welcome, everybody. we begin on the unofficial first day of the summer travel season. and you better pack your patience. 42 million americans will take to the skies this memorial day weekend. experts think it could be one of the busiest on record. now, the white house is pushing to avoid another flight mare like last year. president biden is touting his effort to compensation travelers for flight delays, quote, ledezma up for travelers this memorial day weekend. we launched flight rights.gov. if the flight was cancelled or delayed, check the dashboard to see how you could be compensated. transportation secretary pete buttigieg thinks it will serve as a big test for the airline system. this weekend will be a test of the system and i think all of us have airline stories from last summer and the disruptions that took place then, cancellation and delay rates were at unacceptable proportions last year, and it s important that that not happen again. all right. so pete buttigieg
good day, i m chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. the defense with its final chance to keep alec murdaugh out of prison on murder charges. his lawyer picking apart the prosecution s theory about why he would have killed his wife and son and accusing state police of faking the evidence, the very latest from south carolina as we get close to jury deliberations. plus, president biden heading back to his old stomping grounds on capitol hill this hour, his mission and his message focused squarely on keeping democrats in charge in 2024. and as if delays and cancellations aren t enough to worry about, multiple cases of weapons trying to be smuggled to planes, a near collision, dangerous turbulence, the latest worries for an already exhausted flying public, more on the search for answers and for someone to fix this mess coming up. but, we begin at the alec murdaugh double murder trial. the defense had e wrapped up its closing arguments on an emotional note.
congress. plus, the ohio governor is visiting the site of this toxic train derailment in east palestine at this hour just as there s news of another train crash that s killed dozens of people overseas. and tiktok taking what it considers a major step to limit daily screen time for young people. how far does it go? this is what we re watching at this hello, everyone. i m kate bolduan. we begin on capitol hill where attorney general merrick garland is testifying before the senate judiciary committee at this hour. he s facing questions on everything from gun violence and social media regulation to the fentanyl crisis and that s just in the first few minutes. he is also expected to be asked about the special counsel investigations into president biden and former president trump and their handling of classified documents and there s more already facing questions about the ongoing investigation into president biden s son hunter that republicans are pushing on. paula reid is
very good wednesday morning to you, i m jim sciutto. and i m erica hill. happening right now, more than 4,500 civilians are stuck in the ukrainian city of bakhmut, this as russian forces launch a barrage of attacks on the fiercely contested area, president zelenskyy calling it the country s most difficult situation. as of now, though, ukrainian forces are still holding the line. cnn is on the ground in eastern ukraine and we will bring you the very latest. plus a political sorry, go ahead. it s all yours. plus a political shakeup in chicago. mayor lori lightfoot the first mayor in 40 years to lose an election bid in that city as concerns about crime and public safety rattle voters. we re also watching the alex murdaugh murder trial. take a look at this, aerial images from southern california where a winter storm has already dumped feet of snow, that s southern california, another 12 to 24 inches expected today. we do begin, though, in ukraine where 48 children
committee, defending his justice depend and to the probes, and allegations that he s weaponized the doj. paula reid is in washington. how has the hearing gone so far? he clearly wants to highlight the work of the rank-and-file employees who are not working on the special investigation, but as well at another high-profile investigation into hunter biden. the attorney general was grilled about why a special counsel is not overseeing the huchblter binden investigation. let s listen to how he explained that. i promised to leave the matter of hunter biden in the hands of a u.s. attorney for the district of delaware, who was appointed in the previous administration. so any information like that should have gone should or should have gone to that u.s. attorney s office and the fbi squad working with him. i have pledged not to interfere with in a investigation, and i have carried through on my pledge. there you hear him defending the trump-appointed u.s. attorney who stayed o