and not this lost person. >> robert khardasian was once part of the defense team and was a close friend of oj. he died of cancer. his children went onto become superstars in their own reality tv show. his daughter, kim, telling david letterman about what was like to be on the sidelines of that legal sir kiss. >> it tore the famil apart. >> back on the record. >> the judge continued to do the same in his courtroom for hundreds of trials after the simpson case. he retired in 2015. the most famous house guest, kato kaylin has been playing bit parts in movies and tv shows, even taking part in celebrity big brother in 2019. and would you believe that next year will have been 30 years since the trial. for all of these people it was a turning point in their lives and something that will forever be a part of their legacy.

story, but white bronco from the slow speed chase is currently on display at the crime museum in tennessee. >> that was an extraordinary recalling all that british circle in just a few moments, what we just learned that is making a lot of people in washington and the middle east nervous. the punch to the gut for abortion rights advocates in arizona but we will hear from chris mays, the attorney general who says she will not prosecute the 19th century bam e that was just resuscitated by arizona supreme court. as i bid you good day from msnbc headquarters but welcome to "alex witt reports." president biden is returning to the white house to speak with his national security team. this is as the u.s. embraces for iran to launch what is an immediate retaliatory attack against israel. brie jackson is at the white

house for us. what do we know at this hour ? >> reporter: president biden his cutting his weekend trip short and returning to the white house amid rising tensions in the middle east the abided administration has been on high alert for a strike from iran on israel. on friday, president biden said he expected it to happen soon and urged iran not to move forward. previously, u.s. officials have told us that iranian attack could focus on military or intelligence targets, rather than civilian sprint this all comes almost two weeks after iran vowed to retaliate for a bombing on its embassy in syria and put the boblame on israel. president biden is pledging to defend israel if an attack doesd occur. take a lesson. -- listen. >> i want to get information sooner rather than later. >> what is your message to iran

in this moment? >> don't print >> mr. president, mr. president, our american troops at risk as well? >> we are devoted to the defense of israel. we will support israel and help defend israel and iran will not succeed. thank you very much. >> reporter: lloyd austin spoke with the israeli minister of defense to discuss, quote, urgent regional threats. the pentagon has repositioned assets including fighter jets and ships in the middle east in preparation for a rainy an attack against israel. alex. >> taught so much this is thank you so much for keeping things with the white house let us bring in joe rubin, former deputy assistant the secretary of state. what does it tell you that the president is coming back early to the white house?

>> it is great to be with you. there is intelligence gathered about an imminent strike by iran. he is directing his team on both how heto ensure forces are protected and that our allies are being made aware of what it is that our position will end up being if iran does strike. a lot of activity, this really does imply that there is an expectation that a strike is imminent. >> give me a sense of the content. the kind of conversation the president is having with his national security team today. it is been a whole government affair, quite frankly. the state department and defense department and intelligence community and other agencies are engaged daily on the crisis in the middle east. for the white house, in these meetings, these iterations and discussions, all of our assets of national power are being

brought into the discussion. the diplomats get a message, the defense department tells our troops in the field what it is that we are anticipating. and then our intelligence community has its ear to the ground. in these meetings, haltingly, the decision will come forward to the president about how the u.s. should react to a strike. it depends on what kind of strike dit is. if iran does that hit israel proper versus assets outside of israel to make it official. or do they have civilian areas? all orof that. that process creates decision opportunities and ideas for the president to consider. you might how about from a diplomacy standpoint? what kind of message with the state department have for iran, either directly or through allies? >> we have a lot of ways to get to iran but we have a channel through the swiss through the swiss to speak on our behalf.

we can, of course, have direct engagements and it have those over the past years where there are meetings from time to time. this is where regional diplomacy comes with the most powerful impact the our allies in our rock, qatar, saudi arabia, they have a real interest in not seeing the war between the u.s. and iran escalate between israel and they are the ones we talk to. they tell the leadership in iran directly where the united states is. hopefully, offer the message that this is imminent but it does not have to be. you do not have to strike. there are other ways to deal with what you view as a good attack against benchmarks early from the iranian perspective, very negative. there are different ways to deal with this. those messages are passed as well through our allies. >> in terms of not having to strike, israeli officials, and

that includes benjamin netanyahu, has said they will retaliate to any attack from iran. how does united states keep this from spiraling out of control ? >> what we are also having to do and you heard the president talk about it with israel is the bride -- provide support israel and helping israelis that the proportional responses is what ngis required. if it is true that they took the attack a couple weeks ago, they have no reason to believe true. not that was a strike that was going to provoke. they hit leaders, who were, plotting attacks against israel and plotting with hezbollah. these are very sensitive moments. making sure the israelis understand that while they can have a right to defend themselves, they have to be proportional. much of this depends on what iran does. if it goes after official or military targets versus civilian targets, we have a significant impact. and the u.s. is what were

calling israeli saying we have our back. they are saying we have other types of assets that we have to help them protect themselves in the event of a strike. >> there is that kind of action but short of something happening directly on a united states entity, is there something iran could do but you think would draw the united states into a broader war ? i hate to use that terminology, actual war, but broader offensive behavior? >> alex, for the past half a year we have seen that to a certain extent. the group has been active in attacking commercial vessels, non-israeli and non-us vessels. has constituted some of our responses and the attacks coming out of iraq and killing several soldiers in jordan. that was a direct shot but we responded militarily.

these kinds of responses are calibrated to send a message and try to deter future increased aggression. that is what also has to take place. if there is going to be a response, that has to be coupled with a direct message to iran that this is a one off or a proportional response and we expect the same from you. the messaging and the communication diplomatically is just as important as military response. i do think the administration has done a good job of keeping these responses against the houthis, in particular, proportional. we have seen over recent monthsn a decrease. because of the response plus the diplomacy in the legality of the champerty attacks, a good outcome. >> good to have you back on the show despite the circumstances. we will see you again, thank you. also another report on the situation in israel. the idf saying just a short time ago that schools across israel will be close. in the next hour, we will speak

with mark ginsburg, the former u.s. ambassador to morocco. let us go back to four losses in five days. donald trump it has a fourth attempt to delay has many trial. the judge denying his motion to delay based on pretrial publicity. that loss followed a three failed in person attempts by his lawyer, todd blanche. jury selection will begin with more thanh 6000 summons with 2000 more than average. 500 jurors are expected to show0 up on monday. trump and his lawyers are protesting the process. >> well, jury selection is largely lock. it depends on who you get. it is unfair i'm dhaving a tri there. it is unfair we have this judge who hates trump. >> we have several reporters in place covering the new developments but right now, we'll begin back i, von hilliard, who is in pennsylvania where there is a truck rally in a few hours.

trump's team has tried over and again to get this trout pushback impaled. we are less than 48 hours away from the start of it. what you expect the former president will say tonight? >> reporter: this is the place where he is in >>control of the microphone. as a criminal defendant, he will have to be inside of a courtroom for the entirety of this trial. it could last up to six weeks. jury selection begins on monday morning. donald trump will fly to new york city this weekend. he has a rally in pennsylvania. this is the place where he, along with his keyboard for social media, is able to strikem his own legal defense, if you may. but not under oath. which he may very well do, suggesting, just yesterday at mar-a-lago in response to question from gabe gutierrez, of whether he will testify on his own defense. he said he may do that.

he may speak his truth. this is where you are looking at the prosecution, potentially, getting to question donald trump 30 have a cast of witnesses lined up, including stormy daniels herself , former trump eight hope hicks. also, michael cohen, his former lawyer. someone who served prison time and pleaded guilty to federal prosecutors in 2018 for his own role in this scheme. i want to let you listen to michael cohen and his first interview in a long while that took place this morning with the weekend team talking about donald trump, potentially taking the stand but also donald trump taking the hot seat and being the person who is the criminal defendant. take a listen. >> reporter: someone has to inform donald that he is the defendant. i sat in his seat a couple years back. i know what it is like. i wish there was someone i could have gone ahead and blame for everything. it is always somebody else's fault when it comes to donald

trump but never his. it is always someone else's. i am not the one on trial, he is. >> reporter: michael cohen will be a key witness. and just in the last hour on his truth social account, donald trump attacking michael cohen. donald trump has a gag order to not go on the attack against witnesses. it will be interesting to hear whether the judge bring this up potentially as soon as monday. for donald trump, this is a moment, with talking to his most loyal supporters. of course, them saying they will not really take any potential guilty verdicts to mean much. they believe that he is being unfairly prosecuted but it will come down to 12 jurors. there will be six alternates as well who will be the ones to determine for the first time in history whether a former president is guilty on criminal charges. >> all of it is just extra thank you so much for that. let us go now to christie

greenberg former deputy chief of sd ny. now legal analyst. and suzanne craig, investigative reporter with the new york times. welcome to both of you. suzanne, you will be in the e courtroom for this trial. congrats, you have a front row seat to history. is that a congrats, i am not sure? [ laughter ] we have the jurors, hundreds, showing up on monday. what are you expecting to happen ? >> reporter: there will be a lot of people in the courtroom. a lot of jurors will be packed in there. it will be interesting to watched. we will not know their names. we normal when you cover a trial, i have covered a lot of them. when the jurors come up and there spoken to by the judge, they say their names. that is important because the court knows them in terms of reporter. we write them down. if it is a high profile trial, we have biographies on them so

we can call them afterwards. in this case, they will be addressed only by number. that is going to be one thing that is very different. the other thing with the outset, the judge will ask them, you know, given a little information about the case. he will say names of the witnesses. and then he will say, if there w is any reason that you cannot serve ? they say, yes, they will just be excused. and it will go forward from there. each juror will be asked 42 questions. it is going to be long days the questions are everything from what you would expect, what do you do for a living, where do you live? and then will go into more gradual questions that will touch on donald trump. they will not be asked to they voted for but they will be asked questions that we could probably gather they would be asked what news you follow, the

new york times, msnbc, fox. and then they will be asked, have you gone to a trump rally g or work for the trump organization? anyone who works for the trump organization and they will be asked, you know, if they identify with the proud boys and there also can be asked if they have read michael cohen's c books. >> 42 questions. >> reporter: it will be very long days. they will go through a lot of people to get to l a jury -- th may have one opinion one way or the other. they can set that aside and come to a fair conclusion. >> christie, they want the judge to ask jurors whether not they like trump traditionally people try to avoid jury duty that happening here or will they be more inclined to get on the jury and end up on tv or with a book deal? >> reporter: that question of whether you like trump.

the question is framed differently. the judge is trying to get at whether or not people have very strong views about trump and unless you live under a rock, most people do have views about it one way or another. the question will be, here is what your views are but as suzanne said, can you put those aside and judge this case based on the instructions of law and on the evidence. what both sides are going to look for is those people who have such a strong views about trump, whether they work for him, volunteer for him or attended a rally, follow him on truth social. most people who have strong views in his favor, those are people that could hang the jury. that is what both sides will look for. prosecutors to keep them off and defendant to keep the people on. >> what if jurors have concerns about their own safety? i know you said this is an anonymous group. they will have numbers identifying them. these days, that may not be protection enough.

>> reporter: things do slip. things have come out on twitter. someone who is a reporter or a n spectator that may be there, they will be less likely because it is hard to get in and reported will be in assigned seats but things get out. i think that is a asconcern but keep thinking about the e. jean carroll case were jurors were brought in and taken out at the end of the day in a van we went there was lots of security. we met at the end of it, they were told to forget -- at the end after albert was rendered the judge said, i would not ju tell anyone you were on this jury. i tewas thinking, it is an on world, i have covered two trump trials, one was the organization and the other was the civil trial that donald trump just went through. it is a zoo down there every day. hundreds of reporters that come to see it and then the infrastructure that they bring in, the city police, the state police, there is federal

authorities all up and down there. i remember one morning coming in on the civil trial and there was a bomb threat phone into the judge's home. that is the sort of stuff you are living with every day when you're down there. there is police dogs there. there is so much security around but government lawyers, er the judge, the jurors are going to be a big concern. things happen. i think that any juror who gets on it, it will be in the back of her mind. we hope it goes well but there will be precautions taken. >> christie, the judge put aside two weeks for this. suzanne says these 42 questions and you chime in with the details and the like for 500 that starts on monday. could this take a longer to whittle down a jury pool to a dozen plus the six alternates?

>> reporter: it could. it is hard to say but one thing the judge did over trump ict my objections, anyone who says i cannot serve, i cannot be on this jury, he is excusing them without going through all the questioning of why don't you be on this jury? why must you be excused? he is getting rid of those jurors. that is going to make things go much quicker than if you had to ask to go through and question all of those people intensely. that is one thing that will make this thgo quicker. 42 questions, getting into a lot of details. there will be follow-up with some.ow it is really hard to say. it depends on how the jurors are responding but is it hard to get a jury who is going to say that they can be fair and impartial? what prosecutors are going to look for is anyone not being honest. there are people who are saying that they can be fair and impartial and put aside their views but actually do have the strong views and could be the

stealth juror that ends up hanging the jury. that is what is keeping alvin bragg up at night, i guarantee you. >> when you look, suzanne, at the witness wlist, what are yo key expectations from them and who do you think donald trump is dreading the most? >> reporter: that is a hard one. the witness list is really interesting but you have michael cohen. we talk about him a lot. i write stories for a living print and certain stories you try to have a narrator in it. someone just to take the reader., the main character. i kind of see him like that in this trial with this sort of being a supporting cast of sorts. he has got -- sort of the main person. everyone else will bring in different information and documents and stories to cooperate what he is saying. david is someone who will come

and over national enquirer chief. he had a relationship with donald trump and they were friends and during the 2000 election, he had an agreement with donald trump where he would be the eyes and ears of the campaign. his role is very interesting. what the national enquirer pays for stories. and they pay for a story. the story appears in the national enquirer. and he was paying for stories to kill them. and the stories that he was catching were the ones that did not make donald trump look so good. he will come in with that information and in one case he actually facilitated the payment to one of the other people that will be a witness in the case, karen mcdougal. there is another one, there is in total. to show a pattern that was going on but he will be an

interesting one. hope hicks, a lot of discussion about her. she will be an important witness. i remember during the campaign that your when i was covering him, she was everywhere. there was a very tight circle and every time you need to get a hold of donald trump, you would call her and she would be there. there was a not a lot of other fertilization -- facilitation. he called her hopey. >> reporter: i think i will have key pieces. the other thing that will be interesting is the documents. the documents are also going to be witnesses of their own. they will support the story that michael cohen has to old that most people know very well. there will be a lot of documents. >> suzanne craig, great chatting with you on the set. kristy greenberg, thank you so much.k

you are going to want to read that article had a money money. reporter spoke with more than 70 friends, colleagues and legal experts figuring out who bragg is and is careful verging on dirty practice of law. kim barker, one of the co- authors will join you later on this hour. coming up, google searches for abortion reach their highest levels since the 2022 midterm election and it is all because of arizona supreme na court ruling. next, my conversation with the state attorney general, kris mayes about the total ban . we are back in 60 short seconds. a test or approve a medication. we didn't have to worry about any of those things thanks to the donations. and our family is forever grateful because it's completely changed our lives. try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously,

so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. just like he did in arizona, he basically wants to take america back to the 1800s. >> abortion-rights taking center stage in the campaign but this week the arizona state supreme court upheld a near

total ban from the 19th century. vice president, harris made her first campaign appearance in arizona yesterday and focus on abortion. connie -- calling donald trump the architect of a healthcare crisis. alex tabet is in phoenix where the of mercian debate is a major topic in a closely watched senate race. alex, welcome to you but we have carrie lake who is taking a lot of heat from her own party from some recent comments. what did chi-chi say about abortion? >> reporter: kari lake called the 1864 abortion ban, quote, a great law. she praised it. now in 2024, after the supreme court deemed that this fan is indeed enforceable, she is changing her tomb. she says it goes too far and it is out of line with what arizonans want. i think it is important to reiterate what this band says. this is a near-total abortion met with only exception that the mudders investment mother's

life is in danger. if you help get an abortion you're going to prison for 2 to 5 years. it is one of the more strict abortion bans across the country. lake's changing to has not gone unnoticed. on thursday night she was in tucson at the university of arizona. she was asked tough questions by both proponents of abortion- rights and opponents of abortion-rights. i want you to hear some the questions she was asked on thursday night. >> why such a drastic change in the way you talked about it? >> i want you note that you want to know what you say to the people who trusted you and believed in you. >> wiry against the miracle? >> thank you for the question. >> reporter: on wednesday, the arizona state legislature is

expected to reconvene. they could put forward a bill to repeal the 1864 ban but it is unclear if there is enough republican vote for the repeal to go through. >> alex tabet, thank you for that. the abortion battle not going to fight for 10 days. the attorney general said she will not enforce the law but voters are looking to november when an amendment to protect abortion in the arizona constitution will appear on the ballot. joining me now is arizona attorney general, kris mayes. kris, welcome to you. you are saying you will not prosecute but if and when this goes into effect , with providers have too much legal risk to perform the procedures? >> i have said we will never prosecute a doctor, earners, a pharmacist, a woman or something helping a woman to secure an abortion with reproductive care. i would tell you -- by the way,

we believe it is 60 days. we have 60 days before the ban -- 1864 ban that was passed before arizona was a state, when women cannot vote, and the civil war was still raging. we believe it is 60 days. that is too soon, obviously. we will do everything we can. we think we have an avenue to try to appeal the decision. i think you have hit on something that is incredibly important, which is the chilling effect this is going to have an is already having on our medical providers, alex. i met with a 25 emergency room doctors, abortion care providers , family physicians, all of whom had a questions, like am i going to be charged with a felony? how close to death do i have to

allow a woman to get? just think about the questions. i had doctors asking me those questions. what they said, alex, we have on a nightly basis, a woman come in with a crisis in her pregnancy. an ectopic pregnancy, where we have to make split-second decisions about terminating the pregnancy to save her life. what about the situations that are 20 hours off or two months off ? we know for instance that sometimes pregnancies can make fighting cancer in a woman more difficult. so terminating a pregnancy is necessary in that situation as well. yet, in arizona, we have a situation with an 1864 ban has been imposed on the women and

the doctors of our state. that is why arizonans are show that make so outraged by this and we are fighting a hartford >> just reading the archaic language was extreme to think it would go from that to be implemented and enforced. let me ask you about what happened in 2016. doug ducey expanded the supreme court from 5 to 7 justices. he changed the nominating process for selecting judges giving more power to the governor. and all four of the justices, who have the decision to keep the law on the books, they were appointed by governor d.c. those two justices, they were appointed by a republican. one justice recused himself. what does it tell you about the evolution of the republican party and how political the courts have become? >> i think it tells you everything about the evolution of the republican party and how extreme the party has become and why they keep losing

elections in arizona. that is going to continue to happen as these kinds of decisions are made as governors appoint justices to state courts that are willing to reimpose in 1864 ban. frankly, donald trump was willing to appoint the justices that overturned roe versus wade that sent these decisions and send abortions back to states like arizona that had 1800 zombie laws. let us not forget what happened here. this started with donald trump and extreme united states supreme court that overturned roe versus wade. and we are living in the state of arizona under 1864 ban that will get women killed. women will die. women will die under the spam. >> if we have courts handing down rulings that are seen as

misguided that attorney general's, like you and others say, we will not abide by them. what is that due to our institutions and other courts? >> the reason i have said i will not prosecute is because i believe it is unconstitutional. those questions have not yet been addressed. that is one thing we are looking at, taking this back down to the trial court to say, we think this violates the right to privacy in arizona's constitution. i also have and every prosecutor has prosecutorial discretion. i do not believe the people of arizona and i know this in my core. they want me to spend the precious resources of the arizona attorney general office going after doctors and nurses and pharmacists and putting them in handcuffs for priding care to women who need it. i have to fight things like the fentanyl crisis. i have to put our water supplies. we have to prosecute elder abuse and real criminals. that

does not include doctors who are just trying to provide care and save the lives of arizona women. >> kris mayes, i am glad to talk with you. we will keep in touch and see how this develops. thank you so much, kris. he has been drowning in a sea of chaos. next, how donald trump mike johnson a lifeline. like here. and here. not so much here. farxiga reduces the risk of kidney failure which can lead to dialysis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪♪ farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection

in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. when you have chronic kidney disease, it's time to ask your doctor for farxiga. because there are places you want to be. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪

mike johnson is reaching out to donald trump amid increasing threats to is job johnson paid a visit to mar-a- lago on friday, just days after meeting between republican members of the house. julie tsirkin is on capitol hill. julie, welcome. did johnson seek advice from trump on how to manage the chaos and the house? >> reporter: most certainly , if not privately.

it was i was that johnson accepted emily relied on the words of information we heard from the former president. i want you to take a listen to what trump had to say and we will take that and talk about on the other side. we are getting along with the speaker and i get along well with marjorie. i think he is doing a good job. i think he is doing as good as you're going to do. i am sure that marjorie understands that. i think she is a good friend of mine. i know she has a lot of respect for the speaker. >> reporter: marjorie taylor greene who is the hardliner who is an ally of the former president who has been hanging and holding a threat to vacate johnson from the speakership the last couple weeks. first it was because of the spending package he put on the floor. and then it was because of ukraine in and then because of the pfizer federal surveillance program the government uses the reauthorization that johnson put on the floor yesterday but the house nearly passed. just this morning, johnson's campaign sending out an email blasting the visit with the

former president. clearly this is something he wanted to put in his political streak read column when it comes to the former president but he hopes this keeps marlee tate -- marlee taylor green threats at bay. >> thank you very much. let us bring in jeff mason, and democratic shutters from former senior aide for the biden/harris campaign. jeff, here we go again. matt gaetz led the charge for kevin mccarthy. just as months ago and now green is trying to do the same thing to johnson. can you gauge the mood of republicans in the house. are we going to see another gop speaker out of a job. >> what is the mood of everyone else. the fact that marjorie taylor greene is spearheading best does not mean that she has the rest of her right-leaning colleagues behind her. that seems to be part of speaker johnson's calculations as well. but does not mean it is not a risk because of the way the rules are set up, she can torpedo him pretty easily on

her own. she would need to have more vote. at this point, it does not look like she has them. >> adrian, can democrats capitalize on the chaos in any way and get back to the business of serving the people >> reporter: i think we already are. it is happening on its own. mike johnson has lost several republicans in terms of his majority since he has been the speaker. there is a narrow margin at this point it is hard to keep track but it feels like it keeps changing. right now he has a one seat majority. i was a, you lose members all the time. a couple here and there on vote. he simply has to work with democrats. that is what he is done the entire time on big pieces of legislation. it looks like marjorie taylor greene does not have the vote right now or support rebecca change any day. that is not a way that you want to govern as speaker of the house, especially when you as the republican party only have

the power with all branches of government only having the power with a very thin amount of power in the house. democrats control the senate and democrats control the white house. democrats are just, by default, capitalizing on this. we will see how the next few months jake out. >> we will. let us talk about president biden's former chief of staff but he made comments about the way his former boss is running the campaign. president biden is two of focused on bridges and infrastructure when he should be taught about economic issues like inflation, adrian. as a former member of the biden campaign, what is your reaction to this? >> reporter: i think he is doing better. there is a huge bridge collapse in maryland and the present cannot talk about that. it is something he has to talk about. he has to focus on and made several trips to baltimore. his secretary of transportation has been there quite a few times. americans want to note that there infrastructure is safe. it is important to present talk

about desperate the point that klain it was making too is the fact we do need to make sure, not the president or vice president or the cabinet, they need to make sure the american people understand that reducing the cost of gas and food prices , reducing the cost of everyday household items that american families use is a top priority with the president. that is something that you are hearing the president and vice president and his top staff talk about frequently. i think one -- i think klain was trying to say we cannot talk about what was just on their minds. it is always good to have a reminder of what is important and why we need to focus on, you know, when it comes to what the american people are looking for. >> to that point, jeff, political reported that there was pride over his accomplishments. how bad is this criticism coming from his former chief of staff? >> ron klain was an integral

part of the successes but i have no doubt he is proud of them and no doubt that he wants president biden to be proud of them. he is referencing a concern, of his, and among other democrats that there are things that are hurting biden in the economy that are hurting him or could hurt him politically in november that a guy who really knows, integrally, how the sausage is made at the white house does not think they are addressing. that may have been underscored this week by the inflation numbers that came out but show cost is high and hard and they were expected to be in march. that is the issue that republicans are going to hammer president biden on in addition to age and some of the other issues. the big issue is the economy. we all know that voters about mecca based on their pocketbooks , the cost they're facing at the pump and in the grocery stores. i think ron klain is pushing that up with his comments.

>> and ask a question but would you where you are ? i'm curious you think with president biden heading back from the beach to the white house to meet with his team about things developing in the middle east. i am told you were on a van. it is apparent you were on the beach and heading back to d.c. >> reporter: i am in a van. misses of viewer's pleasure to know this is a press pool than they are waiting for president biden to exit his house and fly back on marine one to washington, d.c. it is significant that he is cutting short his weekend trip to this place, delaware to go back to the white house but no doubt to spend some time in the situation room with his national security advisers because of the situation in the middle east. the white house has said that is why he is going back. it indicates what he already flagged on friday before he left that something could come

soon in terms of tensions in the middle east at a potential iranian strike on as -- an are really target. >> good to see you both. thank you. more on watching, waiting and wearing what we know about the threat from iran.

choose advil liqui-gels for faster, stronger and longer-lasting relief than tylenol rapid release gels because advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. so for faster pain relief, advil the pain away.

sugar breaking news at 45 past the hour. present biden is cutting short his weekend in delaware to return to the white house this afternoon to meet with his national security team about an iranian strike against israel. u.s. officials believe that that is imminent. they have restricted travel for its staff through much of israel since the war in gaza broke out. today, all u.s. embassies across the middle east were put on high alert. josh letterman is joining us now. josh, another welcome but we have the top american military

general in the middle east who has been israel the last few days discussing these threats with the idf. what we know about those conversations? >> reporter: we learned that israel has scrambled dozens of air force planes into the skies to be ready to respond to this potential strike. the idf says it's attack formations are now on high alert. israel is now doing a situational assessment along with the u.s. and its allies. it is not just the military on high alert. it is also civilians being put on alert. israel has just ordered all school activities to shut down for a two day period. they are telling people who live near lebanon and gaza not to gather in large groups. you combine that with the visit from a top u.s. military official, you might affect that president biden is rushing back to the white house and it is clear the u.s. and israel think this is happening imminently. the idf spokesman has been speaking about the preparation for what comes next. take a listen.

>> we bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further. israel is on high alert. we have increased our readiness to protect israel from further ironic and aggression. we are also prepared to respond. >> reporter: there are few things the u.s. and israel are looking closely at now to see how much of an escalation from iran this might be. one, will this strike come from i ronnie in territory as opposed to from one of the other countries where i ron has allies and assets and proxies that have attacked israel before? will it argue sites inside israel rather than israeli interest in other countries, like and embassies elsewhere in the world? that would be an escalation as well. will it target civilians are limited to military and government sites? those are the kinds of

questions that could determine what kind of response there is from israel and whether this actually does create the kind of cycle of escalation that all sides are so scared about. we are keeping a close eye on things with your help we will see you again at the top the arrow, josh. revelations about key player in donald trump's first criminal trial. what we hear about manhattan d.a. alvin bragg, a coauthor of this new article from the new york times, next. t. students... students of any age, from anywhere. using our technology to power different ways of learning. so when minds grow, opportunities follow. ♪ (vo) verizon small business days are coming. so when minds grow, april 22nd to the 28th. get a free tech check. and special offers and deals.

don't miss out. partner with our experts today. all of the things that you're looking for in a pad, that is always discreet. look at how it absorbs all the liquid.

oh my gosh! and locking it right on in. look at that! totally absorbed. i got to get some always discreet. monday, the first criminal trial american present is underway in new york and the first prosecutor to file the charges is about to become a household name. a new article on the new york times magazine profiles manhattan district attorney alvin bragg. starting next week he will try to convince a jury that donald trump attempted to defraud voters and the government when he made a hush money payment to a former adult film star. dreading that is new york times

reporter kim barker. she is one of the authors of the article. how under the prosecutor became the first to try trump kim, welcome but it is a long and extremely article. let us talk about bragg's -- but found each accusation had a flaw. after he was elected, bragg was encouraged to go after trump over allegations he exaggerated is that worth and financial statements, which led him to the discovery of the hush money payment stormy daniels. why was that payment the linchpin in bragg's decision to file charges against rob? what made this stronger than the net worth case? >> it depends on who you asked but from alvin bragg with the people we talked to, it is the fact this case has such a simple and clear narrative. it is easy to explain to a jury. they have got a great tour guide in michael cohen who made the initial payment. the charges relate to falsifying business records.

all the checks and receipts that were basically called legal bills. that is what the charge is about. i think that bragg felt it was easier to sell this to a jury than a net worth case. >> many legal experts felt this case was shaky and would go nowhere, largely because bragg failed to specify the underlying crime that trump had intended to commit. and also his decision to charge trump with a felony that is something a misdemeanor. explain how bragg convince skeptics that trump made the payment with the intent of defrauding voters and the government? >> reporter: you went right for the leads there. basically, when these charges came out about a year ago, that was the underlying complaint . how can you justify elevating the felonies without charging the other crime that he was supposed to have committed in the falsifying the business records?

i think that in the beginning, it was not name but then he name it in may. he had two judges, including a federal judge and the judge in this case sign off to his legal sense then. the legal theory seems very strong but it could be appealed of trump is convicted. as of right now, everyone is on board with this is the case, these are felonies and not misdemeanors. this is the case that is moving forward. these are all the weeds i'm talking about but i have this whole thing printed out and is so much highlighted. it is pretty awesome. of the many credible charges brought against donald trump, it was not expected. it would be the first case to go to trial but what is your sense of how that weighs on bragg? reporter: it is an issue in question but he is fine if one of these other cases leapfrogged him. this is the

way things worked out. i think he is just trying to really put one foot in front of the other and not let the publicity or all the attention take away from the fact that this is a falsifying business records case. it is a felony case and same sort of case that the office has tried time and time again but i think it is trying to stay focused on that. >> colleagues describe bragg as unassuming and many are surprise he decided to pursue this case. he was even the cheapest talking about according to your writing but you also say bragg has been quite about trump, a look back through his records show it is not always the case. you say underneath the quiet demeanor, there is an ambitious prosecutor has history's aspiration to the pursuit of a former president. can you explain that? >> reporter: green lettering during the election, during the campaign to become district attorney, which really heated up, i would say in 2020 and 2021, alvin bragg was

campaigning about trump. trump was in the background, the entire time. it seems like one of the things people were looking for in the district attorney, was who could come in and take on trump? it is a democratic city. whoever wins, wins the primary and typically will win the actual election, general in new york that was one of the things people were talking about. >> kim barker, i'm so glad to have you on. recommended reading for anyone who is interested in alvin bragg, his background and what he brings to all this because it will be quite the show starting monday. thank you so much. it was a bad situation for anyone to be in print but for people afraid of heights, they will see what i'm talking about next. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com.

do you want to close out? should i? normally i'd hold. but... taking the gains is smart here, right? feel more confident with stock ratings from j.p. morgan analysts in the chase app. when you've got a decision to make... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management. ♪♪ hey what's going on? i switched to h&r block this year and had one of their experts do my taxes for me. kind of a big win. oh yeah? yeah they're so on top of it, they guaranteed my taxes were 100% accurate. and my maximum refund or i get my money back. wow! nice. i don't know if my guy's got any guarantees. you should definitely switch it up. —we're gonna go do a victory lap now. get a 100% accurate return and your max refund or your money back. it's better with block. [music playing] tiffany: my daughter is mila. she is 19 months old. she is a little ray of sunshine. one of the happiest babies you'll probably ever meet.

[giggles] children with down syndrome typically have a higher risk for developing acute myeloid leukemia, or just leukemia in general. and here we are. marlo thomas: st. jude children's research hospital works day after day to find cures and save the lives of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. tiffany: she was referred to st. jude at 11 months. they knew what to do as soon as they got her diagnosis. they already had her treatment plan drawn out. and they were like, this is what we're going to do. this is how long it's going to take. this is how long in between. this place is like a family to us now. like, i can't say enough how grateful we are to be here. medical bills are always a big thing to everybody because everybody knows that anything medical is going to be expensive. we have received no bills since being at st. jude. we have paid for nothing. marlo thomas: thanks to generous donors like you,

families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live. for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the lifesaving research and treatment that these kids need now and in the future. join with your credit or debit card right now, and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support. tiffany: anybody and everybody that contributes anything to this place, no matter if it's a big business or just the grandmother that donates once a month, they are changing people's lives. and that's a big deal. [music playing]

now, today's other top stories. police arrested a driver they say inte