afternoon to you. i m yasmin vossoughian on a very big saturday afternoon. we are following some major breaking news this hour out of memphis. 24 people are dead or as tornadoes ripped through the states. we are live on the ground, a deadly scene in pennsylvania after an explosion at a chocolate factory. we are also following the developments in the strikes and counterstrikes between the u.s. and iranian-backed syria. and, we are just hours away from $1 trump rally in texas. that comes as a potential indictment hangs over his head and it is happening in a place that has become sacred ground for some of the worst extremists in the republican party, more on that. we want to begin in a state of emergency. the tornado break that has killed over 24 people. teams are working to look for survivors across multiple counties devastated. the town is getting particularly hard. dozens of buildings collapsed there. biden releasing a statement saying that he and the first lady are praying f
not waiver. nato, and we will not tire. john: different victories in ukraine, military experts warn the real winner might be another nation all together, china. gillian: the fear is while the u.s. is preoccupied, china could be preparing to invade taiwan, catching western powers off guard. l how likely is this scenario? coming up on america reports. i m still not home, i m not comfortable yet and i m just just not sure. as soon as i opened my door 10:00 monday night, it was an overwhelming my eyes watered, it was my nose burned, it was hard to breathe. they should buy out all their houses along the track, they are never going to get their money out of them. nobody wants to live down there. john: the head of the environmental protection agency giving an update to the federal response of the toxic train derailment in ohio. residents are on edge over the future of their health and community. john roberts in washington. good tuesday to you. gillian: and to y
yet happened. the lead starts are right now. republican officials rushing to defend trump with a variety of claims and chexcuses as the forr president faces a possible indictment. i think in your heart of hearts you know too that this you can this is just political. is this all firing up the maga base? we ll talk to two former trump insiders. plus, meeting with a menacing message, leaders of russia and china coming out of their second day of talks and offering deliberate prolposals about a future collaboration. and a colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by lacing her protein shakes with arsenic, how his internet searches became evidence. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper. we start with our politics lead and a high alert day for new york city police bracing for possible unrest if donald trump is indicted. an internal memo shared with cnn shows that all nypd officers are expected to be in uniform and ready for deployment today, although law enforcement
senate, only five seats to win control of the house. i want you to watch nancy pelosi hand me that gavel. this morning the results of our final nbc news poll before the mid terms, and what it says about the gop s chances of taking complete power back on capitol hill. plus, democracy at risk. you can t love your country only when you win. president biden issues a dire warning about election deniers and the risk for our electoral system. will the warnings from democrats resonate with economically challenged swing voters in the final push before election day? and very soon i will very, very very probably do it again, okay? will former president trump announce his 2024 bid before we finish counting the 2022 vote, my guest, rick scott, the chair of the gop s arm, and shawn maloney, at the chair of the democratic are you ready to meet the press ? 75 years, from deck at a timers to civil rights leaders, we mark 75 years as the gination where newsmakers come