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being with us. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we are following breaking news this morning. charges have just been filed against hunter biden, the son of the sitting president has agreed to a plea deal for two tax misdemeanors and a separate gun possession charge that will likely be dismissed. we'll have more on the latest in just a moment, including new reaction from the white house. plus, more breaking news, save the date for the start of donald trump's federal trial. august 14th, this year, as in less than a couple of months from now for that classified documents trial to start. also ahead, the race against time to find a submersible lost in the middle of the atlantic ocean. five people set out to the wreckage of the "titanic" deep underwater, but according to the coast guard, there is only enough oxygen in the vehicle to last to until thursday. what we know about who is on board and the search efforts currently under way. we begin with hunter biden who is expected to plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his

taxes and one separate gun possession charge according to court documents just filed this morning. i want to bring in nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian, ali vitali and carol lam, an msnbc legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. ken, walk us through these charges filed here. what is hunter biden facing? >> reporter: good morning, ana. well, er biden is admitting to crimes, but misdemeanors. the specific -- they're called -- it is the criminal information that describes the charges, it doesn't specify exactly how much tax mr. biden is alleged to have evaded, but says he earned more than $1.5 million in each of those years, and was required to pay more than $100,000 in each of those years and did not pay. it has been reported that he repaid more than $1 million in a tax bill while this five-year

investigation was ongoing, he's also agreed to admit the facts of possessing a gun when he wasn't supposed to possess one because he was addicted to drugs at the time. he lied on the form. he's admitting to the facts of the charge but will enter a pretrial adjudication program so it won't go on his record. the upside here is that he's expected to receive probation as part of this plea deal, no jail time, he'll have to come to this courthouse behind me at some point and surrender, be processed by the federal marshals. but a significant victory for mr. biden because nbc news reported that there were -- there was at least one felony tax charge under consideration by the justice department, that hasn't been filed. and the doj was also looking very closely at mr. biden's foreign business entanglements and whether he represented foreign interests in the united states. there were no charges of any kind, no wrongdoing found by this u.s. attorney appointed by donald trump in those matters.

and just to be very clear, we're already seeing criticism from donald trump and others that this is the biden justice department cutting a sweetheart deal with the president's son. this investigation was run by the trump-appointed u.s. attorney in delaware, who is treated like an independent counsel, no involvement from -- by the attorney general merrick garland or senior officials in the justice department other than career tax lawyers who have to be involved in any tax-related case. but that's the bottom line here. hunter biden agreeing to plead guilty to misdemeanors that should result in no jail time, ana. >> carol, this investigation has gone on for years since 2018. what is your reaction to how this ended? >> i don't have a particularly strong reaction to the way it ended. these tax counts, especially when they're sort of standing by themselves and they're not attached to something larger, a larger case, often do end up with this kind of relatively technical resolution. and that's probably largely

because hunter biden appears to have paid back all or most of the tax deficiency here. that often is the case. what i'm going to be very interested in seeing is what the release is, you know. is this really the end of the road, is this really the end of the -- of any investigation of hunter biden. my guess is it probably is because usually -- usually all charges are brought at the same time or resolution is probably done at the same time. >> kelly o'donnell is standing by at the white house. i understand you just got a statement from the white house. this is president biden's son, we're talking about. what is the president saying? >> reporter: well this is a statement from the white house spokesman who handles these sorts of matters, investigations and so forth. and what they're saying is that the president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. we will have no further comment. now, let's put that in context.

to know joe biden as president, as a person in public life, his family is one of the most animating parts of who he is. and so this is deeply personal. the president has spoken in the past about his son hunter's path through addiction and recovery. hunter biden's lawyer also acknowledged that in a statement that hunter biden believes it is important for him to take responsibility as he continues to work through recovery, which people who understand addiction as a disease knows that -- knows that is a long-term lifetime situation. and so from the white house, what has made this politically so difficult is for all the obvious reasons the president himself is being investigated by a special counsel for the documents matter involving records from his vice presidential years that were discovered, there has been this five-year investigation of his son. and, of course, we're in a political season. so we know that republicans, those on capitol hill, who have

some authority through oversight, to investigate, are certainly talking about issues related to hunter biden and in the larger political realm hunter biden has been one of those volatile figures that is used against the president, against the administration, and as a very motivating force in politics. so that makes this a very complicated situation when you're talking about a son, a family member. so here at the white house, we do not expect to have any further discussion of this. often in briefings when we would ask about iterations of the investigation or issues related to hunter biden, the white house would direct us to his private counsel. they're trying to separate this and so this statement where basically the active word there is love, that is the sphere in which they want this to exist, that this is obviously a public matter, it is one for the criminal justice system, as

resolution is taking place on these matters. it has a political realm, but for them, it is personal. and so expect that the white house will not talk about this further. the president is traveling on the west coast, no doubt he will be asked about this when he is in the company of the press pool traveling with him. we'll see if he wants to add anything further and more personally about his son. he often speaks of his late son, beau biden, served in the -- in iraq as a member of the national guard, a major in the army national guard, and so there has always been a lot of weight on this family about loss, about challenges, about family dynamics that have been certainly very difficult. american families can understand that. this takes it to a much bigger and more public level. >> and so, carol, just to reinforce what we heard from ken a couple of sources familiar with the agreement here tell nbc news that these charges include a provision in which the u.s.

attorney involved in this case has agreed to recommend just probation for biden for his tax violations specifically. we're just getting word from donald trump, calling this basically akin to a traffic ticket. how serious are the charges? would they normally end up with jail time? >> it is really hard to say. as i mentioned before, often tax charges are brought in conjunction with some kind of larger case. and in that case, the tax charges are maybe evidence of some kind of hiding of the -- of an underlying fraud in which case there might be a larger sentence attached to them. when you've got a misdemeanor as these are two misdemeanors he would be pleading guilty to, by definition, the maximum penalty would be 12 months per count and they would likely be lumped together. so it was never going to be if a felony was not brought, it was never going to be more than 12 months, but in this case, where

it is really the conduct after the investigation starts, afterwards, that begins to influence what the ultimate sentence may be. if it is a completely cooperative target of the investigation, they have a little bit more ability to negotiate something lighter in terms of sentence. and i think in this case, given the fact that he apparently had drug addiction issues, and that apparently also influenced the gun charge, that is likely what led to this kind of plea agreement. >> and we do know that he did pay the taxes ultimately that they're claiming he failed to pay in bringing these charges. he paid them back, they were for 2017 and 2018. he paid them back last year is our understanding. i want to bring in former manhattan district attorney catherine christian as well. catherine, this case has been handled by a trump appointed prosecutor in delaware, opened

in 2018, during the trump administration. what do you make of the timing? >> well, the -- i want to reiterate what carol said, these are not traffic tickets. these are misdemeanors. misdemeanors are crimes. mr. hunter biden will now have a criminal record. and it will state he pled guilty to willful failure to pay federal income taxes and the most you can get a year. and because he paid it back, that's probably why he was allowed to plea to the misdemeanors, not traffic infractions. in terms of the gun charge, he's not being charged, he's not pleading guilty to shooting the gun, to pointing the gun. it is a specific charge that he possessed a gun and he was someone who had an addiction to a controlled substance, which is why i believe he's being allowed to get into a pretrial diversion program. which is essentially alternative to incarceration and if he successfully completes that program, the charges are dismissed. in terms of the timing, you

know, you know, people can say it is a coincidence or timed to be done -- to coincide with mr. trump's indictment. i don't know. i think they were negotiating and they finally came to an agreement and mr. hunter biden agreed now to plead guilty. but these are not traffic infractions. >> ali, up until now republicans had just been hammering the doj for not bringing charges on hunter biden. so what kind of reaction are you hearing there on the hill? >> reporter: we heard a lot of conversation on capitol hill and the aftermath of the second trump indictment that there is a two-tiered system of justice, many of the republicans that i've been talking to in the halls pushing towards instead of talking about trump, talking about hunter biden, talking about president biden despite the fact that president biden's situation with the documents is so different than former president trump's. but what we're seeing happening online and lawmakers won't be back in this building for a few hours, but our capitol hill team here is scouring twitter and the other forums that we get these kinds of statements from and what we're starting to see is

from most republicans who have been pushing for something to happen with hunter biden, this isn't good enough. as i look at the importances we have seen, we see people like senator rick scott saying this is a mere slap on the wrist and a mockery of the legal system. others are saying that this is nothing because hunter biden is not going to -- is not having any jail time. and that he was able to do this plea deal. they're saying that that's something that the former president himself was not able to do and so even though there are now currently some conclusion to the hunter biden investigation from the doj, for most of the republicans that we're hearing from now, this isn't good enough and certainly gives them more to hammer home and continue beating the drum on an unequal system of justice that they see happening here, allowing them to continue muddying the waters with what is happening with the former president, and now president biden's family. again, they're coming back to town today, so i'm sure we'll hear more, but what we saw i think in the aftermath of the

trump indictment were pretty different reactions between house republicans and senate republicans. so far the republicans on the senate side who were immediately on defense for the former president are the ones that are being vocal right now. i think the people that i'm really looking to see what they say are senate republican leadership, people like senator mitch mcconnell, senator john thune, who were serious and sober in their consideration of trump's second indictment here. mcconnell saying he didn't want to weigh in, thune making clear he had endorsed someone else in the 2024 republican presidential primary. but their reactions will be instructive in the ways in which this is going to be treated differently by republican lawmakers here in washington who have been using hunter biden as a sort of boogie man both on the campaign trail and here in washington to bolster their talking point that the doj is somehow political in nature. >> and, it seems like they continue to ignore that this is a decision coming from u.s. attorney david wise, who was nominated and ultimately, you know, got the job as a u.s.

attorney back in 2018. he's the one who has carried this case through to this resolution. so, catherine, we're also reading into, i think, this resolution that there seems to be a suggestion that prosecutors did not find cause to file charges related to hunter biden's dealings with foreign entities or other kind of wrongdoing. what do you think that should mean for the republican-led allegations that hunter engaged in criminal conduct with foreign adversaries? does this change anything on that front? >> well, we'll just say, a-ha, to the two-tiered system of justice or maybe that investigation is not concluded. i tend to think that it is. that's why we now have this plea agreement. but, you know, maybe there was no there there as you said, this u.s. attorney was appointed by president trump, then president trump, and also we should make clear hunter biden is not an elected official. he's someone's son. so, this is not, you know, the equivalent of a president or a former president of the united

states. this is someone who didn't pay his taxes and now he has -- he's going to be stuck with these two criminal convictions on his record, he had a gun when he knew he was addicted to a controlled substance and so now he has to go through a diversion program. so, i don't think it is accurate to call it a slap on the wrist. these are serious charges that he's now pleading guilty to. he's not, as i said, you can't compare him to an elected official. >> ken, i understand we just got a formal press release from the department of justice. what does it say? >> reporter: it says essentially everything you would expect it to say, we already have been talking about, there is one significant line, though, that stood out to me, it says the investigation is ongoing. now, i'm not sure exactly that that means. sometimes that's a pro forma statement, the investigation is never closed until there is a disposition in court, but i think we need to do some reporting to find out whether in fact there is a real continued investigation into other matters

we have been discussing or whether that's just a pro forma technical statement. but it is in there. other than that, it is just a restatement of the -- what the criminal information is going to say, the two charges. it points out the maximum penalty in each of the tax charges as carol and others have been discussing is 12 months and essentially restating the technicaliies here. we need to get to the bottom of the investigation being ongoing, ana. >> this is an attorney that president biden allowed to stay on the case in order to try to remove any questions about the justice department's independence here, right? >> reporter: yes, and the president wants to reiterate publicly and has done so even as recently as just the eve of the trump indictment that he does not take any action, does not direct or request or ask not to do something at the department of justice. senior officials here at the white house have certainly told me and other reporters that at critical junctures that we have

seen, whether involving the former president, or in this matter that they don't get a heads up here in the official channels. certainly hunter biden's counsel has been working with the department of justice and the news that ken just brought us about the investigation being ongoing, that raises an interesting question because in the attorney for hunter biden's statement, he says the five -- it is his understanding that the five-year investigation of hunter biden is resolved. and often, and i'll defer to the lawyers on the panel here, people don't enter a plea until they have some assurance that the matter is closed because any leverage you would have, any options to consider, do you want a jury trial, do you want to go forward? there is a range of choices that someone who is in legal jeopardy has to weigh and consider. and so getting to the point where he is now going to have a criminal record, where that will always be a part of his identity, it will certainly affect his opportunity to

conduct business going forward and his reputation and all of those things, having resolution is usually something the person who is entering a plea would want to have. his attorney is saying that is their understanding. and so, of course, in the universe of the department of justice, if other information becomes available, they, of course, would pursue that. it is an interesting thing that ken raises that we have in one public forum investigation ongoing and in the realm of the spokesperson, the attorney making the public statement on behalf of hunter biden, their point is it is now resolved. so that is certainly worth further examination by reporters who work this today. >> no doubt about it. and the reaction continues to come in on capitol hill. i want to go back to ali vitali. the oversight committee, again, led by house republicans, is saying their investigation isn't over. what are you hearing from james comer? >> reporter: yeah, and comer has been one of the leading voices on this, trying to use the power

of the gavel once republicans got the majority to make inquiries into hunter biden. he's held several press events around this, not producing any tangible evidence, but instead continuing to just say that they will go where the investigation leads, and that is effectively what he's saying again, reiterating that now in a statement saying let's be clear, these are comer's words, the doj's charges against biden's son hunter reveal a two-tiered system of justice. he goes on to say biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist. he goes on to say that this is a sweetheart plea deal in the same way we have been talking about that being one of the things that political opponents will leverage against this current decision. and then comer finishes to say we will not rest until the full extent of biden's involvement in the schemes are revealed. again, i think it is really important to note that comer has embarked on this investigation from the very moment that the committees were able to be formed here at the end of

january. he has yet to produce anything tangible. and yet he's still continuing to push this idea that there could be something there. i think the other important thing to note is that when comer has been pressed on the things that former president trump's children have done, deals that they have done, for example, with saudi arabia, deals that jared kushner has done, that comer has sidestepped that and not been interested in going down a line of inquiry or investigation into those. so certainly it allows democrats and others to say he's politically leaning in the way that he's using the gavel on the oversight committee, but certainly this is also something i think that is going to come up because you have john durham, one of the prosecutors who was leading an inquiry for several years, into the way that the fbi conducted investigations of former president donald trump and potential collusion with russia. durham is supposed to be up here on the hill today for a closed door meeting. tomorrow for an open testimony in front of the judiciary committee. that committee, another one of the ones led by a trump ally,

jim jordan, also leading the charge on investigations into biden and into his son hunter, this is certainly something that was already going to be an issue this week. now, though, republicans actually have the information at hand of what this plea deal could look like, the fact the department of justice could be saying that the investigation is ongoing, the fact that hunter biden's attorney is saying this plea deal makes it a closed matter, certainly that's something that i would expect them to seize on when they come back to town in just a few hours. but as we question whether the investigation is open or closed from a doj perspective, certainly it is an open investigation that republicans i think will continue to exploit here on capitol hill. not just as an example of something that they were already investigating, but as an example of something that they want to use to muddy the waters around the former president. >> right. and there is more to talk about on that latter point in a moment. ali vitali, karen lam, ken dilanian, kelly o'donnell, thank you, all. we're coming back in 60 seconds. donald trump is sounding off on

his handling of classified materials in a new tv interview as we learn a new trial date has been set in that case. plus, no relief. communities from texas to mississippi battered by tornadoes. could be facing more today. also, buckle up, could we be in for a rare june hurricane in a matter of days? we'll talk about that. later, i'll talk to a retired submarine captain about that missing submersible, that craft that is explore, the "titanic" wreckage, the search that is now a race against time. "titanic" wreckage, the search that is now a race against time. (vo) this is sadie, she's on verizon. the network she can count on. and now she has myplan, the game-changing new plan that lets her get exactly what she wants and save on every perk. sadie is moving to the big city and making moves on her plan, too. apple one, on. now she's got plenty of entertainment for the whole ride. finally there! hot spot, on. and she's fully connected before her internet is even installed. (sadie) hi, mom! (mom) how's the apartment? (vo) introducing myplan. get exactly what you want, only pay for what you need. act now and get it for $25 when you bring your phones.

it's your verizon. (smelling) ew. gotta get rid of this. ♪tell me why♪ because it stinks. ♪have you tried downy rinse and refresh♪ it helps remove odors 3x better than detergent alone. it worked guys! ♪yeahhhh♪ downy rinse and refresh. the subway series is taking your favorites to the next level. hold on, chuck! you can't beat the italian bmt. uh you can with double cheese and mvp vinaigrette. double cheese?!? yes and yes! man, you crazy. try the refreshed favorites at subway today. we're back with breaking news on donald trump's federal trial. aileen cannon setting a tentative trial date of august 14th, right in the middle of primary campaigning. keep in mind, the state is flexible. it is likely to change. but let's discuss this and more now with nbc news justice correspondent ryan reilly, also back with us, catherine

christian, former assistant manhattan district attorney, and msnbc legal analyst and former fbi special agent clint watts. ryan, tell us more. what do we know about this trial's start date and what is supposed to happen between now and then? >> subject to change, it is an indication that they're putting -- they're willing to put the foot on the gas a little bit here in terms of this trial trajectory, that donald trump, if he wants to go to trial, if he wants to have this heard in open court, he can do so very quickly. i expect, you know, any delays that are going to be a result of what donald trump wants to do because we have seen an indication from the special -- from jack smith's office, they're ready to go to trial on this. they brought this case because they are ready to go. they are, i think, prepared if they want to move forward. i think what is going to end up happening, though, is donald trump is going to say, well, pump the brakes here, i got a lot of stuff going on. he's got another trial happening, scheduled for early next year. there is this pending

investigation regarding the peaceful transfer of power on january 6th that we're still waiting on a decision from a federal grand jury there. there is another potential charge coming out of georgia. he's had a very busy court calendar and very full docket coming up potentially over the next coming months. especially with the sort of -- the shake-ups on his legal team. i would expect that we're not going to see a trial date in florida in august, which i'm sure will be a relief to all reporters who have to cover such a trial in august in florida. but we could seeing some coming up shortly here and that's an indication they are willing to move forward if donald trump wishes to do so. >> catherine, i checked the date it is officially june 20th today. we're talking august 14th, less than two months from now. are you surprised this date is the marker, this judge has put on the calendar, and what does it say about judge cannon, who a lot of people have questioned handling this case? >> well, i was -- reading my mind. for people who had a concern that judge cannon would be the

cause of delay in this case, this was her statement right out of the box. it is not going to be me. you people be here, you get your motions in the middle of july, you show up on august 8th for a preconference appearance, and then on august 14th, or a date soon after we're going to start it. it is called the rocket option. the court saying i'm going to have an expedited trial schedule. i do not believe the special counsel will be able to start trial in august. i think if it is all humanly possible for them to start a trial, soon thereafter august, they will. they will be the one who will be pushing it forward and then we'll see how much delay that the defense will try to have. as a practicing attorney, someone who tied cases before judges, when a case is delayed, it is the fault of the judge because the judge determines whether or not they would allow motion after motion after motion. the judge controls her courtroom. so, this judge, right out of the

bat says we're starting, it is an indication that maybe people were concerned should not be so concerned. >> and, she also set a date for all pretrial motions to be in to her. she put that date at july 24th. just about a month from now. let me pivot to the interview we're hearing from donald trump, it was his first interview on fox since his court appearance, and when he made his not guilty plea following the federal indictment. here's what he told fox last night. >> why not just hand them over them? >> i have boxes, i want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. i don't want to hand that over. i was very busy as you've seen. before i send boxes over, i have to take all my things out. these boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things. golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes, there were many things. i would say -- much -- everything was declassified.

>> clint, we're talking national security secrets that trump didn't hand over. why? because he says they were mixed in with a bunch of his personal belongings, golf shirts, clothes, others, shoes, he says. and so i wonder how problematic is that from a national security perspective? >> yeah, definitely didn't make you think those are preserved properly if you're not sure if it is golf pants or a classified document. and hats off to brett bear for being specific in terms of what was there and challenging him on that. the point of the entire indictment, that documents, several elements came up there. documents were taken. documents were highly classified. documents were asked for and not returned. and then, you know, the former president basically -- might have been mixed in with my personal belongings doesn't really improve his case whatsoever. so i just think it shows how reckless and dangerous this is. the other part that was interesting from that interview,

brett bear specifically asked, do you have these documents out there? it says here in the indictment, it read from the indictment, the problem for the former president is there were witnesses in the room. so they're going to be able to speak to what the president was actually holding during that recording. i think it is just a really difficult thing to understand about why the former president would make these comments or take this interview. the fact of the matter is there was highly classified documents that were laying in the shower, being flashed and waved in front of other people, and it is absolutely out of line and that's why when we're talking about acceleration of this case, maybe occurring in august, yeah, to some degree it might be really fast, but from the prosecution standpoint, their evidence is really solid. >> catherine, could the comments we heard from trump in this interview incriminate him further? could they be used against him, those words? >> you better believe it. i call this his confession tour. every time he speaks publicly, he has an incriminating statement or he has a statement

that contradicts a past statement. there is a stop phrase that prosecutors use in their summations when they have a defendant like that, that he admitted what he couldn't deny, and he denied what he couldn't admit. some of his statements are -- don't make any sense. you also, trial lawyers will tell a jury, jury, use your common sense. he admitted that tape basically is accurate of him and his golf club talking about, you know, something that he could have declassified but didn't and he tells brett bear, oh, he wasn't talking about a document, he was talking about a newspaper article. that doesn't make any sense. why would he be referring to a newspaper article as something that is secret. and that he could have declassified, but couldn't? so that's also one of the things that you're going to say to the jury, use your common sense. this was not a newspaper article. and as they're going to be witnesses who were there. there are at least four people according to the indictment that were in that setting when he

waved around either a top secret document or in his words yesterday, a newspaper article. so we'll get clarity on that. >> i want to thank clint watts, he has to jump off here. i want to come back to the other breaking story we're following this morning, this plea deal with hunter biden, that he reached with the justice department. ryan reilly, you're there at the doj, what can you tell us about how this deal came together? >> really the doj is being kwind kind of quiet about this. this was something done by a trump-appointed u.s. attorney in delaware, allowed to independently operate and make this decision to go forward. what i noted about the gun charge there, that there is sort of a diversion deal for, it is incredibly rare for federal prosecutors to bring that charge. the only other cases i see are when doj has a white supremacist who they need to find a charge against, and they brought it against individuals who, you know, for possession of --

possession of a weapon when they haven't had another charge to stick. i saw it in a d.c. case here, a neo-nazi who had a gun, they were worried about him making an attack and what they did is they brought that charge, to bring something against him, he ended up serving a short sentence of ten months time served. there is another case involving a january 6er who when they raided his home was found with weed in his home, and then he was subsequently prosecuted for that and received a probationary deal with a couple months of home detention there. so it is a charge that could be brought against so many people because there are so many guns in the country and so many addicts with guns, but it is rarely brought. really it is an incredibly rare charge that the federal prosecutors don't often bring because it would apply to, you know, potentially millions if not hundreds of thousands of people across the country. >> catherine, what kind of negotiations would have gone

into this deal? >> well, particularly as we were talking about the gun charge and the diversion program, i'm sure it was, you know, if i was representing someone who had a substance abuse disorder problem, i would throw that right on the table. i would say, look, there are mitigating circumstances here. and in terms of the tax charges, look, my client paid back the money. he has no criminal record. so that is all -- you can throw that out on the table, you're going to have your client, you know, ask for mercy, and, again, this was not a dismissal. this was not an infraction. these are two misdemeanors. he has criminal convictions. and he does have to go through this diversion program to address whatever substance abuse issues that he might still have, i'm assuming he still has them, because why would you be in a diversion program unless you did have them. it could be community service he's doing, maybe he's already

addressed that issue. but that's what you would do as a defense attorney. you would say, look, there are mitigating circumstances here. here's why he did not pay the taxes on time. here's why, you know, he had that gun and i would repeat, not accused of pointing it or shooting it at anyone, just possessing it as someone who has an unlawful -- who has been addicted to drugs. >> catherine christian, ryan reilly, appreciate the good insights and bringing us your reporting as well. thank you very much. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," the urgent search and rescue mission near the "titanic" wreckage for a submersible only believed to have about 48 hours of oxygen left for the five people on board. the five people on board. our heritage is ingrained in our skin. and even when we metamorphosize into our new evolved form, we carry that spirit with us. because you can take alfa romeo out of italy. but you best believe,

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more breaking news this hour. at 1:00 p.m. eastern, so just a couple of hours from now, we are expecting a press briefing from the coast guard about the urgent search and a race to save lives on board that missing submersible that vanished after

setting out to tour the wreckage of the "titanic." now, the coast guard has been scanning the north atlantic, with two c-130s and dropped sonar buoys that can listen to a depth of 13,000 feet. this is an effort that will only grow more desperate by the hour because that submersible is only believed to have about 48 hours of oxygen left for the five people on board. nbc news correspondent kristen dahlgren is monitoring the search efforts from boston. also with us, captain david markay, submarine commander. thank you for joining us. kristen, what is the latest on the rescue efforts? >> reporter: right, so we're here at the coast guard station in boston, that is running these rescue efforts. you mentioned they're using those sonar buoys, trying to listen for any type of tapping, any people talking, any sense that they can get of where exactly this submersible is so deep in the north atlantic. so we have the air force working

on it, canadian forces as well, they're asking for private vessels who are in the area to help out with the search efforts and anyone who has that experience with deep sea exploration. the admiral said oceangate, who owns the submersible, is taking the lead because it has the information, it has the technology, it knows the most about this submersible and where it was last heard from. oceangate did release a statement, it says our entire focus is on the well-being of the crew, and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely. keep in mind, this crew is also made up of tourists. one british world traveler, also a pakistani businessman and his son, along with we're trying to get confirmation of who the other two members -- the pilot and who else was running this from oceangate are. so, you know, it is an exclusive experience that people pay up to

$250,000 for. here is what stockton rush, the ceo of oceangate, told us in 2022. >> we have an in view process. you have to sign up. we have to make sure people are healthy enough and physically fit. you need to be able to climb the latter and not a huge physical requirement, but more people understand this is a real expedition. we have all kinds of challenges, not just weather, but equipment, and then once we accepted the person into the program, they can pay to join and then there is a lot of training that goes on. no one is just a tourist. >> so at this point that search continuing. and, again, we're waiting to hear from the coast guard at 1:00 on the very latest, ana. >> kristen dahlgren, thank you for that reporting. let me bring in the captain now, given the timeline and the depths we're talking about, captain, what are rescuers up against? what challenges are they facing right now? >> the depth is a real problem. these -- this submarine is ten

times deeper essentially than we would operate our military submarines. and the pressure down there is 400 times what we experience here at atmospheric level. in a spacecraft, you're going from one atmosphere to zero. that's one. this is 400 times the difference between what a spacecraft would experience between itself and the outside. so it is -- it is like they're on the back side of the moon. a, we have to find them. b, we have to get them back up to the surface. if they're bolted in, they cannot open the hatch from the inside. so they need to be located, hooked, say with a cable, brought back up, and then we can let them out. >> it is obviously incredibly dark at that depth. it is obviously very cold at that depth. sunlight can't reach down there. the "titanic" sits around 13,000 feet deep. we know a diver outside of a vehicle can only survive a few hundred feet below the surface. my understanding is there aren't

that many vehicles that can travel to that depth, right? what kind of equipment is needed here and how do you think rescuers will go about this? >> yeah, the best kind -- the kind of equipment is prevalent in the oil well industry where they have -- they need to put wells on the bottom of water that is this deep and they have remotely operated vehicles and by my understanding one of those vessels is on site or about to be on site and they will use that to first start to search for the vessel. if we were to lower a hook, we're going to need some vessel to grab that hook and somehow hook it on to the disabled submarine because otherwise it is dangling two and a half miles down there. >> you were a submarine captain in the navy. the type of vehicle they're looking for here is considered a submersible. can you explain how that compares to a submarine and i wonder would there be any way for the crew on board to communicate in an emergency

situation? >> yes, so, it is smaller, it doesn't have main propulsion, so it can't drive itself from out to the "titanic" site. it needs a mothership to tow it out there. it has little propellers and it can drive itself down and maneuver itself around the wreck. now, it should have the -- they should have the ability to communicate if they're not incapacitated. submarines sometimes carry pingers, electronic pingers, sometimes an underwater telephone and last result you take a wrench and bang against something metal and that rhythmic banging, boom, boom, boom, you do that every 15 minutes, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. that would be detected by the sonar buoys and we could triangulate the position. >> i hope that's happening right now. thank you so much for offering your expertise. i know you stayed late in order to have this segment with us, captain. it was great to have you here. thank you. >> thank you. up next on "ana cabrera

reports," the tornado threat and heat alerts across the south just as we're tracking a new threat out at sea from a potential rare june hurricane. potential rare june hurricane. from big cities, to small towns, and on main streets across the us, you'll find pnc bank.

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turning now to dangerous weather impacting big stretches of the country this morning. more than 30 million people are under heat alerts in texas, louisiana and mississippi today. look at that. over 100 degrees. well over in some areas. and while others across the gulf coast and the southeast remain under severe risk of tornadoes, hail, even some communities are still dealing with the devastation from weekend storms. nbc news correspondent blayne alexander is in one of those places where one person was killed in a tornado on sunday. blayne, what's the recovery process looking like there? >> reporter: well, ana, good morning to you. that severe weather you mentioned in some places is in

the same place that we're seeing that record-breaking heat. it makes for a difficult cleanup process. here in louin, mississippi, there are power crews working a few feet away from where i am. they're trying to get power back on. the high is expected to stretch into the 90s today. we're talking about adding insult to injury. when you look here, this is the back of a tractor trailer, a resident tells me it was clear at the end of the street. the storm picked it up, threw it here where it came to a rest. this is one example of the storm's fury. for so many people across the south, the threat is not over yet. this morning, as millions across the southeast face record-breaking heat, heavy rain and no power, yet another round of severe weather and tornadoes are taking their toll. the latest streak in moss point, mississippi, downing trees and power lines in the small gulf town, ripping roofs off homes and stripping the steeple from this church. >> shook up, man. because i'm thankful to be alive. >> reporter: it is one of 18 reported tornadoes across the

region in the last week, claiming at least six lives, including one in louin, mississippi. >> felt like a giant was hitting the house with a sledgehammer. >> reporter: derrick pierce felt the storm's brutal strength, a tornado striking in the dead of night, injuring nearly two dozen and taking the life of 67-year-old georgeine hayes. >> right there. it is gone now. ain't nothing there. >> reporter: in nearby canton, mississippi, more heart break, after 67-year-old wilbert main fleming was killed by a falling tree. >> this hurts right now. >> reporter: in florida, the storms also took a toll, with one confirmed tornado in the panhandle. heavy rain also caused flash floods in southern also caused flooding in southern alabama, turning streets into raging rivers, and this as the region swelters under blistering heat. >> it's, like, 94 inside.

>> reporter: as we continue to look at the devastation in this area, the good news is we are not expecting outbreaks as we have seen over the past few days, and there are still areas that are concerned because of severe storms later today namely around new orleans and mobile, alabama. >> blayne alexander reporting for us from mississippi. angie, what are you tracking? >> a whole lot less people are involved in the threat today, but still it's not zero, 5 million people across the gulf coast, and the hazards do remain to be strong wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour as well as large hail. tornado threat lower today but that's not zero either, so be sure you have a way to get the alerts as that will be key. and then localized amounts of rain up to five inches and we already have flooding alerts in

the southern appalachian mountains, so watch for that through thursday. texas under heat warnings that extend into parts of oklahoma, and 32 million people included in this. you see why, the temperatures in the triple digits for a lot of folks, and austin taking a run at the record breaking temperatures. if you are looking for relief, not going to get it for a lot of people, and places like dallas will remain in the 90s. we, of course, have to talk about tropical storm brett and we are continuing to monitor that as it moves to the west and impacts parts of the caribbean. >> hard to believe we could be seeing hurricane brett before the end of the week. up next on "ana cabrera reports," reaction to the campaign trail to the breaking

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we're back on the breaking news this hour. a plea deal for president biden's son, hunter, on misdemeanor tax charges, and donald trump calling the deal a scam. and a republican candidate who made news by promising a pardon for trump if he's elected and convicted, he called the plea deal a joke and a smoke screen. joining us now is nbc news correspondent, vaughn hilliard and carlos car bello. congressman, how big of an issue do you think it becomes in the 2024 race? >> it will fuel a lot of the trump voters and candidates are trying to align themselves with trump to cite this as another example of the justice

department being unfair, and with swing voters it will give credibility to the justice department, and some people will look at this objective lay and say, look, even the president's son gets held accountable in the united states, and for the trump voters and maga base, this is not going to be enough, and they are seeing it as a slap on the wrist for a punishment that they believe are greater crimes. >> and asa hutchison, what is he saying about hunter biden? >> the issue for hutchison and any republican candidate that will allow the department of justice to fulfill its obligations and the issue is the republican electorate has been hearing a detailed story of hunter biden that has not always

matched reality, and look at the statement from hutchison, the conclusion by the admission of guilt is an important step in revolving at least a portion of the controversies over hunter biden's dealings. and the department of justice did not get at the heart of what republicans elude to, and just last week in bedminster, donald trump said he would bring about his own special prosecutor in the white house to go and target joe biden and his family which the crowd began to chant lock him up. notably, there's no jail time here from this agreement for hunter biden. >> is it hypocritical, congressman, for them to be try trying to point fingers at the

justice department that it's going after a retribution of some sort while brushing off the trump charges. either they are the party of justice or not? >> everybody should be treated equally under the law or not, and donald trump, we will see if his conduct was criminal or not once he goes to trial. some candidates -- >> stand by and hold your thought for a moment. i want to go to capitol hill. we are just hearing from mccarthy, the speaker. >> with any information it requires -- >> this is a trump-appointed u.s. attorney that held over into this investigation and it's not just accepted on its merits -- >> it was a thorough

investigation? what i am asking you -- so you believe it's a thorough investigation? >> i'm asking you. >> do you think it's equal and fair that a political opponent will be given jail time, and if you compare this to other individuals in america that have the same accusations against them, the same crimes he's guilty of, they are proposed to have ten years and i think -- >> but it's a trump attorney. >> you said this has no impacts on the investigations from the house republicans, so what can americans expect today going forward? >> whatever the information leads us to, and we have watched -- remember what we have found so far, that the president's family builds nothing, owns no offices, but we found out, low and behold, even though the fbi tried to withhold it from us, in a 1023 form that

people have said that they had to pay the president's family money for favors. we now found out later by suspicious activities through banks -- and how many american families have had that happen to them, but there are hundreds of them, money has come from foreign entities to shell companies and moved to other shell companies by the president and paid members of his family down to grandchildren as well, and how many american families do you have -- >> he's making allegations that are unsubstantiated at this point. we are talking about the tax evasion charges or tax charges, hunter biden not paying those taxes and have since been paid after he paid those, and at any rate, we will continue to cover this on msnbc, and i wl h