>> joe, in our final thoughts, what are you looking at this week? >> our friend chris who was with us is leaving cnn. and i saw a beautiful tweet thread, who talks about how he's never met chris and chris butted heads at cnn, but as kurt said, anybody will tell you. tom brady, anybody that succeeds will tell you that you learn the most when you fail. our friend chris has learned a lot over the past year. he apologized on monday for that. and chris has learned so much. and anybody that bets against him, you're going to lose. chris licht will be back. we're thinking about him today.

>> we are. that does it for us this morning. ana cabrera picks up the coverage now. on this wednesday, thank you so much for joining us. it's 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera. we have breaking news. in the special counsel's investigation into donald trump, just moments ago, nbc news cameras caught a top aid to trump awe arriving at the federal courthouse in miami. the same courthouse where we learned a grand jury will had hear testimony this week. the guy in the tie has been the right-hand man to trump in his post presidency. he runs a superpack and that sighting just after the bomb shell report from "the new york times" about testimony from former chief of staff mark meadows. we're live in miami and d.c. on what all of this could mean. and breaking news out of the vatican this morning. pope francis is expected to undergo surgery and remain

hospitalized for several days. smoke from wildfires lead ing to had hazardous conditions across much of the country. dr. gupta is going to join us with who is at risk and what you can do to protect yourself. let's begin with the breaking news out of it'll. a top aid to donald trump in his post presidency has just entered the federal district courthouse in miami. that's the same courthouse where a grand jury is expected to hear testimony this week in the special counsel's investigation into the former president. our team is in florida and washington. justice correspondent ryan riley is in our newsroom standing pit. i want to start with legal analyst lisa rubin, who is outside that courthouse in miami. what more can you tell us about taylor? >> we knew we could can want a

witness in the grand jury here in miami in the federal courthouse. we got lucky. we witnessed stan woodward walk into the courthouse. then we saw a shorter man by his side, bearded, and he was immediately spotted by our own vaughn hillyard who says that's taylor buttawhich. he's the head of the trump superpac. you might be wondering what is he doing in this investigation as a spokesperson or head of the pac. taylor made a number of statements to the press in connection with the national archives efforts to get documents that president trump had with him returned to the archives and then when that morphed into an fbi investigation, taylor again was making statements on the former president's behalf calling it a witch hunt and it's reporting

that among those documents were those relating to a foreign country's capacities. it remains to be seen how long he will be in the grand jury today, but it's our understanding he's the witness we have been kalt waiting for. >> the grand jury was expected to hear testimony. i wonder because our understanding is that much of the testimony before this was in d.c. was it possible that jack smith is moving venues or more likely it's just for this specific witness or further investigation into a specific event in florida that they are trying to drill down on? >> it remains to be seen. certainly, we had reporting earlier this week from the "wall street journal" that this was just about wrapping up loose ends in the investigation. however, with reporting this morning from the guardian and others, including "the new york times" last night, there are now

multiple witnesses expected to be heard by this grand jury. it's safer to bet that some charges could emanate out of the federal district court in miami. whether those are charges against the formerror president or solely against those in his orbit who helped facilitate the retention and obstruction of the documents in question, also remains to be seen. if i were a betting person, i would say we might see some charges out of this courthouse as well as the one in d.c. >> let's talk more about what we're learning regarding who else has testified. what does it mean for the special counsel investigation to have the testimony from mark meadows and at least 20 secret service agents? >> having the secret service agents is really big because obviously secret service agents follow around the president all day. i don't suspect that anyone would feel comfortable testifying about their activities. this is a pretty universal

access that they have to the intricacies of someone's life. they really just know his patterns and practices and his ways of handling classified information in the past. typically, that's a wall that the secret service holds up pretty strong ily. but here the special counsel has been able to crack that wall and figure out some more broader questions about president trump's habits. with with mark meadows, he's there at those key moments. we heard about some of meadows' activities right before january 6th in the final days of the trump administration. we with heard some of these stories that viewers remember about there being ketchup on the walls. he's also part of this rt effort to use it as a tool. he was sending information to some top officials, some sort of really trash information that was not believable at all about some of these claims of voter

fraud. a lot of information that meadows will have about these key moments in the final days of the trump presidency. that's something that we have seen a lot of him husband messages, but you heard directly that's a vulnerability for the president going forward depending on how his situation shakes out. >> it's a low profile. we know he testified according to "the new york times"s put those things together, his private testimony and his public silence and what he could have provided in this probe. >> reporter: it gave to the "new york times" and said his client has given testimony where he was

legally required to. and what's interesting about that is if mark meadows was neither given immunity or cooperation, he could have gone into the grand jury but he's now told the "new york times" that his client, in fact, testified. unless he's playing cute with his words, that leads me to believe that measuring med does did provide some information to prosecutors here. so that means particularly coupled with his public relative silence, it may mean that mark meadows either has immunity or is cooperating or a combination of the two. >> we'll be watching closely for any new developments, especially now we know this witness is testifying. we have other breaking news this morning. this time out of the vatican. pope francis hospitalized for abdominal surgery. this is just the late nest a

series of health concerns the 86-year-old has been facing recently. joining us from outside the hospital in rome is claudia. and also with us is dr. gupta. what more do we know about the pope's health at this hour. ? >>. >> reporter: the day started fairly normally this morning. the pope was at the vatican attending the events scheduled, including the general audience that he attends every wednesday. he looked perfectly fine. we were all surprised when the vatican issued a statement saying he was going to be taken to the hospital here for surgery. to treat what the vatican said was a persistent, painful and worsening intensal blockage. now this particular surgery is going to involve some kind of

cutting of the ab nominal cavity. it's a kobs kwens of a previous surgery and maybe related to the surgery that the pope had here at hospital. so three years ago. that can be a consequence of that. what we know is that the surgery is going to be done under general anesthesia. always dangerous for an 86-year-old with a medical history like pope francis and it's going to last a few hours and the vatican said that he will have to obviously spend a few days here at the hospital to recover following that surgery. >> so can you explain what this procedure is for? and the risks given the pope's age and his medical history. he was hospitalized a couple months ago for respiratory

issues. he's had knee problems. he had this surgery a couple years ago. how are you looking at this? >> good morning. as was just laid out, in 2021, the hope pope had a left removal of his colon and large intestines. it's resulted in a herb ya after having a major surgical procedure. it's likely where the hernia occurred. what's remaining of the pope's intense tin, part of that protruded out of his ab nominal wall and caused a lot of pain. in terms of what to expect, the pope did have part of his lungs removed when he was young. to your point, he had had pneumonia a few months ago. his risk of tolerating general anesthesia, can somebody be on a ventilator and tolerate surgery n this case, they are not going

to have to do a big incision. hopefully use cameras to remove the impacted part. given the pope's pulmonary history, it's something to look out for. hopefully they take him off the ventilator right after the surgery and he's able to recover quickly, but he's going to require three to five days in the hospital for monotorting. >> that's good information to know. we certainly hope everything goes smoothly. dr. gupta is going to be back with us in a few minutes. thank you so much. we have more breaking news. chris licht is out. cnn is parting ways after just over a year. his tenure included the recent criticism for hosting the trump town hall and a profile in "atlantic" that portrayed him as isolated in the company. cnn's parent company president said he has great respect for licht and announce an interim

team. i previously worked at cnn before coming to msnbc. when we're back, choking on smoke. wildfires in canada impacting millions of people in 18 states with bad air quality. it's so bad it's like smoking cigarettes. plus pence in play. donald trump's number two is now jumping into the 2024 race. but what would it take to beat his old boss? also the florida woman suspected of shooting her neighbor has now been arrested after walking free for days. i'll talk with the attorney representing the family of this woman about the justice they are seeking after her death. and later, backlash to the pga merger. but is the business move just par for the course?

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nearly 100 million people are under air quality alerts a18 states because of all the smoke from the wildfires in eastern canada drifting here in the u.s. a lot of you have probably been dealing with the stench and all these haze us is skies. the yankees playing what looked like an orange sky in the bronx. and the sun an eerie red. experts say people with lung or heart disease as well as the elderly and children should limit their activities outdoors. our correspondent is in new jersey where you can see how hazy the skyline looks. and dr. gupta is back. pz. >> you can see behind me just incredibly hazy skyline. interestingly from where i'm standing right now. typically out of the camera's view, you should be able to make out the george washington bridge.

the plumes of smoke continue it's the worst start to the wildfire season potentially on record. they are facing air quality alerts. and in talking with people as they are heading to work this morning, people are telling me they are feeling the effects of the poor air quality. they have itchy eyes. some people could experience difficulty breathing, especially the vulnerable populations that you mentioned. air quality has continued to be worsened by wildfire smoke. stanford researchers show and say that over the past decade, the number of people who experience at least one day of poor air quality because of wildfire smoke has increased by 27 times over the past decade.

it's something that's raising a lot of alarm, as people continue to watch those numbers and we could see the smoke linger through the end of the week. there are a number of variables that would shape that and change that throughout the week. but also keep in mind when you think about here in the u.s., we're also at a very high risk of wildfire. it could be a one-two punch should we see any flare ups. bl it's so thick and gray that it looks like a fake background. new york and detroit rank second and third among major cities for worst air quality in the world last night. it certainly hasn't got an whole lot better. can can you explain what make this is air particularly dangerous to those with medical conditions? >> thank you for highlighting this. lots there as was just highlighted. for all your viewers, go look at

the air quality. today and all days, whenever you're worried about what the quality might look like. if in terms of what make this is so dangerous, the particles that consist are very small. they can reside and go all the way into the tiniest arteries in your body. they can land in the air sacks of your lungs and cause inflammation. that's the problem here. this is an issue that impacts all of us. but if you're an expectant mom, acute, poe sure to wildfire smoke can result in preterm birth and impact the um mun system. this can impact all of us, something we all need to take seriously. avoid physical exertion outside. this is a time where you want to go to the gym or stay indoors and exercise indoors if you can. filters with a box fan recreate

a hepa filter to take out those particles that can lodge into the deepest parts of the body and cause organ damage. the filters are a great replacement. buy it. if you have air-conditioning, put it on recirculation. avoid that air from coming from the outside and that's going to exacerbate the problem. recirculate the problem. keep your windows closed and the n-95 masks we talked so much about during the pandemic. those still provide some degree of protection against wildfire smoke. surgical masks not so much. >> thank you for those great

opportunities in order to protect ourselves. thank you for joining us, dr. gupta. appreciate it. up next, after putting migrants on planes and attacking donald trump on immigration, ron desantis is going to the border himself. is this plr a political stunt? plus how donald trump's former vice president is looking to stand out from the crowd as he enters the 2024 race. but is the party past pence? is ? (smelling) ew. gotta get rid of this. ♪tell me why♪ because it stinks. ♪tell me why♪ i don't know i've washed it so many times. ♪tell me why♪ no you tell me why i can't get rid of this odor? ♪have you tried downy rinse and refresh♪ it doesn't just cover up odors, it helps remove them 3x better than detergent alone. ♪yeaahh♪ guess the odor went bye bye. no, that's not us. sorry. rinse odor away with downy rinse and refresh. wayfair has nice prices so you can have nice things. hah! kelly clarkson, we have a kid... and harold.

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in just a few hours, one more big name republican will enter the 2024 presidential race. former vice president mike pence is set to mally kick off his bid this afternoon in des moines, iowa. he will be challenging his former boss donald trump, who soured on pence after he refused to block the certification of the election. our team is covering all the 2024 developments. dasha burns is live from iowa. steve kornacki is breaking down the data for us. and olivia troy, former homeland security adviser, is with us as well. dasha, we're waiting this official announce the event in iowa, where you are. but pence is already out with that announcement video. what's his message? >> reporter: there's a reason why pence chose the hawkeye state for his formal announcement today. he believes this state is fertile ground for his faith-based brand of republicanism. today will be a great test for

that. this is going to be an uphill climb for anyone looking to challenge the former president. but particularly, for the man who served alongside him. and i'm going to be looking to see what his message is once he starts really talking to voters here because we already saw florida governor ron desantis sharpen his attacks on the formerer president once he jumped into the race. he's hedged his words when it comes to his former boss, especially on january 6th. that's his biggest contrast. a lot of voters have been angered by pence's actions on that day. he did talk to us briefly about that day in an interview with him we did a couple weeks ago. take a listen to what he told me. >> we can turn this country around. different times call for different leadership.

today our party and our country need a leader to appeal as lincoln said to the better angels of our nature. >> reporter: that was clearly a sound byte from his ad and not our interview. in our interview, he did talk about january 6th being a day where trump's words were dangerous for himself and his family, but he did question the legal aspects of actually whether or not he did anything wrong there. today is the big day for the former vice president, but he's not alone. the north dakota governor is announcing today. chris christie announcing last night and taking trump head on. so three presidential bids in one week. potentially more coming here. >> pence is unique because he's a former vp. now he's running against the former president he served

alongside. is there historical context? >> we had to dust off some history books to find some a parallels here for the president and vice president ending up facing off against each other. three examples. you have to go back to 1800. thomas jefferson, the vice president, unseated the president john adams. this was a forced marriage. they ran against each other. jefferson came in second. second place and became the vp. jefferson unseated adams. 1844, former president martin van buren sought the nomination against his vice president richard mentor johnson. neither one of them won that year. and the only other comparison, we're going back here more than 80 years, fdr seeking a third term in 1940. john nance garner challenged him and lost at the democratic national convention. otherwise, no prosecutes dent. this race shapes up here.

we know we talk about this starts out with the big lead over everybody. ron desantis, the only other one in double digits. there's mike pence, trump's former vice president at 3%. you heard them say iowa is going to be such a big focus because of his faith-based message and his ties to evangelical christians. take a look at iowa. this is the favorable and unfavorable for the candidates too. this is where pence starts out. just take a look at iowa. if there's a theory, it's that iowa has been very favorable to evangelical christian candidates. in the iowa caucuses in 2016, 64% of the electorate, two-thirds of the republican voters, identified as evangelical christians. ted cruz won the state in 2016. rick santorum won it in 2012. mike huk bee won it in 2008.

the deepest ties to evangelical christians have been winning iowa. the problem for all of them has been when you get out of iowa, you go to h1n1 is the polar opposite. only 25% of the electorate there is evangelical christian. none have been able to follow up an iowa win with a new hampshire iowa. pence launching in iowa. if there's a theory, the ties to evangelical christian voters could get him traction in iowa and the question for trump is trump struggled with evangelical christians in 2016. has he in the years since cemented a bond with them that will make it impossible for pence and others. >> so interesting. thank you for all of that. olivia, you worked with the former vice president when he was in the white house. all kinds of controversies. pence stayed loyal. he stayed by the former president's side, including through charlottesville, the travel ban, trumps's defense of

putin, et cetera. are you surprised he's decided to take on trump now? >> i'm actually not surprised. i think that a pence run for the presidency is something he's a long time waited andmented. away will be interesting is i saw pence take on trump very privately on issues that mattered to him, i witnessed that, and i was grateful for it at times,s personally on matters of iran and the national security especially, it will be interesting to see if he's willing too take on trump publicly, which he has failed to do. now is the time to do that. chris christie is a bull in the china shop calling trump out. if pence wants to gain traction, he's going to have to explain a lot of these policies that he was a part of. he's going to have to differentuate himself on how he's different than trump. and that's going to be hard for him. he's not traditionally a man

that engauges in confrontation. >> a lot of people would wonder if he has the spine to stick his neck out there. there were questions about why is he just standing silent during some of those moments in the trump presidency. >> something that frustrated me. i wanted him to take a stand after january 6th and to start speaking the truth about what trump is and how dangerous he is. interesting he continued to tow the line. pence is a traditional conservative. he's a man of faith. i saw his faith guide, a lot of his decisions, he's pro military, he's pro law enforcement, he's military members in his family. the question is the party going to welcome that message. i'm not sure that it is. it may work in iowa, but it needs to broaden from the evangelical following that he

has, he has that base already. but is he going to be able to appeal to others that will look at him and say, we sort of have the baggage of donald trump that colts with you that others don't. then he's going to have the trump supporters, who hate him. they think of him as a traitor. mike pence, me and dr. fauci will be in guantanamo when trump comes back into office. they don't differentiate between anybody. they lump pence with traitors because he refused to go along with their lies. that's going to be a challenge thing for him to kind of figure out along the way. >> it's yet to be determined what group really loves pence. as you point out, he's in between these two groups, neither of whom like what they have seen. thank you so much. really appreciate your perspective, your great insights and thank you for bringing us the latest from iowa as we anticipate this big event announcement today. another man hoping to be president is planning a surprise visit to the southern border

this afternoon. ron desantis will thrust himself into the immigration debate by visiting the crucial swing state of arizona. it comes as governor gavin newsom is accusing them of committing crimes by seconding migrants from florida to california. joining us now from arizona is national correspondent gabe gutierrez. what more can we expect from his visit there today? >> reporter: good morning. this is governor ron desantis's first visit to the southern border as a presidential candidate. he's set to meet with the local sheriff here, who has been a very outspoken krit you can of the biden administration when it comes to immigration. but this is being billed as an official state visit, not a campaign event. there will be several florida officials, including a few local sheriffs, that are also coming on this visit. we expect a roundtable with

local law enforcement officials here in arizona in the next few hours. as mentioned, this all comes amid a swirling controversy over the two migrant flights that went to sacramento within the past week. just yesterday we learned from a spokesperson for the florida division of emergency management, who released videos and stills of what appear to show migrants going willingly to california. but governor newsom and other california officials have been blasting the desantis administration. they are investigating to see if any criminal laws were broken. and governor newsom has been going after desantis calling him small and weak and pathetic when it comes to this issue and accusing him of using human beings, migrants as political pawns. but again, that all comes as the governor trying to stake out a position further to the right of former president trump on illegal immigration. the trump campaign has been pushing back on that narrative

and pointing out that until recently, notably in 2021, governor desantis backed trump's policies on immigration. so this is all set to come to ahead later today as the governor is expected to come here to arizona making his first official visit to the border as a presidential candidate. he's then set to go to texas for some fundraisers throughout the rest of the week. >> gabe gutierrez in arizona for us, thank you. up next, an arrest in the shooting of florida mom a.j. owens. i'll talk with benjamin crump about the legal road ahead. alk about the legal road ahead fs to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have

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we're following the breaking news out of virginia this morning. a suspect arraigned today in a deadly shooting just after a high school graduation ceremony yesterday.

on the campus of virginia commonwealth university. seven people shot, two killed, a new graduate and his stepfather. the headline of the local paper there bearing this message. just stop. police now saying the shooting was targeted. in florida, the woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor on friday is now under arrest. police say a 58-year-old is facing multiple charges, including manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence and battery. this arrest comes four days after he allegedly shot a mom through the front door of her house in front of owens' young son. joining us now is the mother of a.j. owens and civil rights attorney ben crump, who is representing the family. thank you both so much for taking the time. how are you doing? how are her kids doing?

>> as you can imagine, this has been very tough and difficult on the kids. it's affected the kids. they experienced the death of their mother. two boys witnessed it. the toddler doesn't know why his mother hasn't been present. he can't express his hurt and pain, but we see it. he can express it in words, but he expressed it in his actions. . the kids it's unimaginable that four young kids have to endure this. >> for you to have to endure this too. i know you would never expect as mom to have to lay your own child to rest. i'm so sorry for the circumstances that we're talking

in the situation you're in. i know you and others have been calling for an arrest for justice in her death. this shooting happened on june 2nd. police made an arrest just yesterday, four days after the shooting. what's your reaction? >> i'm elated that there was an arrest. it's disappointing that it took so long to happen. my daughter was shot behind a locked door. she posed no threat to susan. it was a senseless act that didn't have to happen. i am left to care for three precious grand babies because their mother was taken away from them. as a senseless act. it's devastating.

it's heartbreaking. as a mother, as a grandmother, the grief, the pain that i'm bearing watching my grand children go through this, words can never, never explain how feel and how my babies feel, how a.j.'s babies feel. >> ufs looking at the police report and the sheriffs office is saying they have been conducting interview, including with owens' children. they have been reviewing forensic evidence, surveillance footage. they wanted to have all the facts before making an arrest. that's why they are saying it took a few days. does that give you to see. >> this is only the first step who are grateful to all of the

activists and the community support that said we want swift justice because we know had the roles been reversed that there would have been an arrest on that first moment had a black woman shot through the door, we can't send this message out to america that it's okay to shoot black people for knocking on doors and ringing doorbells like what happened to the 17-year-old in kansas city, who we represent. sos that step towards justice. it's really about letting these beautiful young children who lost their mother know that the law has said it was not their fault. you can imagine how confused they are. the others in the family were sharing with our legal team how they felt bad about even telling

his mother about the ipad now because husband mother is gone. and they should not have that giltd or feel any real responsibility for a person committing a senseless act that prevents her from being arrested immediately. >> based on the investigation, the sheriffs office is saying that this all started with the children playing in a field nearby the property, she didn't like that. and wanted them to go away. she threw roller skate at them, hitting one of the boys. when they tried to go up and talk to her, she tried or swung an umbrella at a couple of the children. that was before a.j. owens went to the door to speak to the woman hes. plisz say there's been some sort of tension prior to this

incident and the suspect told police that owens had come after her in the past and previously attacked her. that's what she's claiming. she's also claiming self-defense in this had shooting. florida has a stand your ground law. how big of a challenge could that pose for the prosecution? >> certainly, we know it's going to be raised because in the state of florida, the stand your ground is such a prevalent legal factor in every killing or every shooting case. however, the prosecutor has to look at the plethora of witnesses that lived in that apartment that continue to say that this woman was a menace to the neighborhood. especially not just a.j.'s children, but all the children calling them racial, calling them the n word, calling them profane names, saying that this is not the underground railroad.

so they need to look at all of that to see if there were any racial an mouse involved in the shooting of a.j., black woman who simple knocked at the door, four times, five times and said i know you hear me and shot through the door. no justification. >> ben crump thank you for joining us. pamela, thank you so much for being here and taking the time. i'm so sorry for your loss. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, a race to rescue. more ukrainians from flooding after the destruction of a critical dam. the latest from the region as those waters rise. the latest from the region as those warste rise.

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kherson as a wall of water threatens thousands of people. russia blamed ukraine for the dam's destruction, but ukraine and western intelligence agencies placed the blame squarely on russia. joining us now from kyiv is nbc news correspondent molly hunter. molly, so how is the country trying to contain the damage, while also continuing the war effort? >> yeah, ana, very limited resources do both of those. and just to follow up on your last point about the frustration, it is interesting because we're in kyiv. ukrainian officials are getting really publicly frustrated with their american allies, they're not coming out publicly and blaming russia. but i want to bring you up to date about what is happening with those evacuations. we now understand that 2,000 people have been evacuated and i've got some new numbers, 29 villages, 19 open the western bank and 10 under russian occupation are completely flooded. we have more here. take a look. this morning the water is still rising, rushing through the growing hole in the dam.

the explosion destroying the dam on the southern front line, flooding villages in kherson already ravaged by this war. two u.s. officials and one western official telling nbc news the u.s. has intelligence that is leaning toward russia being the perpetrator of yesterday's attack, but no final conclusion. this morning, rescuers working to evacuate ukrainian civilians in the kherson region, more than 1500 people have been taken to safety. getting out any way they can, amid continued rush shelling. i was hoping i could stay here, svetlana says, but then the water began to run with such force. tens of thousands in some 80 villages are affected, seen in new satellite photos, the devastation area is growing. nearly 2,000 buildings have been flooded on the west bank of the river, a roof of a house seen floating by. just 100 miles upriver from the dam, the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the nuclear energy chief telling nbc news that for

now there is enough water in the cooling pools, but russian occupation of the plant means nothing is safe. >> there is no immediate threat really in that. and the level is normal. this is my biggest concern. >> reporter: kyiv is pointing the finger directly at moscow. >> russia's deliberate and long planned terrorist act turned the man made flood into a weapon. >> reporter: and denying responsibility, then accusing ukraine. the catastrophic situation unfolding as ukraine preps its long awaited counteroffensive. and overnight, president zelenskyy saying the dam detonation does not hinder their plans to deoccupy ukrainian territories. the water levels are still rising. ukrainian officials say they expect over the next day that water to rise about three feet and then stay at that level for the next four or five days. that makes water rescues and any kind of evacuation to higher ground really, really

challenging when you look at the pictures and see how high that water level is. ana? >> so high already. molly hunter, thank you very much. up next, the golf world shake-up that is raising questions about morals and money. nd a money. [stomach growling] it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourists taking photos that are analyzed by ai. so researchers can help life underwater flourish. ♪ type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 sin the ozempic® tri-zone.fe underwater flourish. ♪ (oh, oh, oh, ozempic®!) ♪ in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction.

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with comcast business, advanced security isn't just possible. it's happening. get started with fast speeds and advanced security for $49.99 a month for 12 months. plus ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card with qualifying internet. a truce in one of the biggest sports feuds in decades. the pga and its saudi-backed rival liv golf have agreed to combine leagues. but this deal is creating new controversy. nbc news contributing correspondent kaylee hartung has the details. >> well, the golf world is still trying to wrap its mind around the ramifications of this proposed merger. the news came as a massive surprise, even to top players on the pga tour, some who sacrificed hundreds of millions of dollars reportedly offered by the liv tour. this deal may be a big win for golf fans who want to see the

best players compete against each other, but at what cost to the sport? duelling tours have driven a wedge in the professional golf world. and now an aboutface by the pga, striking a surprising partnership with its biggest rival. >> what we're talking about today is coming together to unify the game of golf. >> reporter: the pga tour announcing it will merge commercial operations with liv golf, and the saudi arabia public investment fund, which is controlled by the saudi crown prince. the new for profit entity, yet to be named, will also include the pga european tour, reshaping the golf landscape on the heels of the saudi-backed liv tour, upending it. >> we would be investing in the golf in the game of golf. >> reporter: as the news first broke on cnbc, shock reverberated on social media. even pga tour golfers were blind sided while liv tour numbers celebrated an apparent victory. phil mickelson who joined the liv tour last year for a reported $200 million tweeting,

awesome day today. critics have accused liv of sportswashing, using the league to distract from saudi arabia's history of human rights violations. just last year, pga commissioner jay monahan addressed the implications of doing business with the saudis. >> and i would ask, you know, any player that has left or any player that would ever consider leaving, have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the pga tour? >> reporter: hours after the announcement, defending his reversal. >> i recognize the people are going to call me a hypocrite, and anytime i've said anything, i said it with the information i had at that moment. >> reporter: as the pga banned liv golfers from playing in their events, other golfers turned down the lucrative offers, reportedly in the hundreds of millions. the pga and liv filed competing lawsuits and rory mcilroy became the most vocal loyalist to the pga. >> my opinion is they shouldn't be here.

they have been paid a lot of money to go play on a different tour that is trying to buy the professional game of golf. >> reporter: there is a lot still to be decided following this announcement, like, what is the path back to pga events for players currently playing on the liv tour? ahead of the canadian open in toronto, the commissioner met with players there, he admitted it was an intense meeting, heated, but as monahan told cnbc, it is less about how people respond today, it is all about how people respond in ten years and he believes this is what's best for the growth of the game globally. back to you. >> kaylee hartung, thank you. that's going to do it for us today. thank you so much for joining us. we'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. until then, reporting from new york, i'm ana cabrera. our coverage continues with jose diaz-balart right now. and good morning. it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. we're following several breaking stories this morning. nbc news just