erin mclaughlin has the latest. >> reporter: the mediteukrainia force announced a newly-arrived f-16 fighter jet crashed on monday, killing a top ukrainian pilot. known by his call sign "moon fish". he spoke to nbc months into the war. >> it was the most intense the first couple of days. >> reporter: the cause of the crash is under investigation as the deadly game of who blink ukrainian citys first continues, with russia gaining ground in ukraine's east, while ukraine takes more land in the russian region of kursk. the russian border is a straight shot that way. this week we visited the ukrainian city of sumi. p putin has said russia has no borders, this officer says. now we have shown we can enterm russian territory. we spoke with a commander inside russia. nbc news is withholding his name at their request for security purposes. are you gaining ground? yes, little by little, he says. they've been givensumi, strict instructions on how to react with civilians. we've been told to interact with them as much as we can. they say they want normore help from the west. >> they're going to ki

erin mclaughlin spoke with one, but first, erin, what do we know about the drone attack? >> reporter: lester, russian officials say 11 drones targeted moscow. the largest drone attack in the capital's history. ukraine has yet to comment. today's attack, the latest salvo in a nearly 2 1/2-year-old war that is increasingly being fought with drones. we spoke with one ukrainian who piloted those drones until very recently. he deserted the military days ago. increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the war and his commanders. nbc news agreed to withhold his identity at his request. >> from my point of view, now we are losing this war. >> reporter: things were different when he left his job in i.t. to become a drone pilot. >> you were filled with hope. >> yes, i knew that there's no other option than, like, to fight. >> reporter: but he says that hope soon turned to misery with last summer's failed counteroffensive in which ukraine gained back very little ground. >> that was frustrating. that was painful. russians seem to have more of everything. >> reporter: the breaki

here's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: in new york city, an alleged anti-semitic hate crime caught on camera. you see a group of men wearing traditional jewish clothing walking down a brooklyn street when they're approached by a man in purple who lunges at them and stabs one of them in the abdomen while shouting "free palestine", and "do you want to die", the suspect was later charged with attempted murder and hate crime. the victim is in the hospital in stable condition. the latest in a wave of anti-semitic attacks to strike new york city. in june, this was the scene on a new york subway. a man openly leading an anti-semitic chant, caught on camera by a fellow passenger. >> this is your chance to get out! >> reporter: weeks after another man veered his car into a group of students outside of a brooklyn yeshiva, while shouting an anti-semitic slur, according to police. >> the jewish community is under assault. >> reporter: the number of incidents has skyrocketed nationwide since october 7 cair reporting a number of incidents as well. >> our thanks to erin mclaughlin for that report. >>> abor

>> okay, erin mclaughlin, thank you. lester. >> thank you. >>> now to the grim milestone in the war in gaza. the hamas-run health ministry there saying the death toll has now surpassed 40,000. while in qatar, negotiations for a gaza cease-fire resuming, but without hamas taking part. richard engel, who has covered the middle east for decades, reports tonight from jerusalem. >> reporter: the hamas-run gaza health ministry announced today that more than 40,000 palestinians have been killed since israel launched its war to destroy hamas after the group massacred 1,200 people last october. the figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. israel says it has killed 17,000 hamas terrorists and warns civilians to evacuate dangerous areas. but the gaza strip is closed off. most people can't leave. three analysts tonight tell nbc news 40,000 is likely an undercount. this baby is 5 months old and cries constantly. her grandmother thinks it's because she was breastfeeding when her mother was killed, and now won't take

here's erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: tonight, debby strikes the northeast. >> oh, that shed is moving>> reporter: water rising rapidly in upstate new york and northern pennsylvania, swallowing communities and washing out roads. >> this is how high the water on the bridge has gotten in the last ten minutes. >> reporter: flash flooding emergencies have been declared. first responders are desperate for help from surrounding areas to assist with rescues by water and air. national guard helicopters have been brought in to look for people on roofs. >> the water is washing away their house. they are holding on to the trees trying to keep from being swept away. >> reporter: maria says she was there when floodwater took out a bridge forcing her to turn around. >> the waters are running right through the businesses again, and it's awful. >> what were you feeling when you were seeing all this? >> it's really heartbreaking. >> reporter: in maryland coastal businesses underwater. >> water up to my knees. >> reporter: and dangerous flash floods in south carolina. >> tornado on the ground. >> report

but as erin mclaughlin reports, the country is still fighting for its survival. >> reporter: tonightdependence day, a nation mourning lives lost and vowing revenge. as ukrainians lose ground in the country's east forcing civilians to flee. earlier today, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy released this video message, it shows him standing just miles away from the russian border. breached earlier this month by ukrainian forces. ukrainians always pay back their debts, he says, and whoever wished misery upon our land shall find it in their own home, with interest. today in kyiv, zelenskyy announced a new ukrainian battlefield drone, hours after his phone call with president biden who pledged an additional $125 million defense package. but still, no green light to use long range weapons on russian territory. founded a battalion famous for fighting russia's wagner forces. he argues it's essential the war reaches russian soil. >> our people are suffering, and they are suffering together with us. >> reporter: do you think russians understand that? >> i think that when you experience so

>> erin mclaughlin, thank you. in 60 seconds we'll have late developments on a dispute that halted freight trains in canada and threatened a supply chain right after this. the 11th-hour plan to avoid disaster. protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. ♪ limu emu... ♪ and doug. (bell ringing) limu, someone needs to customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. let's fly! (inaudible sounds) chief! doug. (inaudible sounds) ooooo ah. (elevator doors opening) (inaudible sounds) i thought you were right behind me. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty,

our erin mclaughlin reporting tonight from ukraine. >> reporter: tonight, new video shows the moment ukrainian soldiers crossed the russian border. in the video released by the ukrainian military, you see the russian border checkpoint in ruins. russian soldiers waving white flags. another video shows a ukrainian soldier driving through the bombed out russian countryside unchallenged, then celebrating driving back a russian tank. >> welcome to ukraine. ha, ha. >> reporter: it's the largest attack on russia since world war ii. the goal, to draw russian forces away from ukraine's donbas region where the ukrainians have been steadily losing their own ground. a key adviser to president zelenskyy telling nbc news, he believes russia will start redeploying their troops step by step, but on the front lines inside ukraine, this ukrainian drone operator, who asked we withhold his identity for security reasons, tells us that while the incursion into russia has improved ukrainian morale -- >> all soldiers see that we can do something. >> reporter: -- there is no sign of a russian redeployment. u

>> erin mclaughlin, thank you. >>> also tonight, ukrainian forces pushing deeper into russia. for the first time since the war started with an incursion that surprised moscow's military. let's get more from andrea mitchell. >> reporter: tonight ukrainian troops advancing eight miles inside russia's border, saying they've now gained control of more than 600 miles of russian territory in belgorod and kursk. russian president putin vowing to retaliate. he says russian forces will, quote, squeeze out and knock out the enemy from our territory. after the local governor in a televised meeting told putin ukraine now controls 28 russian villages. this new video showing ukrainian soldiers removing a russian flag from the side of a building in the kursk region. all this stunning and embarrassing putin. for the first time ukraine's president zelenskyy confirming ukrainian troops are operating inside russia, prompting this reaction from an exuberant senator lindsey graham in kyiv today. >> bold, brilliant, beautiful. keep it up. putin started this. kick his ass. >> reporter: and no object

jose. >> erin mclaughlin in kyiv, thank you. >>> we are also following global outrage over venezuela'ssidential election. protesters taking to the streets throughout the world as the country's opposition leader fights for democracy in venezuela and makes a dire warning to the u.s. today outrage in miami and cities around the world. thousands protesting venezuela's contested election, the demand for freedom and democracy playing out in cities throughout venezuela as well. condemning leader nicolas maduro who insists he won reelection over opposition candidate edmundo gonzalez urrutia. i spoke with opposition leader maria corina machado who has been in hiding, now out and risking her life with a dire warning about why this matters to the u.s. >> if maduro decides to stay by force for more months, we could be seeing millions of venezuelans in a matter of monthsnths crossing our borders. i'm talking about 3, 4, 5 million that will go all the way up central america, many to the southern border of the united states. >> reporter: the protests against maduro deadly. more than 20 killed, thousa

with russians today, they're going to kill you tomorrow. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin, nbc news, sumy, ukraine. >>> all right. in 60 seconds, the devastating toll of those mosquito-borne viruses. more deaths reported and a teenager paralyzed. we'll have the late details right after this. but his medication causd unintentional movements in his face, hands, and feet called tardive dyskinesia, or td. so his doctor prescribed austedo xr— a once-daily, extended-release td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced dan's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, dan can stay on his mental health meds— (dan) cool hair! (vo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, or have suicidal thoughts. don't take if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo xr may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, or abnormal movements. seek hel

>> erin mclaughlin for us. erin, we thank you. >>> in 60 seconds it's one of the most talked about festivals on the planet. tonight the tragic start to the burning man. what went wrong? >>> and new concerns about potentially deadly viruses being spread by mosquitos. why some towns are warning people to stay inside. right after this. i was stuck. unresolved depression symptoms were in my way. i needed more from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which ca

erin mclaughlin on the ground in ukraine tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the ukrainian air force announced a newly arrived f-16 fighter jet crashed during the massive russian missile attack on monday, killing top ukrainian pilot lieutenant colonel oleksiy mes. known by call sign moonfish, he spoke to nbc news months into the war. >> it was the most intense the first couple of days. >> reporter: the cause of crash is under investigation as the deadly game of who blinks first continues, with russia gaining ground in ukraine's east while ukraine takes more land in the russian region of kursk. the russian border is a straight shot that way. this week, we visited the ukrainian city of sumy, less than 20 miles from the russian border. now the staging ground for ukraine's historic invasion. "putin has said russia has no borders," this ukrainian officer says, "now we've shown we can enter russian territory." we spoke with a ukrainian commander inside russia. nbc news is withholding his name at the military's request for security purposes. are you gaining ground? "yes, little by little," he says. h

joining us is erin mclaughlin live in kharkiv. erin, thank you.ll, jose, we woke this morning here in kharkiv to the sounds of multiple explosions in the distance. and made our way to the bomb shelter like millions of other ukrainians. in total, 100 missiles, and more than 100 drones were fired by russia, toward ukraine, striking at least 15 regions, killing at least four civilians. and wounding 19 others. there was also attacks against the critical electrical structure sites the country, including the kyiv region. we saw really harrowing video of a missile striking a kyiv dam in the kyiv region. and that's a thing, because if that damage is breached, city officials tell me the lives of millions could be at stake and the potential for mass flooding. luckily from the missile strike, there was only minimal damage. but ukrainians are saying this is part of that russian scare tactics. russian attempts to terrorize ordinary ukrainians. i have to say, it's been hours since the attack and ordinary life has restored. it's interesting how this war has grow

abc's erin mclaughlin joining us.ghted the ukrainian success going into parts of russia. what more did he have to say about plans moving forward? >> reporter: he talked about just how difficult it would be for the russians to retake their own territory. that was echoed in a conversation i had with a ukrainian military analyst. he said it comes down to the topography of the kursk region. we saw just last week the ukrainians blowing up bridges over that river, making it that much more difficult for russia to send in reinforcements, to send in supplies. this ukrainian military analyst estimated russia would need two to three divisions to reclaim the kursk territory given that topography is in favor of the ukrainian occupation. keep in mind, ukraine says it it does not want to continue to occupy russian territory, but it wants russia to leave their land. in donbas russia is pushing forward with its offensive, gaining ground on that ukrainian town. in the words of one western intelligence official, this is essentially a ga

joining us now from kyiv, nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin. read on it from there? >> reporter: this incursion into the russian kursk region, remits -- represents a turning point in the war, a change in ukrainian tactics, ukrainian approach, i was speaking to an adviser who said at the moment, on the front line here in ukraine, the fact of the market -- matter is the ukraines are out manned and out gunned by the russians. they're losing the symmetrical warfare. so he said, the last year and a half they have been looking at a potential incursion into russian territory, a surprise attack, so to speak, and he told me that they are surprised at how successful it has been so far. the fact that ukrainian soldiers inside of russia have encountered very little resistance. they have managed to occupy a town. now, on the record, i was speaking to a senior adviser to president search. he told me that the goal of this operation is defense, that ukraine has no intention of occupying russian territory. take a listen. is this an occupation? >> translator: no,

chris. >> erin mclaughlin, be safe out there. still ahead, let's take a live look at wisconsin, kamala harris and tim walz, as part of their blue ground battle ground blitz. we're back in a moment. ground blitz we're back in a moment could these be warning signs of something bigger? thank goodness we called his cardiologist because these were signs of attr-cm, a rare and serious disease... ...that gets worse over time. if you see any of the warning signs, don't wait, ask your cardiologist about attr-cm today. (♪♪) looking good, guys! haha! thanks! oh! hey pickle! hi dad! i brought mom's glasses from the hotel oh, great! she's in the ballroom. the big one. i'm coming up! vacations are better with the credit gods are on your side. rewards once available to the few are now accessible to the many. earn points for travel with credit one bank, and live large. with kardiamobile, the fda-cleared smart device, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds from anywhere. every morning i check, make sure i'm in good shape. and it make

>> erin mclaughlin live from kyiv.und of cease-fire talks in doha with the u.s., israel, egypt, and qatar. a new joint statement just in says the talks over the last 48 hours were, quote, serious, constructive, and conducted in a positive atmosphere, and that a proposal was presented to israel and hamas that narrows lingering gaps with senior officials expected to meet against in cairo before the end of next week. we are joined now from israel. danielle, does this mean the talks have wrapped up for today? >> reporter: yes, we've just received confirmation that the respective delegations are done for the day and certainly the israeli delegation will be flying back here to israel tonight. you mentioned the statements, the parties proposed -- in the proposal that was presented to both israel and hamas, something that narrows the gaps and is consistent with what joe biden, the president, presented back on may 31st. what needs -- this is what the section i find interesting, ana, that the further -- what needs further discus

nbc's erin mclaughlin is live in kharkiv. what's the latest there?n officials how many russian missiles they shot down earlier today. according to the officials, they downed 102 of the 127 russian missiles that were fired at ukraine. 99 of 109 drones. and this shows you just short of the effectiveness of the air defense system in place here in ukraine. a marked improvement since the beginning of the war. it is in large part thanks to western partners. on friday president biden announced an additional $125 million aid package, a big chunk of that package going to ukraine's air defense. now we're seeing sort of in realtime why that's important for this country. in total, from the attack today, four civilians killed, 19 injured. civilian emergency infrastructure was targeted. i was just talking to a kyiv city official who told me that the russians managed to take out an electricity substation on a key dam in the kyiv region leading to rolling blackouts throughout the capitol. now, this attack started at around 8:00 in the morning. our team woke up to th

joining us now, nbc's erin mclaughlin in north myrtle beach, south carolina. good morning.g there right now? >> reporter: hey, jose, when it comes to tropical storm debby, much has been made of the storm as a super soaker. officials talking about the flooding, talking about the rainfall, but right now here in north myrtle beach, we're feeling the wind, pretty strong winds now on the shoreline. and as the storm is off coast, building up speed before making that second landfall. and it is hitting places like south carolina, the coastline, this is a beach coastal community, really relies on tourism. as you see behind me, normally this ocean would be absolutely packed with tourists, the height of the summer season and it is pretty empty in comparison. speaking to local business owners, they're talking about how they have been hit hard. take a listen. >> it is just the height of the summer season and people are probably just tuckering down and hunkering down and trying to get ready for the storm like everybody else. >> not good for business. >> it is not, no. but we can't stop g

joining us now, nbc news correspondent, erin mclaughlin from kyiv. what is the latest?e, president zelenskyy confirming that f-16s were used to shoot down missiles that were launched towards ukraine during the course of the overnight attack on monday. although, at the same time, president zelenskyy noting that ukraine still has too few planes, and too few trained ukrainian fighter pilots. i was spoking to an adviser to the ukrainian government who told me that russia still exercises air superiority, particularly within the donbas region, in part because russia also has a more sophisticated radar. the russians see the ukrainians coming before the ukrainians see the russians, which is a huge problem. that aside, we're also continue to go hear calls from ukrainian government officials for long range weapons. the green light to fire those weapons on russian territory, something that the biden administration has ruled out, citing concerns of escalation, but i was speaking with a western diplomat today. there was a nato ukraine counsel meeting, and he told me that during that

here's nbc's erin mclaughlin with more. >> this is the road to the russian region of k rerks sk.hts its invasion, taking more and more russian territory, with each passing day. overnight, there were russian air strikes on a number of ukrainian cities, including the city of sumi, where i am now. you can see this building was completely taken out by a prior strike. proof that when it comes to russia's invasion of ukraine, no city is spared. >> overnight, more russian air strikes on ukraine. this time, a russian missile hit a city, killing at least two, according to ukrainian officials. on monday, the embattled country's air defense in overdrive, intercepting, it says, 102 of 127 missiles fired by the russians, according to the ukrainian air force. >> it resulted in the deaths of ukrainian civilians and targeted more than two dozen critical injury sites. >> including this critical dam in the kyiv region. if breached, officials estimate at least 10% of the ukrainian capital could be underwater, while only lightly damaged in monday's attack, the strike is part of russia's latest attem

. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin is in myrtle beach. >> here in myrtle beach, we're being hit by a pretty significant storm band. lots of wind. but it's the rain that authorities are most concerned about. >> now is not the time to see if your car floats, because it doesn't. >> here, crews worked through the night building this makeshift dam, hoping to stave off rising waters. so this might look like a pile of dirt, but what is it to you? >> this is hope. >> reporter: hope, to avoid a repeat of these desperate scenes from past storms. >> when the river comes up, gets after about 21 feet, it comes through this opening right here and turns all of this into the river. >> reporter: so it can flood the whole city. >> about half of it. this absolutely will save property and lives. >> our thanks to priscilla for that report. and with that, let's get to angie lassman, who's tracking tropical storm debby after that second landfall. angie, good morning. >> just as expected, we were expecting that secondary landfall early this morning. we got that. winds still at 50 miles per hour. the big batch of m

our erin mclaughlin has this report. >> reporter: new video shows a critical ferry terminal, which helps connect mainland russia to occupied crimea on fire. russian officials blame kiev. so far, no comment from the ukrainians. the ukrainian air force released footage of another attack on russia. pointedly saying it shows a u.s.-made bomb being dropped on russian platoon based in the kursk region. volodymyr zelenskyy, the closest he's been to kursk since ukraine's surprise invasion. he says he wants the region to become a buffer zone on russian soil to help protectmajor ukrainian cities to the east, including kharkiv, where we saw first hand how in recent months the russians have been relentlessly bombing civilians, including this shopping mall. mina says she was working back in may, the day of the russian rocket attack. cctv footage shows her walking through the store. and then. [speaking in a global language] i fell on the floor. everything was falling on me, she says. and then i remember seeing the second rocket strike. miraculously, she survived. that same month, across the city, a re

our erin mclaughlin spoke with one of them. >> reporter: the latest salvo in a nearly two and a half-year-old that's increasingly being fought with drones. we spoke with one ukrainian who piloted those drones until very recently. he deserted the military days ago. increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the war and his commanders. nbc news agreed to withhold his identity at his request. [speaking in a global language] things were different when he left his job in i.t. to become a drone pilot. >> reporter: were you filled with hope. >> yes, i knew there is no other option than, like, to fight. >> reporter: but he says that hope soon turned to misery with last summer's failed counter offensive in which ukraine gained back very little ground. >> did was frustrating. that was painful. russians seem to have more of eve everything. >> reporter: the breaking point, his combat partner died in his arms when a makeshift drone exploded. >> i looked in his eyes. i don't know, lost the sparkle of life going away from his eyes. >> reporter: he deserted, just days later. if caught, he faces potenti

erin mclaughlin has more. >> reporter: tonight, russian-american dual national kseniya karelina sentenced to 12 years in a russian prison for high treason, found guilty of donating what her boyfriend says was $51.80 from her us bank account to a charity supporting ukraine. >> to call that treason is just absolutely ludicrous. >> reporter: the ballerina appearing today inside the glass box of a russian courtroom, reminiscent of evan gershkovich who was sent home days earlier with paul whelan and others in a massive international prisoner swap. meantime, with reports of russian gains in eastern ukraine, the ukrainians announcing today they've gained ground in russia's kursk region. president zelenskyy claiming his military is now in complete control of the russian town sudzha, setting up a military command post. ukrainian media broadcasting pictures of aid distributed to occupied russian civilians. we spoke with one of president zelenskyy's top advisers who insists the goal is to defend ukraine. is this an occupation? >> no, this is definitely not an occupation, he says. this is a destructi

here is erin mclaughlin. >> and one of those tornadoes hit this arby's restaurant, and this is what is left. the insides of the restaurant completely gutted. tables, chairs, glass, bits of insulation scattered about the parking lot. this restaurant is completely destroyed. >> reporter: the system moving at a stubbornly low 5 miles per hour, a more common occurrence amid our climate crisis. >> the bottom line is, we need you to stay home until this passes. >> reporter: priscilla thompson is in georgia. >> here in savannah, the ground is so saturated, it has caused this sidewalk to buckle, toppling this massive tree, sending it crashing into this car and leaving the road here impassable. the storm is responsible for at least six deaths, five of them in florida with debby's wrath slated to last for days. maggie vespa, nbc news, charleston. >> let's bring in bill karins now for a wider look at what is happening here. this is going to be a dangerous situation pretty much all week? >> lester, it's going to take until saturday morning for this storm to exit new england, but today just a slow

nbc's erin mclaughlin is on the ground in ukraine for us again this morning. ng, erin. >> reporter: good morning, guys. this is the road to the russian region of cur sk. ukraine continues its invasion taking more and more russian territory with each passing day. overnight, there were russian air strikes on a number of ukrainian cities, including the city of sumi, where i am now. you can see this building was completely taken out by a prior strike. proof that when it comes to russia's invasion of ukraine, no city spared. overnight, more russian air strikes on ukraine. this time a russian missile hit a hotel in the city, killing at least two, according to ukrainian officials. on monday, the embattled country's air defense and in overdrive, intercepting 102 of 127 missiles fired by the russians, according to the ukrainian air force. >> resulted in the deaths of ukrainian civilians and targeted more than two dozen critical energy sites. >> reporter: including this critical dam in the kyiv region. if breached, officials estimate 10% of the ukrainian capitol could be

erin mclaughlin joins us from kyiv. plied to ukraine by western partners have been crucial to their defenses. what do we know about what happened here? >> reporter: we don't know much, actually, jose. we still don't know why the f-16 jet crashed. this is what ukrainian authorities are saying, they're saying on monday, in the midst of that massive russian missile attack, russia launched more than 100 missiles and 100 drones at ukraine on monday. the f-16s for the first time on the battlefield here in ukraine according to president zelenskyy were part of that air defense, trying to shoot those missiles out of the sky. moonfish, that's his call sign, the pilot in question, was flying one of those f-16s according to ukrainian he officials. he shot down three missiles and one drone and was on his way to another target when they suddenly lost communication with him. he he crashed and died. now that crash is under investigation. ukrainian air force ukrainian air force announced a newly arrived f-16 fighter jet crashed during th

erin mclaughlin has the latest. >> reporter: gh russian ministry of defense said it shot down 55 ukrainiane of the largest drone attacks on the russian capital since the war began. no response from the ukrainians so far. meanwhile, in the russian region of kursk ukrainian forces have been digging in for three weeks now solidifying their positions and blowing up bridges, we heard from president zelenskyy trying to use that operation to leverage it to create pressure on the united states and ukraine's western partners to provide longer range weapons to be used on russian territory. saying that if ukraine was allowed to use long-range weapons on russian tore territory they wouldn't need to send in ground forces. so far u.s. officials have been reluctant to allow that over concerns of an escalation of this conflict. >>> a group of black voters from atlanta is in chicago this week for the democratic national convention. >> it's called the black man lab, they meet about how they're feeling about the november election. tre maine lee caught up with this group. what did the voters tell you about ho

. >> that was nbc's erin mclaughlin with that report. >>> meanwhile, negotiations continue in cairo this week for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in gaza. according to white house national security spokesperson john kirby, discussions will continue for the next few days. one issue to be tackled includes how many hostages may be exchanged. their identities and the pace of their potential release. this comes after an intense exchange between israel and hezbollah this weekend that stoked fears of a wider regional war. "the washington post" citing officials and analysts reports the exchange was a face-saving moment for both sides, allowing them to step back from the edge of a wider conflict, letting hezbollah claim vengeance and israel to project confidence in its security apparatus. richard, your piece in "foreign affairs" bears the headline, "the trouble with allies. america needs a playbook for difficult friends." you write the tensions with israel over the past year are merely one example of a persistent but underappreciated predicament of u.s. foreign policy. how to manage disagre

we have erin mclaughlin with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. ukrainian officials are strengthening positions in the russian region of kursk while back hope, the top concerns continue. the moment ukrainian soldiers cross the russian border. in the video released by the ukrainian military, the soldier driving through the bombed-out russian countryside unchallenged and celebrating driving back a russian tank. it's the largest attack on russia since world war ii. the goal? to bring troops away from the donbas region. the adviser to president volodymyr zelenskyy says he believes russia will redeploy troops step by step. this ukrainian drone operator, who asked we withhold his identity, he hopes this helps morale. there is no sign of russian deployment. forces are out manned and out gunned. russia has constant reinforcements. >> like soviet union in second world war. >> reporter: meanwhile in the russian region of kursk, ukrainians appear to be digging in. the ukrainian military that it took out a key bridge in the region releasing video of the bridg

nbc's erin mclaughlin reporting for us live in kyiv in ukraine. erin, thank you so much.l take a look at the new film "between the temples. actors jason schwartzman and the director join us next on "morning joe." i asked myself, s pilates exist in harlem? so i started my own studio. getting a brick and mortar in new york is not easy. chase ink has supported us from studio one to studio three. when you start small, you need some big help. and chase ink was that for me. earn up to 5% cash back on business essentials with the chase ink business cash card from chase for business. make more of what's yours. >>> what are you looking at? >> nothing. >> come. >> ow. >> are you okay?o'connor? >> do you know you? >> benjamin. you were my music teacher. i work at temple sinai. >> so interesting. because i am an aquarius. >> canter. >> the doctor is unattached. >> you know, my daughter, gabby. >> gabby. >> hi. i'm leia, here for our date. >> it's a bat mitzvah class. >> you want to have one? >> benny, you're a sharp one. >> that's a look at the movie "between the temples." the film f

. >> erin mclaughlin in ukraine. thank you so much. >>> it is 7:15. a lot more to get to. >> how are you. new developments in a key little battle tied to the idaho college murders. where will the trial be held? laura jarett has been following this case. >> this case finally has a trial date, but where it happens still up in the air. right now brian kohberger's trial is set to be tried in the county. but the defense saying the jury pool is hopelessly tainted against him. they're calling it a mob mentality. that's how lawyers were ryan kohberger describe the current atmosphere where he stands accused of that grizzly quadruple murder. >> right now he's being asked to have a trial in the county that believes he was guilty. >> reporter: making one last push to get the moved 300 miles south to boise, idaho, the state's capitol. in a new court filing, defense lawyers point to damning quotes they surveyed, saying if kohberger wasn't found guilty, there would likely be a riot and it wouldn't last long outside because someone would do the good old boy justice.