its turbulence. let's bring in courtney kube. what are we hearing from the chinese government, from the u.s., about what was going on here? >> there was a big conference in singapore last week and over the weekend. we heard from both the u.s. and chinese sides specifically about these incidents nearly in realtime, ana. from the chinese side, the defense minister said these recent incidents are a direct result of the u.s. military's ongoing patrols and exercises in the area. so what we're seeing here in the taiwan strait, this was a joint

exercise with the canadian military where they transited through the taiwan strait. as our viewers can see here, this chinese ship came within 150 yards. what's important to point out is not just the proximity here but the fact that it crossed right across the front of that u.s. military destroyer. that is extremely dangerous. these ships do not turn on a dime. to transit right in front of it like that, there's a very real concern there of a possible collision. in addition to that, only days ago, as you said, ana, there was this incident in the air over the south china sea, another one the chinese military is saying the u.s. military had no right to have their aircraft there. we see that chinese jet there flying right in front of the u.s. surveillance aircraft. you see the u.s. aircraft bumping there as it goes through the wake. again, the proximity is dangerous, but the fact it flew directly in front of it, that's

what makes these incidents so potentially calamitous. secretary austin has addressed both of these incidents now calling them dangerous and aggressive and calling on the chinese military to stop these sorts of encounters. but we have to point out, this is a time when the relations between the two countries are at a real low point. the secretary of defense asked his chinese counterpart to meet on the sidelines of this defense conference in singapore. the chinese government declining that. the two had a very brief hello late last week, they shook hands, exchanged very brief pleasantries. without communication between the two sides it makes these sorts of incidents more escalatory and provocative. >> courtney kube, appreciate all that reporting. we'll be watching what's next. up next on "ana cabrera reports." the new loyalty pledge the r nnchsc wants ef yes regop

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welcome back. over the next 72 hours or so, some big question marks hovering over the republican presidential primary race will vanish. former vice president mike pence and north carolina governor doug

burgum expected to announce white house bids next wednesday. iowa voters got their chance to vet candidates at a weekend event dubbed the roast and ride. every republican officially on the roster was there except donald trump. pence even hopped on a hog in jeans and a biker vest. i want to bring in nbc's vaughn hillyard who was there as well at that roast and ride. also with us republican strategist and msnbc political analyst rick tyler. you're just back from iowa, vaughn. were you sensing anyone winning over the hearts and minds of iowa voters? >> how about this? let's start from the fact that it felt like an event where folks were actually trying to pick a candidate. i hung out in iowa quite a bit with our friend rick tyler eight years ago. really when donald trump came

onto the scene, he absorbed all the oxygen out of any room he went into. as the years went on, republican events turned into maga events, trump events, red hats, trump, trump. any republican that went on stage from a campaign event to a county event, donald trump is great, donald trump is this. what was so markbly different this weekend was the fact that not a single candidate mentioned donald trump by name and folks were actually open-minded about other candidates not named donald trump. i want to let you hear two of my interactions with two of the candidates. >> what does it say that donald trump is not here? >> i'm just happy to be here. i love the people here. i think this is a great event. there's a lot of friends now that we've developed, but we'll make a lot more friends. that's what it's all about. >> will you sign the loyalty pledge for the debate stage, sir? >> it's great to be here at the roast and ride. people can expect we'll be back in iowa on wednesday. >> and a few more times after that? >> that's entirely possible.

>> here is the reality, right? republican voters in iowa want to meet the candidates. they're going to go to town hall events, to campaign events. as long as these candidates spend in iowa, they'll get the chance to meet voters. as long as donald trump is not at events like this, he's not going to be able to continue to drill home that he's the leader of this republican party. >> rick, is it trump's loss that he wasn't there given the polling last week shows trump with a 40-point lead over desantis who is number two in the polls among likely voters in iowa? does it make sense for him to skip these multi-candidate events or is he underestimating caucus-goers? >> i think the trump campaign has come to the conclusion that they're the front-runner and they'll remain the front-runner. that's rational when you're 40 points ahead. there's so many unknowns in this race. one is the path to the nomination requires collecting delegates in a certain order. while iowa doesn't always

determine the winner, it certainly determines who the losers are. iowans having been there, as vaughn mentioned, probably attended more state fairs than most iowans, you've got to show up. you've got to show up to events. over time people will not appreciate that donald trump is not attending events in a manner in which they can meet the candidate as opposed to doing a big rally, he comes on stage, gives a rah-rah speech form 90 minutes and walks off. >> yet he's somebody who has been president. so you can argue voters know who trump is, they don't maybe know some of these other candidates so well. so the other way they can show who they are, vaughn, is through the debates that are coming up. the first one for the gop primary is in august. the requirements to make the debate stage were just released. some of the candidates don't like what they have to do.

>> no. one of the candidates that acknowledged having some frustrations with the requirements is asa hutch chin son, former arkansas governor who has been a loud trump critic. there's a requirement that you have to get 45,000 donors to qualify for the debate stage. that means you have to get 45,000 folks to donate to your campaign. it's not easy as a baseline to get on the debate stage. chris christie, doug burgum, that's going to be a challenge for them. chrisie has said he wants to get on the debate stage with drum. that may be difficult. he's got a lot of work to do. that's why the summer is so important for these candidates. >> there's been some love lost for these candidates, especially towards donald trump which is another part of this debate requirement, rick. there's this loyalty pledge where the candidates have to pledge that they will ultimately support whoever ends up winning

the gop nomination. is that typical? is that even enforceable? >> it's certainly enforceable. they determine who is on the debate stage at the rnc or not. if there's a critical mass of people who won't sign it, asa hutchinson doesn't seem to me that he would sign a pledge where he would pledge his support to donald trump. i don't think chris christie would do that either. donald trump has already said he would only support the nominee that he would approve of which, of course, is only himself. so we'll see how it plays out. i think the rnc is in a particularly weak position for a number of reasons, because i'm not sure how the parties play in these nomination processes. they used to have a lot more power and say. it's very interesting that you see all these candidates, they clear loi see an opening. they clearly see if things could change and something could happen where they could beat

trump in the nomination despite him being so far ahead. >> one of the candidates making the top five is nikki haley. she had the spotlight all to herself at a cnn town hall last night. she was pressed on the issue of abortion. let's listen to that. >> i am unapologetically pro-life. having said that, i don't judge anyone for being pro-choice any more than i want them to judge me for being pro-life. >> if the six-week bill came to your desk, will i'll answer tha kamala and biden if they'll answer regarding 36, 37, 38 weeks. >> you heard the ap plus. does she need to dodge the question? >> when republicans ignore or

sidestep the abortion debate, that's a loser. the way the abortion debate is described and republicans haven't handled this well is people do support limits. most people, even democrats, do not support abortion on demand up until the time of birth. they do believe in reasonable limits. it's not been presented that way. it's been presented as total ban or abortion on demand. that's not the case. that's now how americans think about immigration, about foreign policy, about abortion. people do want limits. the question is should we have a european standard limit, i think it's 16 weeks, or should it be six weeks? i think people would say it's reasonable that 16 weeks is reasonable. that's not where republicans have gone. the democrats have been very smart to frame the debate as most republicans want a total ban which is simply not true. the republicans have got to answer that. >> that's the point. she didn't answer what her position is specifically.

she can say where she fell along that timeline you just laid out in terms of what she would support and whether a ban itself would be supported if it were a president nikki haley. i think there's more to be determined in that part of the conversation. got to leave it there for now today. thank you, guys. appreciate it, rick tyler as well as our vaughn hillyard. one democratic contender down in the polls but looking for any spotlight is turning to elon musk for help today. again, talking about a democratic contender here. this is robert f. kennedy jr. he's going to appear on twitter spaps with musk in a few hours. aside from his famous last name, he's perhaps best known for his barrage of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about vaccines. he's also made baseless claims that the cia killed his father, robert kennedy and former president jfk. up next on "ana cabrera

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welcome back. six women found dead in oregon. now police are investigating whether a potential serial killer is on the loose. the six bodies have all been discovered within the past three

months within 100 miles of each other. all of the women under the age of 40. but how each of them died is still unclear. portland police bureau has cautioned against linking all the deaths saying the speculation is not supported by the facts available at this point. let's bring in nbc news correspondent marissa parra who is on the case for us. marissa, what more do we know about the circumstances of these deaths? >> reporter: we only know the cause of death for one woman, joanna speaks. we'll hear more about her in a moment. we know four of the six women, their deaths have been ruled suspicious. when it comes to speculation, a lot of people i've spoken to say it's the lack of clarity, the high concentration of women who have turned up dead in this 100-mile radius in the pacific northwest that's really leaving the community on edge. lost without answers leaves emotions on high.

>> uneasy, horrified, heartbroken. >> reporter: aerial yell's stepsister, joanna speaks was an oregon mother of three. >> an amazing sister, a wonderful daughter. a great, fantastic mother. >> reporter: speaks was found dead from a homicide in april becoming one of six different women in the portland metro area, all under 40 discovered dead within 100 miles of each other just weeks apart, leaving the pacific northwest in fear of a possible serial killer. >> 5084 en route -- >> reporter: it starts with 22-year-old kristin smith found february 19th, april 8th speaks is found on an abandoned property dead from blunt force trauma to her neck and head. weeks later, charity lynn perry and an unidentified women believed to have been native american who police say showed no signs of foul play. april 30th, bridget webster found on a rural road.

and 22-year-old ashley reel found dead in a lev heavily wooded area. the police agencies working together to see if there's a link between cases. >> what are they specifically looking for to see if they're connected? >> one of the main things is the manner of death and the weapon. if that's consistent across all these victims, that would be a huge point. >> reporter: portland police pushing against speculation of a serial killer saying, quote, i can't say we're not looking into it but we don't want the public to jump to conclusions . for the families, answers can't come soon enough. >> this isn't just about my sister anymore, even if it's not one person doing this. >> reporter: so just a few things to adhere at the end of this. arielle, who you just heard from, joanna speaks' sister says she has been in touch with the family members of the other women.

they're trying to get to the bottom of this, figuring oust is it one person responsible for these deaths, multiple people responsible for these deaths. keep in mind we don't know if all these women were murdered. we still don't know if these were all homicides. bottom line, she says she hopes it's a reminder for other people out there who may be watching to be careful going out, not go into rural, wooded areas by themselves and keep their location on with friends and family. >> marissa para, thank you. this morning we're tracking disruptions at ports from los angeles to seattle. union workers walked off the job friday amid tense wage negotiations with port management leading to labor shortages. joining us from long beach is nbc news correspondent dana griffin. how severe are these labor shortages, dana? and are these ports operating? >> reporter: ana, that's a big question, how severe is this and

how bad can it get. we're in long beach. behind me you can see terminal t, the largest terminal here in long beach. they operate and can take in about 200,000 shipping containers per month. right now they are closed. according to the company, this has nothing to do with the labor shortage or any potential negotiations. they tell us they sent letters to truckers last night telling them not to show up, that it was an operational decision for them to shut down. there's a lot of questions and a little mystery swirling here at the port because it's a monday and behind us we can see several shipping containers stacked up, some are full, some are empty. but the thing about how bad this backlog could be if there is one, we're told from people with direct knowledge here that four days is pretty much the max that these shipping containers could be sitting here for it to really create an impact. we know on friday there were

some movement, some containers diverted to new jersey and georgia to help with the potential impact if there was a worker walkout. at this point we're told that operators are operating. we can hear trucks at some of the other nearby terminals. it's just here at terminal t it's silent, ana. >> uh-oh. i think all of us are triggered by this sort of reporting given all the supply chain issues we dealt with during covid and concerns around that. hopefully it's up and running quickly. thank you for your reporting, dana griffin. up next on noshlgts, prince harry is back in london and ready to take the stand. what we know about this historic trial. later, apple set to launch its brand new product in nearly a decade. what we know about the new virtual reality headset coming up. virtual reality headset coming up you can make it even smarter. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is.

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rail service in this country where it is essentially a transportation lifeline. this incident is raising new questions about the safety of railroad service across india. in london, prince harry was a no-show at the courthouse today where he's expected to become the first british royal to sit in a witness stand in 130 years. he's suing a major tabloid publisher for alleged phone hacking. and while he is still likely to testify tomorrow or wednesday, the judge said he was surprised by harry's absence this morning. foreign correspondent meagan fitzgerald is outside that courthouse in london for us. megan, what are we expecting? lay out the case for us. >> reporter: well, look, first i have to tell you, it was a rough start to the day, anna. as you mentioned, the judge was not happy that prince harry was not in court today. his attorney said that, you know, he left late last night

from los angeles after celebrating his daughter's second birthday. arrived here and will be in court first thing tomorrow morning. but, look, this is a big risk for him. we've been speaking with legal experts who say, look, when he takes that witness stand and he's cross-examined, that's when we are going to see the attorneys going after his credibility. they're going to be bringing up everything from what he wrote in his memoir, specifically things he wrote about using drugs, to making him answer some really uncomfortable questions. this has been harry's crusade. this is his mission. this mission to try and change the landscape of the paparazzi, to try and lay down some form of a precedence here. and he believes that the paparazzi has ruined his life. that they are responsible for the death of his mother. so this is something that we have seen for years and years and years. so for the first time he is going to be taking the witness stand in some ways telling his side of the story. but there certainly is a lot on the line here.

>> thank you so much. it will be interesting to see what he says when he does take that witness stand. still to come today -- mixed reality. apple sets itself on another silicon valley giant. can consumers afford it? can consumers afford it? the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families. the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+ folks. the time to act to protect our rights is now. that's why i'm hoping you'll join me today in supporting the american civil liberties union. it's easy to make a difference. just call or go online now and become an aclu guardian of liberty. all it takes is just $19 a month.

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we're back with a potential breakthrough in brain cancer treatment. a new drug that stops some kinds of tumors growing. the new study cut the risk of death by 61%. doctors involved in this trial say nearly half the people involved haven't needed chemotherapy or radiation even after years. the company says it plans to file for approval by next year. a big announcement coming from apple today. the company reportedly set to reveal its most significant product launch in nearly a decade. a virtual reality headset that's

been in development for years. and joining us now is nbc news technology correspondent jake ward. jake, what are the rumors about what this headset is? >> reporter: well, if the rumors are true, in about three hours, tim cook will take the stage and announce what is supposed to be a mixed reality headset. that's one in which you can see through it and see whatever it is that it shows you. anticipation is very hot for what that might be. apple has a long of history of inventing whole categories of interest and the hope seems to be that this headset can get that done. of course, this is going to be a several thousand dollars headset. that's what the rumor is as compared to rival meta whose headset cost a few hundreds of dollars. a fight brewing between those two giants. >> why is apple getting into this business given that meta

has been offering for awhile. >> reporter: the theory seems to be that the company is trying to invent a new category. it invented i tunes and digital music, it invented the app economy, the iphone itself and it still sells 8 out of 10 of the top selling cell phones in the world. but every other category has declined and it seems to be looking for a new hit. the question is, whether this is the market to go for. apple sells about 200 million iphones every year. the total market for headsets, and that includes those made by all companies, is less than 9 million right now. it's not clear that this is a market. but if it becomes one, apple seems to be the leader and establish a new category as they've been known to do in the past. >> would that be in the same category as ai or something different? why would they be investing in virtual reality versus ai?

>> the idea here in theory is that you could experience the world in a whole new way. you could overlay all sorts of displays of information on top of the world that you experience every day. but, of course, it's not at all clear that people really need that. people have talked about the lack of a killer app when it comes to virtual reality and mixed reality. that means something that is invaluable, irreplaceable and daily use. something that we would come back to again and again the same way we're glued to our phones. no one has figured out how to glue us to those headsets. apple is going to perhaps be trying to figure that out. >> we can transport ourselves to other places instead of physically having to be there. thank you for the reporting. that does it for us today. see you back here tomorrow same time, same place. for now i'm ana cabrera and jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >> good morning, it's 11:00 a.m. eastern. i'm jose diaz-balart. new details this morning about a scare in the