. >>> our richard engel goes one-on-one with the president of ukraine asking about two americans capturedhile fighting in his country. >>> and the one-on-one of the stanley cup champions. it's january 27th. "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin this morning with much of the country still reeling from the unprecedented supreme court decision overturning roe versus wade. in arizona, abortion rights demonstrators outside of the state's capital met with tear gas after police say that a door was broken and monuments vandalized others say they were not warned including a mother and 8-year-old daughter whose eyes were stinging from the gas >> and activists were out in force joyfully celebrating opponents of abortion held signs calling themselves a post-roe generation nbc's jeske kirch spoke with both sides of the issue. >> reporter: demands for abortion still echoing across the u.s., after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade, revoking the constitutionally guaranteed right to do >> i cannot imagine the effect on someone, like, it's

richard engel, nbc news, zaporizhzhia. >>> we'll take a break. honors for a real working dog. a miro to brainsto. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro. ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) (sharon) suction out your tube before you eat. (shane) don't use spray paint. cpr is not mouth to mouth. it's mouth to stoma. (shawn) be very careful shaving. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. (mom allen) verizon just gave us all a brand new iphone 13. (dad allen) we've been customers for years. (dad brown) i thought new phones were for new customers. we got iphone 13s, too. switched to verizon two minutes ago. (mom brown) ours were busted and we still got a shiny new one. (boy brown) check it out! (dad allen) so, wait. everybody gets the same great deal? (mom allen) i think that's the point. (vo) iphone 13 on

although ukraine has agreed agreed not to use them to launch rockets into the country now from richard engel but first a warning. >> some of the images we're about to show may be disturbing. >> reporter: russia grinding o ut a victory in eastern ukraine with its troops advancing behind barrages of rockets and artillery. president zelenskyy warning russia is now using maximum combat power russia's destructive advance all about range. each time russia takes new territory it can push forward its artillery and rockets by a mile or two, extending their capabilities and now russian troops can even attack the center of one of the major cities in donbas russian shells pounded this row of apartments. vitaly says after the explosion he looked through the dust for his wife she started to shout, my leges, my less. she wanted water but there was no cup so i gave her water from my hands. the sheets on her bed are drefrngsd in blood he says he doesn't know where his wife is now. downstairs, american volunteer dallas casey had arrived the six-year army veteran who says he was compelled to help ukraine defen

richard engel takes us inside an orphanage where many face heart breaking conditions. >> reporter: the vilshani orphanage is home to more than 200 physically and intellectually challenged ukrainians. they're not really orphans. nearly everyone here was abandoned. >> mama. >> reporter: and now russia's invasion has made their lives even more difficult the facility is overcrowded after similar shelters in eastern ukraine were evacuated. masha just came from the east she's alert and bone thin with a trail from tears down her temple. this is not a hospital they don't do advanced treatments or give much medication. hi you've got such a lovely smile the most we could give was attention, touch, and affection. catherine lit up when i rubbed her hand. you don't want to let me go. i don't want to let you go either. many are clearly starving for love and their families >> mama. >> reporter: for the last several hours vlad here has been calling out to his mother, and it's one of the hardest things you can see because a lot of the kids here have been calling out to mom and dad, and they're not comi

our richard engel is there. >> reporter: russia is grinding out a victory in eastern ukraine with its troops advancing behind barrages of rockets and artillery. ukraine's president zelenskyy warning russia is now using maximum combat power russia's destructive advance is all about range. each time russia takes new territory it can push forward its artillery and rockets by a mile or two, extending their capabilities and now russian troops can even attack the center of one of the major cities in donbas at 1:00 a.m., russian shells pounded this row of apartments. this man, a cobbler, says after the explosion, he looked through the dust for his wife nellie. "she started to shout, my legs, my legs she wanted water but there was no cup so i gave her water from my hands. then she lost consciousness," he told us. the sheets on nellie's bed are drenched in blood. with her picture in his hands and more blood at his feet. he says he doesn't know where his wife is now. downstairs american volunteer dallas casey had arrived. the six-year army veteran who says he was compelled to help ukraine defen

>> richard engel with the human toll of this war.hard, thank you for that >>> in 60 seconds the president now expected to make a controversial trip to saudi arabia this as gas prices soar to yet another record as opec and allies will increase production, but will it help? that story next. >>> this just in, as gas prices hit another new record today, president biden is expected to travel to saudi arabia this month in an effort to repair relations with that oil rich nation it comes as opec and allies agree to step up production but will it be enough to ease the pain at the pump here's tom costello. >> reporter: with gas prices setting new record highs every day sources tell nbc news president biden is expected to travel to saudi arabia later this month and expected to meet with crown prince mohammed bin salman the news comes after intense diplomatic efforts, and on the same day, opec and ten allies unexpectedly said they will modestly increase oil production by 648,000 barrels a day in july and august for months the saudis have refused

let's talk through some of this with richard engel and retired four-star general barry mccaffrey. start with you on this one. we love having you on and being able to pick your brain on this. what is standing out, especially in the city of severodonetsk? >> reporter: right now the russians do seem to have momentum. they are almost finished capturing the city of severodonetsk. that would be an enormous loss for ukraine. but it also would allow russian troops to advance and advance their artillery and threaten other towns and cities here in donbas, including kramatorsk, slovyansk, another city. each city of 100,000 to 150,000 people. they're largely empty now. heavily militarized. some residents remain but the vast majority of the population has left. so, what ukraine is hoping for right now is the arrival of these new american weapons, longer range rockets, and artillery so that they can push the russians back because the russians using their artillery, using conventional tactics are grinding their way through ukrainian towns and cities. they're about 80% through severodonetsk right

a once thriving industrial town now in ruins richard engel sat down with the ukrainian president volodymyrelenskyy just moments after the announcement of that withdrawal. zelenskyy personally thanked president biden and the united states for all the weapons he's received but said he needs a lot more zelenskyy also told engle that ukraine's intelligence service is actively working to free two american fighters captured by pro-russian forces >> two americans answered your call as many did, to come here and fight for ukraine's democracy. they were captured the kremlin won't rule out that they could face the death penalty. is there something you would like to say directly to the families of those two americans. >> with pleasure, yes. what can i say they're heroes for me, they are the same like ukrainians, but i'm sure that we'll fight for them, and we'll get them back. and of course, they will come back to your families, to their children >> today marks four months since vladimir putin launched the invasion president zelenskyy told richard engel he's worried the west will lose interest in the

russia has seized mariupol nbc's richard engel has more from the besieged city >> reporter: his mother and family just escaped russian occupation their lives saved by a book. safe at a refugee center after three months in mariupol invading russian troops bombed their house and chased them to the basement and killed his grandfather. he kept a diary of his war through the eyes of a 9-year-old cartoon tanks and russian helicopter destroying buildings and setting the forest on fire >> these are soldiers? and they're shooting >> did you see a dead person on the street did you see any bodies on the street >> reporter: he drew his house before it was bombed and his grandfather with wings to carry him to heaven. he drew the food he wished he was having on his birthday >> what kind of food was that? >> reporter: an activist sneaked photographs of the diary out of mariupol and posted them online. they touched many ukrainians and the warm reception gave helen the courage to risk attempting an escape. a network of activists details of the work secret rescued the family last week a daring escape in

chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more. >> president biden writing unless russia is confrontedod-be fighter would be after they're territory. >> reporter: they say it's too dangerous to evacuate the 12,000 people strapped. president zelenskyy called on the united states to supply long range weapons that can destroy russian are tillery from a days since between helping ukraine without triggering a wider war. he wrote the u.s. will send on long writing in part we willboro described the ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in ukraine. for ukrainians, time is bringing new ukrainian angels into range, you thissing the. he looks through the dust for his wife, nelly. she started to shout, "my legs, my legs." she wanted water but there was no cup. so i gave her water with me hands. then she lost consciousness, he told us he doesn't know where his wife is now. downstairs, american vol ears that casey has arrived. the six-why dallas and his team helped vitale. >> do you think you're making

thank you very much, richard engel.s, former ambassador to russia, michael mc emanuel macron, france's president, indicating there have to be some negotiations. what is your take on this? is there a concern that the west might begin to fracture a bit in standing up with ukraine? >> well, i agree abstractly with president macron that there should be negotiations. i know for a fact that president zelenskyy would welcome negotiations. there's just one problem with saying there should be negotiations. vladimir putin doesn't agree. as long as his forces are making progress, as you just were talking about with richard, he's not going to negotiate. he's going to keep taking territory. i think it's naive to say we shouldn't humiliate him because we want him to sit down at the table. he'll only sit down at the table when his military can no longer advance, when there's a stalemate on the battlefield. it's about power, it's not about putin's feelings. >> let me bring in retired four star general barry mccaffrey. with the brits se

attack of ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy sat down for an exclusive interview with nbc's richard engeleople. >> what is victory looking like for you? how does this for and? >> translator: the world will and for sure. i'm sure it will end with ukraine winning. whatever happens. no matter how difficult it is for us we must oust the occupiers from hourly and. >> coming up on the today show, the latest on the shopping mall attack and richard engel's full interview at 7:00 a.m. right after today in the bay. >>> president biden is in europe trying to keep our allies fired up about helping ukraine. >> one of the big concerns is you plaint ukraine supplied green. >> ukraine has plenty of up but the problem is getting it to the rest of the world. the russians have bombed grain silos and the water rains to the south and they have been minds that they are promising new food aid to the rest of the world. president biden wrapping up his meeting with g7 leaders who are united in their opposition to russia. yesterday the g7 pledged to stay with ukraine , quote, until the end. the group also stood uni

people were killed and dozens wounded after a russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall richard engel now with late details >> reporter: the city of kremenchuk had been spared russian attacks. that's why so many people were out. they thought they were safe ukraine's president zelenskyy said 1,000 people were inside this shopping mall initial reports are several were killed when a russian missile hit. earlier i spoke with president zelenskyy about why he thinks russia is being so brutal there is a iconic photograph of you in bucha, and you look exhausted. what was it like for you to see your fellow countrymen executed on the streets, their hands bound behind their backs? did it change you? >> translator: it was just so quiet. everything was destroyed. i just didn't know that this could be done by people who 30 years previously we had lived together in the soviet union in one country. >> why do you think this is happening, that there are now thousands of allegations of russian war crimes here, thousands of them? >> something was broken with mentality, with them. something -- >> translat

richard engel, nbc news, kramatorsk, ukraine. >>> thanks for that.ng in chief white house correspondent kristen welker and also pentagon correspondent courtney kube. kristen, let's talk first about what the president said monday versus what he is saying now of course in that "new york times" piece. monday he said that we're not really sending long range missiles, especially missiles that could feasibly strike into russian territory. now an about-face. and that coupled with what we're hearing from secretary blinken now alongside stoltenberg. let's listen and then i'll have you respond. >> ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on russian territory. there is a strong trust bond between the ukraine and the united states and as well as our alleys. >> what important is this commitment to the president changing course in his commitment to ukraine? >> it is really at the crux of the president's decision to change course and to approve these long range missiles. and again, i would just underscore what you hea

before the attack of ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy sat down for an interview with nbc's richard engel and reaffirmed the resolve of his people. >> what does victory look like for you? how does this war and? >> translator: the world will end for sure. i'm sure it will end with ukraine winning, whatever happens. no matter how difficult it is for us. we must oust the occupiers from our land. >> coming up on the today show, the latest on the shopping mall attack and richard engle's full interview at 7:00 right after today in the bay. >>> happening today, san jose leaders will consider rolling back a decades-old ban on a favorite pastime. since 1986, cruising has been illegal in the city leaving many who love to cruise around the city to look elsewhere for those that worry free rides. when it was approved, the city cited traffic at, just in, criminal activity and an environment of fear commanding cruising. critics called the ban discriminatory and a card played by police to pull over young people in east san jose. the debate is part of a regular schedule council meeting happening this afte

long-range missiles that could be fired into russia as russian forces gained more ground in the east richard engel is there tonight. >> reporter: ukrainian forces claim they shot down this russian helicopter in eastern ukraine today, but unlike before, losses on the battlefield are not slowing russia's assault. miro popovich, a ukrainian american, who served in the american military, says the fighting in the east is the most intense he's seen thus far. >> it looks like their soldiers are never-ending we keep wiping them away and they still, they bring more. >> are ukrainian troops going to be able to hold on to this area out in the east >> you know, i think so i hope so. they are pushing, but we are strong, as well plus, we got the support equipment from the middle east, from the states >> reporter: ukrainians are waiting for the multibillion-dollar american package of aid and arms the united states and the united kingdom have already promised to supply rockets that can fire up to 50 miles. president putin dismissed those weapons as inconsequential, but said if the west supplies longer range weapo

after the ongoing search for survivors by a russian missile on a crowded shopping mall in ukraine richard engel is on the scene. >> reporter: good morning. this attack shocked many not because russia attacked but because of the location. we are nowhere near the front lines. what was hit is just a shopping mall full of civilians ukrainians say it made them feel nowhere in this country is safe. perhaps that is what russia was trying to achieve. >> after working through the night, rescue crews look exhausted. mostly, they are searching for remains. it is quiet now. the only sounds are shovels. last night, the mall was noisy full 1,000 people inside. some of the children's toys, backpacks and a soccer ball remain a strong smell of fire is everywhere investigators are on site collecting evidence of possible war crimes it is illegal to deliberately bomb civilians that's exactly what russia did and is doing across the country. the mall was so crowded because the area had never been hit before people felt safe president zelenskyy accused russia of trying to break their spirit >> translator: they cannot

nbc's chief white house correspondent richard engel with the latest.d morning. >> reporter: good morning hoda. 100 days, a 100 days that have changed the country, changed the security dynamic in europe, and after initial success in the battlefield, now ukrainian troops are fighting to hold the country together. 100 days in russian troops have all but captured their fifth major city in ukraine. getting the country back could take years and isn't guaranteed. three months ago, the war looked promising for ukraine. >> the whole country united against this russian invasion.t. >> reporter: at the front, ivan, a judge who gave up his bench was one of many civilians who took up the call to arms. >> at first stage they wanted to invite the whole country and i think it was their mistake they lost lot of soldiers, tanks, equipment just because they thought that ukrainians will be happy to see them. but ukrainians are happy to see them dead. now the car goes more slowly >> reporter: now it is a destructive grind. with russia using artillery to blast through ukrain

that attack, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy sat down for an inclusive interview with richard engelof his people. >> reporter: what his victory look like for you? how does this for end? >> translator: the warble and for sure. i'm sure it will and with ukraine winning. what ever happens. no matter how difficult it is for us, we must oust the occupiers from our land. >> coming up on the today show, the latest on the shopping mall attack and the full interview at 7:00 a.m. right after today in the bay . >>> president biden is in europe trying to keep our eye laws -- >> he came from the g-7 and the meeting in germany. yesterday, the g-7 pledged to stay with ukraine, quote, until the end. the group also stood united against putin and at one point the british prime minister boris johnson, to the left of the president, suggested they all take off their shirts, joking about a picture of putin on a horse looking strong and virile. the french president emmanuel macron and the canadian president -- prime minister said they could show off but they did not take off their shirts. i don't have the

nbc news correspondent richard engel has more from the fighting on the donbas. >> at 1 am, russian shellsd this row of apartments in -- . vitali, a cobbler, says after the explosion he looked through the dust for his wife. she started to shout, my legs! my legs! she wanted water, but there was no cup. so i gave her water from my hands. then she lost consciousness, he told us. the sheets on her bed are clenched in blood. with pictures on the ground, and more blood by his feet. he says he does not know where his wife is now. downstairs, an american volunteer, had arrived. the six year on me veteran's who says he was compelled to help ukraine defend his democracy, was nearby. they helped vitali down from his apartment. into a car bound for the hospital. without telling him his wife is dead. the fighting is getting heavy. in nearby several donetsk, russia has received -- . >> when we were there, we were definitely being shelled. buildings would get hit, and we would go to those buildings immediately, try to pull people out. >> and more help is coming, ukrainian troops are pouring in and the u

on the today show richard engel will be in one such town where the forces are coming in. you can watch that following today in the bayto town san jos get started for the weekend. oh yes, starting out a fuday, a there in some places, but, it's friday, so, we are excited about that. meterologist kari hall has been tracking what we can expect, and any rain in sight for us? >> we've been talking about the possibility of rain as we head into the weekend. i want to show you this graph that shows how the year usually shapes up for us. we make it a little bit of rain and as we go to the weekend, what we are expecting to be fairly significant on the scale of what we usually see during this month, so we are getting ready for especially the north bay, getting a chance of scattered showers that will first start to move into the north bay, by saturday evening, and then, the rain continues into sunday morning, and they reach as far south as san francisco and oakland. i don't think it'll make it to livermore or san jose but it's good that we do see at least some rain in the forecast. we

jeffrey rosen, the acting attorney general at the time, rich donahue, who was his deputy, and richard engel, another top justice official, all people who essentially threatened to quit, to resign in mass when the president was trying to outline his efforts to use the justice department to try to support his lie that there was great fraud in this election. that panel it appears is going to be a justice department panel that is going to be some time perhaps in the middle of june. again, these hearings, what committee wants to do is tell the public, show the public some of its findings from the words, from the mouth of some of these top trump officials who stood up to the former president. kate? >> much more to come for sure. it's good to see you. thank you for bringing us that. >> you too. thanks. >>> coming up for us, officials in tulsa, live pictures from tulsa, they will be holding a press conference shortly on that deadly mass shooting there overnight. we're going to bring it to you live as soon as it begins. they're moments away. >>> also ahead, the white house is facing new questions af

. >> shawn, it's very clearly that if people like jeffrey rosen, richard donaghue and richard engel had not stood up to trump, things may have been different? >> oh, absolutely. and i think one of the real effective aspects of having them testify is that it may actually give attorney general merrick garland more comfort. he's an institutionalist, worried about being seen as overly political. seeing these high-ranking doj officials at his own rank give this testimony might target him to feel more comfortable moving forward. >> republican leader kevin mccarthy appointed five republicans to serve on the committee but pulled them after house speaker nancy pelosi rejected his choice of jim banks and jim jordans. earlier this week, donald trump called it a bad decision. house republicans regretting that move? >> it's an interesting question. we know for a fact former president trump is regretting that decision. and it's interesting, of course, because he has so much power in the gop. ken mccarthy has really sought to continue to legitimize the lice of former president trump. to see president

this is what ukrainian officials, ukrainian soldiers and fighters in the donbas, richard engel has beenaking to, this is what they've been asking for and saying will put them in a position to fight russia in the donbas region. the key city is server donestk, a small pocket in the donbas region the heaviest fighting. we got administration about that city, they say about 60% of the city is under russian control, 20% under ukrainian control. the rest no man's land. the front line breaks that city in half. that was the biggest city left in the donbas region. as the line pushes west, which was putin's original pretense, taking the donbas region. i'm going to run through the head of the president's office says ukraine needs weapons to liberate territories occupied by russia, liberate ukrainian land and people, artillery, mrs the weapons system you mentioned, air defense systems are necessary. there was not a particular thank you, but it was certainly a reinforcement that this is exactly what troops on the ground need. the defense minister, chris, also said ukraine is in a critical phase of th

no respect towards people's lives. >>> that was richard engel, reporting.illinois governor jb pritzker is standing by, he joined the situation just ahead on morning joe. joe. insights illuminate better choices. allowing us to see differently and do more. with kpmg you have the people and technologies, to uncover insights and turn them into action. when we act on insight, with the right people by our side, opportunity is everywhere. let insights reveal new opportunities. it's still the eat fresh® refresh, and now subway® is refreshing their classics, like the sweet onion teriyaki sauce, topped on tender shaved steak. it's a real slam dunk. right, derek? wrong sport, chuck. just hold the sub, man! subway keeps refreshing and refreshing and refreshi- for people living with h-i-v, keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so

moscow is now in control, but as nbc's richard engel reports, the fallout is far from over. >> reporter by a book. they're safe at a refugee center after three months in mariupol. invading russian troops bombed their house, chased them into a basement, and killed jaeger's grandfather. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: jaeger kept a diary of his war through the eyes of a 9-year-old, with columns of cartoon tanks, a russian helicopter destroying buildings, and setting the forests on fire. >> this is the burning forest? these are soldiers? they're shooting? [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: did you see a dead person on the street? did you see any bodies on the street? jaeger drew his house before it was bombed, and his grandfather with wings to carry him to heaven. he drew the food he wished he was having on his birthday. what kind of food was that? [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: an activist sneaked pictures of jaeger's diary out of mariupol and published them online. they gained fame, touching many ukrainians. the public's response gave helen the courage to r

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in kyiv for this us this morning. ard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah president zelinskyy urged g-7 leaders, including president biden, to increase sanctions on russia, speed up the delivery of weapons systems so that ukraine can end this war by next winter. but president putin is signaling he's not done yet. russia carried out one of its most coordinated and intense bombings in weeks across ukraine this weekend, including now rare cruise missile strikes in kyiv, where an apartment building was hit. authorities say a 7-year-old girl was pulled from rubble. her father killed. it seems president putin is bombing the capital again as a reminder that russia still threatens all of ukraine and can dial up the war on command ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy told us in a wide-ranging interview that president putin is trying to drive a wedge between ukraine and the west >> translator: moving forward somewhere and somewhere else we are retreating, but facing russia one-on-one, i understan that it is goi

richard engel is there.ry. rich good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah, as russian forces appear set to capture a key cedar, ukrainian volunteers are racing to evacuate civilians. the russian held area. eagle crest off, his mother, helen and sister, veronica just escaped from russian occupation. their lives, saved by book. they are safe bit of refuge after three months and mary opal. invading russian troops bombed their house, chased them into a basement, and killed yeager's grandfather. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: yeager kept a diary of his war through the eyes of a nine-year-old. columns of cartoon tanks, the russian helicopter, destroying buildings, and setting the force on fire. so this here's a burning forest? these are soldiers? and they're shooting? >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: did you see a dead person on the street? did you see any bodies on the street? yeager drew his house before it was bombed. and his grandfather with king caring him to heaven. he drew t

very, very debilitating cycle for everybody in this country to live through, and if you watch richard engel'st the west is going to become very tired of this war with ukraine, because it's costing them a lot of money. the longer this war goes on, the more it drives down profits in the west when you factor in refugees, energy, rearmament, these are all huge costs for the west, and if this is going to be a war of attrition, ukrainians are asking themselves, how much longer are we going to get supported? >> and i think, cal, the only thing more bleak than that assessment is the alternative. i mean, what do you think the ability for people to really contemplate the grim and really dangerous implications of the alternative, for the, you know, and i keep going back to the briefings that we all got at the beginning from the administration, that this was going to be quick. that russia would take over, they would have control of kyiv in a matter of days, not weeks. the ukrainians were the plot twist that nobody saw coming, that western intelligence missed. what is -- what sort of recalibrations have w

lead things from here, from several doj officials including jeffrey rosen, his deputy, richard donahue and stephen engel. one topic of discussion will be jeffrey clark whom president trump wanted to install to lead the justice department clark was said to be supportive of the president's election fraud claims >> the president says suppose i replace him, jeff rosen with him, jeff clark. what do you do and i said, sir, i would resign immediately. there's no way i'm serving man minute under this guy, jeff clark. >> today's hearing will be the last until july. the committee says it needs more time to consider new evidence. that includes hours of unseen footage from a documentary from a film maker named alex holder the film maker is expected to testify before the committee today behind closed doors. phillip? >> all right, chris, thank you and special coverage of today's hearings will begin right here on nbc at 3:00 p.m. eastern. >>> robb elementary school, the scene of last month's horrific school shooting will be demolished the mayor of uvalde, texas said he did not believe any student or teacher should hav

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the very latest. >> good morning. nato not to send ukraine more advanced weapons or he'll expand the war. >> speaking on russian television, president putin promised to strike unspecified new areas if ukraine's western allies supply it with rockets that can fire hundreds of kilometers into russia. perhaps to prove he's serious, russia bombed kyiv this weekend for the first time in weeks. there were no immediate reports of deaths. the united states has agreed to equip ukraine with modern artillery and rockets, but for now, washington is not supplying the advanced munitions putin appears to be warning about. president zelenskyy has promised not to fire american weapons on to russian soil. this weekend, he visited ukrainians displaced by the fighting and rallied soldiers out in the country's south and east where ukrainian forces are facing their biggest challenge of the war so far. russian troops have encircled a pocket of the donbas region. they're pushing toward the center to close a gap still held by ukrainian forces.

. >> that was richard engel reporting. >> coming up t may be one of the deadliest cases of human smugglingscovered in the back of a truck in texas. those disturbing details are next on "morning joe." voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪♪ ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish] discover is accepted at 99% of places in the u.s. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish] some people have minor joint pain, plus high blood pressure. and since pain relievers may affect blood pressure, they can't just take anything for their pain. tylenol® is the #1 dr. recommended pain relief brand for those with high blood pressure. if you have questions on whether tylenol is right for you, talk to your doctor. >>> welcome back. federal investigators are on the scene of a tragic discovery in texas. dozens of migrants found dead in a suspected case of human smuggling. nbc news correspondent morgan chesky reports. >> a sweltering summer day in texas. where the temperatures top 100 degrees, contributing to one of the country's deadliest human smuggling cases in recent history. the tragedy unfoldin

one is i think about our correspondents people reich richard engel who are over there wearing crumby, not effective protective gear, walking around with an iphone sending us the truth. >> right. >> showing us what's going on. commending the press, talking about the press. eddie's point, the criticality of itis crucial. secondly, think how this is playing in london, in paris, in berlin. >> right. >> in beijing, in moscow, this is undermining us deeply. and to the point of the press, their ability to convey the story honestly and openly is the truth. and the truth is our best weapon. >> and what they do is, willie, what enemies of press freedom and what people who want donald trump to be a dictator do is, and we've seen it, they'll look through the thousands and thousands of "the new york times" and "washington post" stories. and then they'll find an article that they didn't get right. and then we'll hear about it for weeks. a great example, putin's -- putin putting bounties on the heads of u.s. troops in afghanistan. >> right. >> oh, that's all we heard about. see, this is why you can'

we're going to hear from jeffrey rosen, richard donohue and steven engel.'s a key witness who hasn't agreed to testify and that's former white house counsel pat cipollone. joining me now someone who used to have that very job, and that's john dean, the former nixon counsel. i learned so much more about watergate from the cnn documentary you did. everyone should watch. the parallels to what's going on now, unbelievable. >> i did a nice job, thank you. >> thank you for responding to that. listen, the committee has been spending all the pressure campaigns, and we're about to hear what was going on in the doj. how important will tomorrow's testimony be in piecing all this together you think? >> i think it'll be very important. first of all these are seasoned lawyers. they know what evidence is. they resisted pressure from the president of the united states. he was not acting properly. and so i think they'll be powerful witnesses. i have little doubt they will. >> yeah, and you understand all too well the position that pat sip lenny is in tonight. i mean he coop

his deputy richard donahue and steven engel. >> how often did president trump contact you or the department to push allegations of election fraud? >> so, between december 23rd and january 3rd, the president either called me or met with me virtually every day. >> so the common element of all of this was the president expressing his dissatisfaction that the justice department in his view had not done enough to investigate election fraud. but at different junctures, other topics came up at different intervals so at one point he had raised the question of having a special council for election fraud. at a number of points he raised requests that i meet with his campaign council, mr. giuliani. at one point he raised the -- whether the justice department would file a lawsuit in the supreme court. a couple of junctures there were questions about making public statements or about holding a press conference. one of the latest junctures was the issue of sending a letter to state legislatures in georgia. >> on december 13th an organization called the allied security group issued a report that the domin

rosen's deputy, richard donoghue, and steven engel, who was head of the office of legal counsel, theymass resignations at the

hearing testimony from former acting attorney general jeffrey rosen, his top deputy, richard donohue and stephen engeltogether these public servants resisted mr trump's effort to misuse the justice department. as part of his plan to hold onto power. rosen, who took over for attorney general bill barr detailed his talks with former president trump on his claims of election fraud. we did not think that they were appropriate based on the facts and the law as we understood them, rosen said. he threatened to resign and that more doj employees would follow if mr trump replaced him with the lower level official named jeffrey clarke, who supported the president's false claims. it was clear to us that there are a lot of people whispering in his ear. feeding him these conspiracy theories and allegations, and i felt that being very blunt in that conversation might help. make it clear to the president. these allegations were simply not true . and on wednesday, federal authorities searched clark's home in virginia republicans on capitol hill have largely ignored and dismissed the hearings as a distraction. this th

a loyalist at doj and he'll testify wednesday along with two other former doj officials richard donohue and engel. congressman bennie thompson, thank you for joining us. we were riveted and i watched it along with my colleagues in the studio, and i wonder what your after-action conversations were with the committee behind closed doors after it ended? >> as you know, we've been working for over a year, nicole trying to put what happened, the facts and circumstances and so what you saw last night was the finished product. we tried to tell the public that body of work that we've put together, the hundreds of witnesses that we've interviewed, the hundreds of thousands of exhibits that we've had an opportunity to look at, and so for the public, we may, in that period of time, an opportunity much of which from a video stand points, the public never saw, but our job is to get to the facts and circumstances around what occurred and the public has a right to know. we had convinced based on what you heard last night that donald trump is the reason january 6th occurred. he invited people to come to washingt

we will hear from richard donoghue and stephen engel.

richard donoghue and then steven engel from the office of legal counsel. he pushed what he knew was illegal and leaning on the government to overturn the election and then the real life consequences of threats faced to these individuals, so we'll hear from them in person and the committee promising even more information as they may, after this hearing, have a bit of some down time as they process new evidence and look into future hearings likely in july. erica? >> looking for all that, manu, appreciate it. thank you. chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin, with us, political analyst, jackie kusinich. as we go through all the new yesterday, part of that was the call that donald trump made to the head of the rnc. i want to play a portion of that. >> what did the president say what he called you? >> essentially turned the call over to mr. eastman who then proceeded to talk about the rnc campaign gathering incontingent electors with the legal challenges, changing the result, more just helping them reach out and assemble them. my understanding is the campaign did t