last word which starts now. tonight, turning up the pressure on the former president. they stepped up efforts to get the reluctant witnesses to talk about those documents to mar-a-lago just as the trial of his company is getting underway. and, an nbc news exclusive, i go one-on-one with treasury secretary jen yellin. then, the grades are in, and they re not good. historic setbacks in schools across the country after covid. we search for solutions as the 11th hour gets underway on this monday night. good evening once again, i am stephanie ruhle. this is the final two weeks before election day and both parties have started a full court press for messaging what s at stake. earlier today president biden told democrats that his agenda is on the line. we just have 15 days until one of the most important elections in our lifetime. the choice could not be clearer. the stakes could not be higher. voting is now underway in several states, nbc news reports that nearly 8 million
meeting with japan s prime minister. but there s an issue loming over the white house. the mounting fallout over biden s handling of classified documents during his post obama years. thbz has learned one of the classified documents found at the d.c. office was marked with the highest classification in the u.s. government. that s according to a senior u.s. official and another person familiar. we got that development after attorney general merrick garland announced he s appointed a veteran prosecutor to serve as special counsel to review the documents. ahead, what we re learning about hur and how he s proceeding. plus the tight rope both the white house and justice department are walking considering there s another special counsel investigating president trump. also this morning, devastation across the southeast. search and rescue operations are underway after tornadoes in multiple states. by the grace of god, we all survived. we jumped out the car and we all got in the
future is at stake. thank you all so much for joining us tonight. greatly appreciate your time and insights. coming up, on the second hour of ayman, democracy fights back, how people around the world are holding those in power accountable. plus, oh my pillow, the dangerous conspiracy theorist mike lindell, faces a growing list of legal problems. and the latest on the path of tropical storm ian as he let s get started. so on the show, we ve been frank second hour one okay about the often bleak state of american democracy, from rioters in the halls of our nation s capital, to elections deniers, using their elected positions of power to subvert the will of the american people. our democracy is being tested and strained time and time again, so i m sure doesn t shock you to hear that according to a new nbc news poll, voters actually ranked threats to democracy as the most important issue facing the country today. and while that fear is warranted, democracy and justice have racke