for him. i think that is funny that is all anyone asked about. to talk about in the questions. ton don riddell. thank you so much. the lead with jake tapper starts right now. senator bob menendez said there is a good reason he had nearly half a million dollars in cash stuffed in envelopes in jackets at his home. the lead starts right now. a defiant defense, senator bob menendez denying federal charges against him. how he justified all of that money stuffed in envelopes in jackets and close ties to the egyptian officials. but how about those gold bars and a mercedes-benz. plus less than a week until the government shutdown. what kevin mccarthy just told cnn about his cut with democrats and those threatening to oust him if he does. and donald trump playing to his maga base at a gun store in south carolina. welcome to the lead, i m era hill in for jake tapper. we begin with our law and justice league. a defiant senator bob menendez pushing back on calls for him
it is 11:00 a.m. eastern. 8:00 a.m. pacific. i m jose diaz-balart. we re tracking several breaking stories right now. israel strikes back, targeting iran overnight. the fallout as tensions grow in the middle east. here at home, a critical vote under way right now on capitol hill to advance a whopping package of aid to ukraine and israel. in new york city, jury selection back under way in donald trump s criminal hush money trial, a full panel of 12 in place as they search for five more people to fill the alternate seats. and we begin with breaking news on capitol hill, where happening right now the house is voting on whether to consider a package of bills with $95 billion in aid for ukraine, israel and the indo-pacific. joining us now from capitol hill is nbc s ali vitali. what is happening right now? reporter: look, just in the last minute or two, jose, since we came on the air with you, democrats who had seemingly been holding their votes back from this rule vote just i
out to you? out to you? firstly, if this is true, it out to you? firstly, if this is true. it says out to you? firstly, if this is true, it says israel - out to you? firstly, if this is true, it says israel is - true, it says israel is attacking the isfahan nuclear facility. three reactors there that form the concrete for the fourth reactor. isfahan really is, to a great extent, the centre of the iranian nuclear programme, both in terms of training, research and fact, some would say the development of the nuclear capability so it is a likely site that israel would hit because again, the greatest fear that the israelis haveis greatest fear that the israelis have is not continued missiles today but a nuclear capability tomorrow. we today but a nuclear capability tomorrow today but a nuclear capability tomorrow. we have heard, of course, several tomorrow. we have heard, of course, several times - - tomorrow. we have heard, of course, severaltimes - not l course, several tim
12 jurors are seated in the trump trial. opening statements could come as soon as monday. mike johnson pushing ahead with critical votes on aid to israel and ukraine. we look forward to the vote tomorrow. we look forward to every member voting their conscience and their desire. that s exactly how this process is supposed to work and how the house is supposed to operate. good day, everyone. i m andrea mitchell in washington. u.s. officials are hoping israel s low-key retaliation against iran, in what is called a limited military strike, will end the cycle without further conflict. flashes in the sky could be seen from iran s air defenses over the city of isfahan in the central part of the country. israeli officials would neither confirm nor deny the strikes being being responsible for the strikes, leading the u.s. to avoid confirming them as well. iranian officials are downplaying the strike today. iranian media reporting the target was a military base near a major
retaliatory strike against iran overnight while you were sleeping. so far, zero comment from the israelis. we re awaiting live remarks from secretary of state anthony blinken very shortly. the strike was inside of a major iranian military air base that contains facilities associated with their nuclear program. but we know iran s nuclear facilities apparently not impacted. they did not hit them. ainsley: we have not received an official statement from the biden administration. but a source says the u.s. was not notified before the strike and was not involved. lawrence: jeff paul is on the ground in tel aviv, israel and retired tony tata has excellent analysis. first, brian is breaking down exactly where this happened. brian, what can you tell us? right now you take a look at israel right near here. and you take a look at iran over here. a long distance to travel. thousands of miles where they wanted to hit. did they want to go tehran where there s a lot of drone manufact