these are bittersweet moments for israel, and still fragile days for the cease-fire. >> keir simmonsns us now from tel aviv. and keir, , more hostages expected to be released next weekend, and talks are set for the next phase of the cease-fire? >> reporter: that's right, jose. prime minister netanyahu is set to leave tomorrow to meet with president trump in washington. tonight his office said those talks will begin negotiations for phase two of this cease-fire agreement. jose? >> keir simmons in tel aviv, thank you. >>> we're back in a moment with more americans freed this time from venezuela. what we know about how they got out. >>> and diamond in the rough. engagement ring that survived the l.a. wildfires and the couple now bonded by it forever. ir. one strawberry poof, please. oh. enjoy it. oh, poofect. bye waybor. something minty? of course, it's a large. [ gasps ] ♪ ♪ a double. lucky. ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪ when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. its non-habit formin

keir simmons is in saudi arabia where the meeting took place. keir, this was a major diplomatic shift for the u.s. and russia. >> reporter: yes, lester. tonight president trump said he is more confident after today's talks here in riyadh. the first formal meeting between russian and u.s. officials since the war in ukraine began, did not set a date for a cease-fire or summit between presidents trump and putin, but the two sides did agree to high level talks and cooperation on geopolitics and economics. that suggests the u.s. may be ready to remove russian sanctions. proposals that will stun europeans. tonight, president trump did say he supports europe sending troops to ukraine for peacekeeping, a move russia said today it opposes. ukraine's leaderer said again, he will not sign up to any deal he did not negotiate. lester? >> keir simmons, thank you. >>> the vatican is revealing pope francis is battling pneumonia in both lungs. the 88-year-old pontiff has been recovering at a hospital in rome after falling ill with a respiratory track infection. h

joining us now from what's being called hostage square in tel aviv, israel, is nbc's keir simmons. ut the hostages hamas released today and overall, how the exchange progress, how the exchange process went? >> well. >> we were here in hostage square when keith segal, the american, was released, and there was a relief, honestly, here, keith segal is the first american hostage to be released in more than a year. and then there were pictures, really extraordinary pictures of his wife, aviva, seeing him walk free. she was a hostage, too, but she was released back in november 2023, so she had been waiting for him all this time. and he had said to her, i'll be out within days. well, it's been for more than 480 days until finally now he is free. his daughter was due to get married. she delayed that wedding until he was able to be there and she told him, today we got a chance to speak to his nephew about how the family are doing. take a listen. >> she told us that he's he's okay. considering the fact that the hell that he's been. through and that he misses everybody. one of the things that

. >> joining us now is nbc's keir simmons. keir.conversations between president trump and putin to deal with the issue of ukraine? >> well, just a quick note. fascinating listening. you listening to you talk to richard haass there and talk about saudi arabia. and then a note, saudi arabia was involved in these negotiations that led to this phone call between president trump and president putin. so while the crown prince of saudi arabia was dealing with all of that, that you were talking about just a moment ago, he was also in negotiations with the trump administration and with the kremlin. that tells you something about how incredibly complex, dynamic and developing the world is right now. and that's true, too, for this ukraine situation. i think one of the things you heard from the secretary of defense there talking about saying, well, it's going to it's up in the end to president trump is that there are many of these pieces that they don't know. but what we did have today was the secretary of defense, and he's talking right now ag

. >> nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons is in saudi arabia and joins us now. keir, what else are you hearing from u.s. and russian officials about today's talks and where do things between the two countries go now? >> reporter: well, this is a seismic shift, zinhle. if you think about it, many people will have been expecting based on president trump's promises during the election that this meeting will have been fully focused on whether they could reach some kind of a ceasefire in ukraine, but what we really got, though, wawas something like a roadmap for restoring relations between the u.s. and russia. now, remember that the u.s. along with its european allies and other allies has been on a mission in recent years to try to isolate russia. it has now unlocked that effort at isolation. the trump administration said talk being potentially cooperation and economic issues which might suggest relieving sanctions. no signs so far of a potential ceasefire. no sign of a potential meeting between president trump and president putin anytime soon. one of the russian offi

foreign policy. >> keir simmons in riyadh, thank you very much. appreciate it.joining us now is former state department senior adviser nayyera haq here. thank you for being with us. so 4.5 hours of discussions this morning. state department released a readout of the meeting, writing in part, quote, the parties to today's meetings pledged to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner. what do you make and what do you take out of that diplomatic language in that readout? >> well, that's a saving faith. >> readout, because what. >> it's really trying to do is allow for these talks to continue. it's hard to have. peace talks. >> when one party is not. >> showing up. and the ukrainians. >> are. >> not happy at this. point that the united states. >> is. >> rushing to meet with. >> vladimir putin. >> going directly. >> to the. top and having. >> the secretary of state. >> and. >> foreign ministers sit down. >> the ukrainians. >> want. >> to. understand what's. >> the pivot. >> from these three. >> years of u.s. support? and

and joining us now from tel aviv, nbc news chief foreign correspondent keir simmons.w significant is it that netanyahu is first, the first foreign leader to meet president trump in this new term? he didn't have a meeting with president biden for four years. he wanted one. he didn't have one at the white house. he they met in new york at the un. and is this going to help netanyahu at home, where he is under considerable political pressure with israel divided and a lot of people wanting hostages to be emphasized more than continuing or resuming activity in gaza, military activity. >> well. >> i. >> think it is. >> incredibly significant. potentially a pivot meeting. >> i think it is designed. >> to help. >> prime minister netanyahu. >> who. >> as you say. >> is under the pressure, under. >> pressure from. >> the right in his government. i should just mention, andrea, that we have just. >> heard from. >> for the. >> first time, speaking at a news conference. >> from keith siegel's wife, aviva, keith siegel. of course. >> the american. >> released over. >> the weekend. sh

joining us now from tel aviv is nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons. ase fire. but netanyahu is back here in the states. so what's happening over there? keir. >> well. >> that's right. and i. >> think that meeting there in the states between prime minister. >> netanyahu and. >> president trump. is crucial, potentially pivotal for the reasons that you lay out there, katie, because prime minister netanyahu really is on a knife edge. he's trying to keep the far right inside his government. minister smotrich, for example. crucially. and yet, at the same time, he's under pressure from the families of the hostages to. >> get all. >> of the hostages out. and that won't happen until the end of the second round. the part two of this ceasefire. this fragile ceasefire. i'll just tell you, we've heard from keith siegel's daughter, chaya, just in the past hour or two, in which she described his time in in captivity with hamas. he's, of course, the most recent american to be released as hell from my father a year and four months, during which he was in the darkest an

keir simmons thank you so much. still ahead. it's never been done in new york state history.athy hochul is weighing today about mayor eric adams, whether she's going to want to take him out of that position. plus, they're officially on notice what doge says it's going to do to public schools and universities across schools and universities across this time to press rewind with... neutrogena rapid wrinkle repair. it has derm-proven retinol... ...expertly formulated... ...to target skin cell turnover... ...and fights not one—but 5 signs of aging. with visible results... ...in just one week. neutrogena with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, can come and go. but if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. if you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. this is no

christina. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. mark, i want to turn to you now. nbc has some brand new reporting that and i'm going to quote here, intelligence from the united states and close allies currently shows that russian president vladimir zelensky still wants to control all of ukraine. this is according to four western intelligence officials and two u.s. congressional officials. the six officials said they believe putin could agree to a ceasefire and broader peace deal, because it would give his military time to reset and rebuild. now, this is obviously contrary to what president trump and secretary rubio have said. they are all saying they think putin wants a permanent peace. but is this a bit of a if you give a mouse a cookie situation, right. if you give putin the donbas, is he going to stop there or is he going to want the rest of ukraine? >> well, it. >> seems to. >> me, christina, from that reporting that president trump and even his national security team is not listening to the intelligence that's coming in, because i think that intelligence is e

nbc's keir simmons is live in riyadh, saudi arabia.bc's courtney kube has new reporting from the pentagon, and ned price is a former senior state department and cia official. kira, first to you. what came out of this meeting today? and most importantly, what comes next? >> well, i think there. >> are two. important highlights from what happened today. one is that things are not going to move, perhaps as quickly as people had thought they might. there aren't there isn't going to be a meeting between president trump and president putin. it looks like in the coming weeks it's going to be a process. on the other hand, this is a seismic change. there were smiles between the u.s. and russian delegation that will have stunned the europeans, the russians even saying that they had agreement for the future to cooperate, for example, over economics, of course, despite the sanctions that the us has imposed on russia. and take a listen to a conversation that i had with kirill dmitriev. he is he has deep relations with the kremlin, with the saudi pa

. >> joining us now, nbc's keir simmons from riyadh, saudi arabia.ndrea kendall taylor, senior fellow at the center for new american security, former deputy national intelligence officer for russia at the national intelligence council and former cia analyst. so what do we know about the talks that were held today and what's next? >> well. >> we're just slicing and dicing. i suppose you could say, jose. what we're hearing from the americans, what we're. hearing from the russians. now, let's just focus on this. russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, who, as you know, jose, is a man who's been in the role for 20 years. >> frankly. >> you can describe him as deeply cynical. he today described. >> this as. >> a very useful conversation and said, quote, i have reason to believe that the americans better understand our position. now, that suggests that russians are pretty pleased with what happened today. secretary of state. marco rubio saying breaking it down, saying that the agreement has been for high level delegations to talk about peace in ukraine,

nbc's keir simmons, as always thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. imply restarting talks between the united states and russia. >> keir right. >> there reporting on the fact that the two sides. talked and talked about the. possibility of what a deal might. look like, that both ukraine and russia could agree on. but we've seen time and again already in less than a month time that there there have been explanations for discussions, whether it's on ukraine or the middle east. >> where you've had. >> people in donald trump's administration get out front, try to explain what something means and then be undercut, you know, maybe an hour or two later when he tweets something, talking about how he's going to take over gaza. so we'll have to sit and wait to see what he says. about these hearings. right now. >> though. >> they are being. characterized as opening talks between the united states and russia, which they hope will lead. to conversations that will bring peace. >> to both sides. >> a peace treaty that would be acceptable. of course, to the ukrainians.

joining me now from tel aviv, israel, is nbc's keir simmons. keir my friend. welcome.nt that came home yesterday. and what can we expect from this meeting between netanyahu and trump. >> hey, alex. >> well, we'll get to keith. >> siegel in a moment. but first with jordan bass, who, you'll remember was released but without his wife and two young children. so very bittersweet for him. his family put out a statement saying having jordan here finally allows us to breathe again. they say that he has lost significant weight, but he's feeling well and his physical condition is stable. as he begins his rehabilitation. they say we continue our fight for shuri, his wife ariel, and his his two children. and then in terms of keith siegel, we had the joy yesterday. there's some anger now in the siegel family over the fact that they say hamas terrorists who held keith captive forced him to write them a detailed letter. thank you. letter, just one of the many examples, they say, of cruel and cynical conduct conduct by hamas. that being said, we did get the chance to speak to his neph

>> keir simmons with the latest for us. thank you. >>> here at home, president trump made it official late last night, signing a pair of executive orders that will impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. and this move, being met with criticism with leaders from around the world. nbc's senior white house correspondent garrett haake with that story. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. look, these new tariffs are keeping with the campaign promise by candidate trump. but they're also likely to raise costs for american consumers and raising fears about retaliation, with canada and the eu already warning they may respond in kind. the president says there is more to come. >> it is a big deal. it's a big deal. >> reporter: with the stroke of his pen monday night, president trump raising tariffs on u.s. allies and adversaries alike, imposing new duties on steel and aluminum imports. >> it is 25% without exemptions. >> reporter: canada is one of america's biggest suppliers of both medals, calling it unacceptable.

. >> chief international correspondent keir simmons. led hostage. >> square in tel aviv. for us. and keir, what just happened? >> the ripples of cheers and applause across this crowd and hostage square, who have been watching the handover of keith siegel in gaza city, a different location from the other handovers today and in previous days. during this ceasefire. keith siegel looking pretty well, i have to say, wearing a cap. just as you look at these images, let me tell you a little bit about him. his family described him as a peacemaker, a vegetarian, somebody that on his kibbutz learned arabic in order to talk to the workers there. and then they describe the heartache of the past more than 480 days. his daughter shira delayed her wedding because her father wasn't there. his 98 year old grandmother, mother, his daughter's grandmother died while he was in captivity. he wasn't able to be at the funeral, and now we have been watching images of his wife, aviva, celebrating even before this incredible moment when he is putting escorted to t

joining us now from hostage square in tel aviv, israel, is nbc's keir simmons here?ind you there. and what can you tell us about how the exchange went? >> yeah, yeah. >> let me just explain where we are right now. we're in hostage square, where every saturday evening in tel aviv, there is this gathering, which is a demonstration calling for the release of the hostages, but also has become something of a celebration as hostages have been released during this latest ceasefire. and you're right, today, the first american hostage released for the during this ceasefire, the first american in more than a year, keith seagull. and the people here in the crowd have been watching images of the hostages released, including keith seagull watching him embraced by by his family. we had extraordinary moments today when his wife, aviva, saw him walk free for the first time and just to watch her was incredibly moving because she too was a hostage. she was released back in 2023. keith seagull, when she was released, said to her, i'll just be a few more days. there's a clock here count

. >> nbc's keir simmons is there. very latest. >> also ahead, we'll. go through yesterday's. >> plane crash. in toronto, where

jonathan. >> nbc's keir. >> simmons live for us in the middle east. keir. thank you as always.t. >> this morning. >> parts of. >> the south are. >> recovering from a weekend of. >> wild weather. >> violent storms sweeping. >> across kentucky. >> tennessee and west virginia. >> where. >> streams and. >> creeks surged to historic levels. >> making roads impassable and causing severe. damage to homes and businesses. >> rising waters proving too much for a levee that burst in tennessee. flooding entire neighborhoods. while in other parts. >> of the state. >> people and pets had to be rescued by boat. the extreme weather also spawning. >> a. >> destructive tornado in alabama. >> we have a lot of damage downtown. you see behind me. roofs are blown off the most of our buildings. >> in kentucky. flash flooding. >> stranding drivers. >> and residents across the state. >> first responders finding. themselves caught in the chaos to this. firehouse in hazard flooded. by the intense rains. >> at least nine. >> fatalities reported in kentucky, the governor saying most of the tragedies. >> oc

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keir simmons is in tel aviv with the very latest starting us off this morning.d morning. >> reporter: laura, peter, good morning to you. we can breathe again is the way this family just described it in a statement. we watched here in hostage square as keith walked to freedom here in israel. you can see him in the video waiving. and then we want to show you video of his wife reacting to these pictures. he was released back in november 2023. they haven't seen each other for more than a year, and this is how she responded to seeing him walk out. he told her when she was released, i will be with you in a few days. it's now been more than 480 days. more video of reuniteing. he was split from them in november of 2023. they were in captivity. they were released. there they are back again. and with his dad and sister, his wife and two children, including his little boy who was just nine months old when they were taken. still missing. really bittersweet moments here in israel. 184 palestinian prisoners have been released in exchange. and there are two americans, guys, st

keir simmons joins us with the very latest. keir, good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning to you. the family thought they would get closure this week. instead, they woke up with more painful uncertainty over what happened to a mother in her 30s, taken hostage with her children on october 7th. it's once again changing the cease-fire. this morning, devastating news for the family of ariel and kfir bibas. the israeli military revealing hamas did not hand over their mother's body. and israel says available intelligence and forensic evidence not released indicates the two boys who were just four years and not even nine months when they were captured were murdered in captivity. hamas staging a ceremony thursday. four caskets paraded in front of crowds in gaza. while in hostage square, an emotional crowd gathering. it was the first time bodies have been sent back. >> they could have been brought back alive, and now they're not. there is no way. >> reporter: and then hours after the remains were returned thursday, the israeli mil

nbc's chief international correspondent keir simmons is with us now. keir, good morning. >> reporter: hey there. good morning to you. it really is a flurry of diplomatic activity. an israeli team heading for cairo for cease-fire talks. a picture of the enormity of the task, it is the same trump administration team negotiating the kinds of issues that richard was talking about there and trying to continue the peace talks over the middle east. and it is as fragile as ever. the cease-fire is holding, but lasting peace looks a long way off. an israeli strike in gaza killed three and 17 were injured in ongoing raids in the west bank. prime minister netanyahu and marco rubio on his trip to israel as secretary of state praising president trump's controversial plans to rebuild gaza and vowing hamas cannot have a role in its future. >> frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern, administer, or threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. >> reporter: this weekend, the u.s. says, it struck al-qaeda in syria. a country now run by turkish-ba

noib's -- nbc's chief international correspondent keir simmons is in riyadh with the very latest forus. >> reporter: laura, good morning to you. that meeting took four and a half hours and there are two big headlines. there does not appear to be in the coming weeks the prospect of a summit between president trump and president putin. on the other hand, a seismic shift in relations with the two sides looking to cooperate on things like geopolitics and economics. not for three years has the world witnessed this, the first formal, if hastily organized u.s./russian talks. the trump administration unlocking russia's isolation from the west in a saudi arabian palace, without ukraine or europe at the table, less than a week after president trump's phone call with putin. >> the goal of today's meeting was to follow up on the phone call the president had a week ago and begin to establish those lines of communication. >> reporter: president trump's secretary of state, national security adviser and enjoy opposite their kremlin counterparts in a meeting described as constructive. >> i came away

is nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons. keir good to see you this morning. decidedly declined to offer details yesterday. what more have we learned about the negotiation that brought fogel home? >> well. >> very little at this point, jonathan. we know, of course, the history. we know that the biden administration, biden administration officials, were working to try to free him. >> but. >> weren't able. >> to achieve that. marc fogel was convicted by russia of carrying medical marijuana. he was not included in multiple prisoner exchanges. and now, this morning, he's finally home. this morning, marc fogel free. >> i feel. >> like the luckiest. >> man on earth. >> right now. >> after three and a half years wrongfully detained, the us. >> said in a. >> russian prison. >> the american. >> teacher calling president trump. >> a hero. >> and thanking supporters. >> my family has been a force. i thank my 95 year. >> old mother. >> is probably the. most dynamic 95 year old on earth right now. >> his mother. >> talking to nbc. >> news overnight. >> it just didn't. >> q

we will start with keir simmons. good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. mark fogel was convicted by russia of carrying medical marijuana. he was not included in multiple prisoner exchanges.orning, markl this morning, he's finally home. this morning, mark fogel free. >> i feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. >> reporter: after three and a half years, wrongfully detained, the u.s. said, in a russian prison, the american teacher calling president trump a hero and thanking supporters. >> my family has been a force. i think my 95-year-old mother is probably the most dynamic 95-year-old on earth right now. >> reporter: his mother talking to nbc news overnight. >> it just didn't quite sink in right away. >> reporter: fogel flown out on a private jet from moscow belonging to president trump's middle east envoy, punching the air as he stepped off the plane. this morning the kremlin says it is an exchange for a russian prisoner. earlier, the president not sharing details. >> very fair. very, very fair, very reasonable, not like deals you have seen over th

keir simmons is following this story.d morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. the family of the three of the fallen hostages have described themselves as in turmoil this week. now this morning, these images. the bodies believed to be shiri bibas, her two sons, ariel and kfir. the bodies, carried out in caskets in front of a crowd by hamas. prime minister benjamin netanyahu described today as a very difficult and shocking day for the country. in one of the defining images of october 7th, shiri bibas was seen in a heart wrenching video, taken while having her boys in her arms. her sons were 4, and not even 1. they became a rallying cry with a push for a hostage deal, with many wearing orange in solidarity with ariel and kfir's hair. the dad was released earlier this month. israeli air strikes repeating that message and propaganda slogans today. hamas has not provided any evidence for that. ten hostages. six believed still alive are set to be released as the first phase of this ceasefire deal in exchange