residents leaving their home 6 feet high. our reporter, one of the only american crew living in the lock down tonight. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm erin burnett, "outfront" tonight, the breaking news, putin's war may be spreading beyond ukraine, russia accused of targeting the state security, a separatist region of the country of moldova all the other side of ukraine from russia, explosions rock the area, blowing out windows, a strike of course could open the door to a much broader conflict and more ambition by putin, as russia intensifies assault on civilians in ukraine the head of luhansk region of donbas accusing the russians of quote, raizing everything to the ground, almost looks like somebody painted it, completely destroyed. rockets also coming down at least five railway stations across ukraine taking out more of the country's vital infrastructure and told there are casualties there as well. over the past days, ukrainian's train system has been crucial especially from the west into the east, weapons coming that way, also millions of ukrainians coming out. earlier i spoke to olek oleksandr vickel head of the military administration of the hometown of volodomyr zelenskyy, that town now finds itself on the front lines of putin's war and told me what he's witnessing tonight. >> translator: in the last few days, they increased intensity of shelling and we did notice the russians have been striking more intensely than before using all kinds of weapons and we're talking here about grab, all different kinds of artillery and definitely striking civilian settlements such as different little towns and villages around kryvyr rih. >> you heard him talk about the different weapon systems he's seeing the russians use so i asked him about these types of artillery he referenced, you know, what were they, and this is what he told me. >> translator: at the moment, what we clearly see is that russians are using planes that are dropping huge bomb and see that includes vacuum bombs as well, besides they are using missiles prohibited by the geneva convention and that includes cartridge missiles as well as phosphorus, the ones they've already used in the strike on kryvyr. >> cnn not able to independently verify these claims but obviously, these are incredibly serious vacuum bomb use, phosphorus use and cartridge missiles. now the state department says it is aware of such claims, have not been able to confirm them. also tonight, a bold show of support for ukraine, the secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin went to kyiv to meet with zelenskyy and other top officials, upon meeting, austin made it clear that no one should count ukraine out. >> we want to see russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading ukraine. >> we don't know how the rest of this war will unfold but we do know that a sovereign, independent ukraine will be around a lot longer than vladimir putin's on the scene. >> obviously, very significant statement there about putin and his regime. we are live across ukraine tonight, i want to begin with sam kiley in krematorsk and sam, what is the latest where you are tonight? >> reporter: well, erin, here in the east, and i'm in a salient territory if you like t on the map, looks like a kind of pacman shaped by the if you like, trying to advance down from the north in kharkiv and isium from russian territory, very short run into ukraine there, they've drastically shortened their supply lines. local people telling us the town had either fallen to the russians or become unliveable for ukrainians as a consequence of shelling. and that has been the case in a number of smaller villages, settlements they call them around here, a couple of days ago, the ukrainian government talking about 42 of these settlements have fallen. now not all of them fall permanently, this is a back and forth war with the russian forces being stretched very, very thinly, but are being reinforced now directly from other parts of ukraine, particularly around the fight in kyiv and also, of course, from the russian motherland itself, but the russians also saying they're going to prosecute the war all the way in the southern sector and again, down near zaporizhzhia and pushing east in that area we've also seen an increase in military activity with the local government in zaporizhzhia saying that they're not only seeing an increase in military activity in term of shelling attacks on their own positions but also aware of a significant russian build-up of forces so i think worse is yet to come, is really the summation here, erin. >> all right, sam, thank you very much. and we'll be talking again with sam in just a few moments. in mariupol tonight, meanwhile, striking new images of the suffering going on inside that steel plant, right, that's the plant where ukrainian forces and civilians still in mariupol have taken cover. little food and water, people just as you can see there in the dire circumstances, because russia has the plant surrounded, there is no way to get necessities in. you can actually, even in one image we have see a child wrapped in plastic as the only cover they have for the child because there aren't even any diapers. it's all part of life inside that steal plant that has become the last stand in the fight for mariupol. matt rivers is outfront. >> reporter: before mariupol became a hellscape before russian military depravity turned the city into a cemetery, there was love here. just two weeks before the war began, zoritska spent valentines day with her boyfriend in the city, took this picture in a café, this one after eating, a few days later snapped this one on the window seat in the train that would take her back to kyiv. >> he kissed me and told natalya, i don't know when i will see you again. >> reporter: resignation from a man who understood the realities of the war to come. her boyfriend who we are not naming or showing for security regions is a soldier in the asov about battalion a unit that has fought the russians for month. we went to see natalka at her home in kyiv, where her boyfriend was given to command to, quote, fight until the last drop of blood. >> reporter: what did you think when he told you that? >> i recommend that he, to save his life, but he answer it no, i should keep on as a soldier and i have to be here. >> reporter: she says her boyfriend lost cell service on march third, his silence as deafening as the bombs that by then had started to fall around kyiv, forcing her and her family down into this cellar, it was down here, after two weeks she heard from him. >> when he called, it could be 10 or 15 seconds and then bombing and -- >> reporter: but with what connection he did have, he would send her videos of the utter destruction that surrounded him. we can't show you those for security reasons. what do you think when you watch these videos? >> i think that -- empty. i feel the empty. absolute empty. >> reporter: along with the videos, were selfies and texts, and on his birthday, a particularly special message. >> he gave me a proposition that i couldn't -- >> reporter: say no to? >> say no, yeah. >> reporter: what did he write to you? >> so, i love you and do you want to be my wife? >> reporter: a few days later, a marriage certificate made it official. now a wife, she says she refuses to cry. her husband is stoic in the face of death so she will be too, how else to describe her reaction to the last message he sent. >> my husband told me that natalka plead be glad, because very soon it will finish. >> reporter: when you say it's going to finish very soon, what are the two options? >> very simple. they will alive or they will be killed. just two options. >> reporter: and erin, now, the last message that natalka got from her husband was a few days ago now, hasn't heard from him directly since, in that message, he sent a series of pictures of a letter, a hand-written letter he had been writing over the past few weeks, told her that was his quote, final goodbye letter, she should only read it if he is killed in mariupol in the steel plant complex, she said in her heart, she hopes he will get out of there but in her head she knows there is a very small chance of that happening. erin. >> incredible story. thank you very much. and i want to go now to retired army lieutenant general mark hertling, commander army of europe and seventh army, i know these stories are the ones that can capture peoples' hearts and minds what's at stake here, you think of what's happening, the lives lost, yet antony blinken said today that russia failed in its goals. failure of course can still mean such incredible loss of life to come, today, russia struck five rail way stations in central and western ukraine targeting supply, targeting weapons coming in so when you look at the situation right now, do you believe russia has failed? do you believe ukraine can still win? >> well, i'll start by saying, erin, first of all, that was a very moving testimony by that young woman about her husband who is fighting. it has been repeated over and over throughout history and i've had a little experience with that too, with spouses who know what their husbands, what their wives are doing when they put on the uniform of their country. it's tough. going to your question, do i believe ukraine can win? i absolutely do. i've been saying that from the beginning. it is tough, we are now close to eight weeks into this conflict. you know, you're going to hate me saying this, but this is a relatively short war. but it is caused so much terror, such grief, such inhumanity because of the way russia is fighting it and i think the will of ukrainian people is going to persevere. they are going to win this fight. you see that in every kind of interview that you do with those who are fighting for the black and gold and i think this will continue on. russia has been placed in a very dire situation both with manpower and their leadership and even though we see this repeated pictures like you're showing now of terrorized cities and civilian inhumanity that russia has created, ukraine is fighting for their sovereignty, is fighting for their freedom and i think they will carry on. >> so let you ask you about what oleksandr wikel said there, he specifically told me general, that russia has used, in the hometown of volodomyr zelenskyy, vacuum and cartridge bombs, cluster munitions, also banned, but vacuum bombs, no one able to show exactly where thaskey have been used he said they have been used there and cartridge bombs, do you think that is the case and what will that tell you? >> i'd say i know this is the case and we've seen evidence of it, they've used fuel air explosives, so-called vacuum bombs horrific in their extent of destruction. the russians have used phosphorus munitions, you see that from photos where the fraus f , phosphorus chemicals coming down from the sky either from rocket artillery or bombs dropped, russians claiming they're using that for illumination to see in the night. we've seen multiple sbinstancesf cluster munitions meant for aerial denial, to deny the enemy a place to either set up artillery or maneuver their force but in this case they've been used against apartment buildings and schools and k kindergartens so all of these things i think will eventually determine russia is guilty of multiple instances of war crime, use of unauthorized munitions against the civilian population and i think the mayor of the town who said all those things probably seen it up close and personal as many of us have seen it on films and understand the way the rugs conduct military operations. >> of course, he is saying it in his own city in the villages around it. general hertling, thank you very much. and next, ukrainians suddenly finding thim selves on the frontlines of putin's invasion refusing to leave even when warned their town could become the next mariupol, plus the next person in putin's inner circle sanction experts say one after another you got to sanction her yet the biden administration holding back on sanctioning putin's rumored girlfriend. why? in a cnn exclusive, mark meadows, 2,300 text messages from the day of the election on biden's inauguration tonight reveal desperate pleas from the former president on that list, asking to stop the violence ♪ lisa here, has hadad many jobs. she's worked in n retail during the holidays. as a barista during rush hour. and a nanny to a couple of rambunctious kids. now, all that experience has led her to a job thateels like home. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults, with a career that makes a difference. ♪ apply today. ♪ finding the perfect project manager isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found him. he's in adelaide between his daily lunch delivery and an 8:15 call with san francisco. and you can find him, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com (music) who said you have to starve yourself to lose weight? who said you can't do dinner? who said only this is good? and this is bad? i'm doing it my way. meet plenity. an fda -cleared clinically proven weight management aid for adults with a bmi of 25-40 when combined with diet and exercise. plenity is not a drug - it's made from naturally derived building blocks and helps you feel fuller and eat less. it is a prescription only treatment and is not for pregnant women or people allergic to its ingredients. talk to your doctor or visit myplenity.com to learn more. ♪ limu emu ♪ and doug. ♪ harp plays ♪ only two things are forever: love and liberty mutual customizing your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. 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focus on right now. that's the planning effect. from fidelity. . breaking news, ukrainian officials tonight reporting heavy fighting in a village just west of isium where the russian military amassed forces in ukraine, part of its onslaught, oppressed civilians ordered to evacuate to leave their homes even as warnings their village could become the next mariupol as troops advance, sam kiley out front. >> reporter: war veteran, she's been a volunteer on ukraine's front lines in the donbas for five years. today, she's delivering medicine and food to villages within range of russian artillery. a new phase in vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine, it's sometimes hard to imagine why people stay in frontline villages. >> i'm asking people a specific question. i'm ready to hear children cry and say mom, i'm scared to die -- it gives me the creeps to hear them say that myself. >> reporter: russian forces have captured isium a few miles to the north, pounding nearby towns with artillery and rockets they're slowly advancing south towards slaviansk and city of kramatorsk, russia's aim is to capture this territory and to do so must overrun this landscape. maria headed towards them, three miles from the reported latest russian forces and heavy shelling. she ignores air raid sirens, family and friends holed up in their home and she's bringing them food. on arrival, good news, they've agreed to pull out. a last run in the spring time garden for them who ignore the town's sirens. >> translator: my sister woke up this morning and said we have to leave so we packed up. we didn't want to leave until the last minute but then something made me want to so we had to. >> reporter: it's an emotional wrench, but it's a relief. the importance of groups like maria are part of, part of a volunteer army across ukraine here in the front line villages is not just humanitarian but political, trying to hold on to as much ukrainian government territory as possible as long as possible. the lessons from bucha and other towns captured by russia is many civilians may not survive occupation, a neighbor herself, frightened and confused still refuses to go. she's got a job at the local power plant, joining ukrainian's millions of refugees, risks a life of deeper poverty. >> translator: it's simply a genocide of the ukrainian people. i don't know how else to explain it to you. and just ask for what -- >> translator: we're not going to leave here. this is my homeland and my relatives are here. i cannot leave anyone here. my elderly grandmother is 80 and can hardly walk. i can't leave her, do you understand? >> reporter: no escape for her grandmother or anyone in this family. 10s of thousands of people staying on in their homes across this region in a nearby which you were, orthodox easter services are dominated by prayers for peace, but the un unholy ghost of war looms heavily here. now there has been substantial increase in the level of violence coming from these russian efforts to push down from the north and indeed, push up from the south, particularly to the east if you like, of zaporizhzhia, that emboldened southern city on the evacuation route or the end of the evacuation route for the occasional evacuations from mariupol, but the sense in this region is also given the levels of reenforcements going in on both sides that the big fight is yet to come, erin. >> all right, sam, thank you very much for that. and next, cnn exclusive, more than 2,000 text messages former trump chief of staff mark meadows, we got them all. marjorie taylor greene making a case to impose marshal law and why isn't the united states sanctioning her, this putin insider, because he is her reported girlfriend? reporter who broke the story for wall street journal is outfront. so youou can have more succes tomorrow. ♪ one t thing leads to anothe, yeah, yeah ♪ at booking.com, finding perfect isn't rocket science. kitchen? sorted. t tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like 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rewards. our way of saying thanks, with rewards for the whole family! from epic trips... to the original jurassic park... on us. join over 3 million members and start enjoying rewards like these, and so much more in the xfinity app! and check out jurassic world: dominion, in theaters june 10th. this is xfinity rewards. our way of saying thanks, with rewards for the whole family! from epic trips... to the original jurassic park... on us. join over 3 million members and start enjoying rewards like these, and so much more in the xfinity app! and check out jurassic world: dominion, in theaters june 10th. the untouchable person in vladimir putin's inner circle, according to wall street journal, biden administration is refusing to sanction el elena kavayva, putin's alleged girlfriend and former olympic gymnast, the one person every sanction's expert tells me is should be at the top of the last, coming from the white house, no one is safe from sanctions. putin never confirmed a romantic relationship with her and denied reported he fathered multiple children with her, a rare public siting of her in moscow this weekend at a gymnastics event she hosts, russia's state channel one airing this photo among multiple z photos, showing support for russia's invasion of ukraine. in a moment, i'm going to be joined by the reporter who broke the story for the wall street journal, vivian, who is now with me, all right, thanks so much. so can you tell me what, you know, we see her appearing this weekend, right, with all the z symbols behind her. what is holding the u.s. bank back from sanctioning el elena kavayva. >> well, erin, there's a lot of debate going on within the administration now and ultd maelt they've decided it's not that they're never going to sanction her it's just they did not want to sanction her right now, and the reason for it is they said exactly, our sources told us it would be escalatory, a lot of people hear that and say that's exactly what we want, to be escalatory but there are some actions within the government they do believe maybe have greater consequences with regard to maybe slowing russia's invasion of ukraine and this just doesn't happen to be one of them. what this one is, though, is a major personal blow to putin, something that he would likely take very personally. and there still is this looming hope within the government they would be able to find a negotiated settlement and the bloodshed in ukraine and maybe, one day, very far down the line, probably, we would have normalized relations with russia and to do that, it's really hard to take a personal attack like that and so they decided they'll save it in their back pocket for when it's absolutely necessary but there are other actions that would be much more effective right now. >> right, right, and when people say sanction her, you know, they obviously she's the key to a lot of money and, you know, living what appears to be maybe a life of leisure in switzerland, lots of, you know, speculation out there. and this brings me to my question to you vivian of the questions about her, we know she won olympic gold medal in 2004, then suddenly a russian lawmaker, then the chair of russia's new media group which runs pro-putin television channels and websites, you know, all these things suddenly happened. what else do you know about her relationship with putin? >> she's a very mysterious figure. and has been very elusive, even with the russian media. any media organizations that even have tried to speculate about their relationship have either been shut down or shot down in terms of just a denial, flat out denial from the kremlin of vladimir putin himself, been very elusive about it and not confirmed the relationship, in fact in 2008 when he was still married to his previous wife, reports started to surface he was dating kavayaha and started saying i always disliked those with their snotty noses and fantasies break into peoples' private lives so not a denial but in putin's way very much not answering the question and that's been the case some 14 years now even as we believe we have at least three, they have at least three maybe four children together. >> it is probably incredible when you say at least three maybe four, anyone can look up the tabloid stories about that but incredible the most insiders don't know the answer to that question. thank you very much sharing i don't you are reporting with me, now to retired four star army general and former cia director david petrayas, in both those roles, general you understand a lot of about that the wall street journal reporting the biden administration was ready to sanction elena, putin's former girlfriend with whom he apparently has several children but they held off the last minute and you heard the reporting as to why, this would could be a personal blow and would beesq would would be escalatory, the one thing that would really get to him, what do you make of that, that substantial of an impact on putin? >> it could. it could be deeply personal and i'm sure you also have to ask as i'm sure was asked at the individual in the head of the table in the situation room what meaningful impact would this really have? is this going to truly advance the effort of putting enormous pain, doing considerable damage to the russian kaurn aem, financial system, business community, and indeed, putin's inner circle in ways that will be really quite transformative, hopefully, that could help persuade president putin as also battlefield developments help persuade him, that it's time to go to the negotiating table. in that regard, i think they set back and they say, well, you know, what we did over the weekend is vastly more important. what secretary austin, what secretary blinken did in kyiv, this is really important and what secretary austin will do tomorrow when he hosts the nearly 40 countries, i believe, ministers of defense's counter parts in ramstein air base in germany, how significant that could be, because what this is essentially establishing is that it's no longer ukraine in a sense fighting on its own with the support of the u.s. and a couple of other countries, it's now ukraine enabled by the world's arsenals of democracy. and i think this is very, very significant and indeed, if all of these weapon systems can get into ukrainian hands, and be employed as effectively as i think is possible, they can not just stop the russians over time, now right now, they're probably giving some ground in the east and southeast. >> yes. >> but i think in the future, they can start to push russia back, and again, the combination of what's being done, again, economically, financially, business and so forth plus what happens on the battle field hopefully will persuade president putin that it's time to sit down at the negotiating table and maybe at some point are going to be intermediary that is spring back into action between him and president zelenskyy and also the u.s. and other countries that are posed the sanctions because of course, president zelenskyy is not in a position to negotiate their removal but that has to be the focus and again, people look at this and said come on, what are we doing, and i suspect that was what happened in this particular case. >> you know, when you talk about what will bring putin to the negotiating table obviously nothing has and the intermediaries you referred to, you know, some of them, macron and others have sort of given up for now, obviously had an election to pay attention to, but, you know, it comes in the context of the u.s. seeming to up the ante at least rhetorically in admitting what they want so in that let me play what the defense secretary lloyd austin said after meeting with president zelenskyy. here he is. >> we want to see russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading ukraine. >> now, look, it's not that he's saying anything surprising, right, but he's admitting it, general, he's saying we want to see russia weakened to the degree it cannot do the kinds of things in it has done in invading ukraine, does that concern you in any way in how it impacts putin? >> well it doesn't concern me in that we actually will weaken his capabilities to open another front, perhaps actually invade a nato country or pursue some other unprovoked aggressive action. i do think we have to be a bit measured, obviously, in rhetorically making him feel as if he is in a corner with nothing left to lose. now i don't think that's the case, to be fair, and i have enormous respect for our defense secretary having served with him three times over the years, twice in the battle field, but i do think we have to be cautious with this. it's the same as when president biden inserted an ad lib comment in the speech in war saw which folks then spent the next 28, 48 hours clarifying. so we do have to be careful. we do have to be sure that putin never feels as if there's nothing left to lose at which time he could take the kind of action that we most fear and after he's already rattled the nuclear saber a couple of times and one of his senior official discussed their doctrine that does exist is escalate to deescalate. those are concerning and we should be concerned about that and i know those in the pentagon and state and white house are very concerned about it. they are convening meetings to discuss those possibilities how we might on the one hand, deter, dissuade russia from taking them and how on the other hand we respond to them. so i think it's a reasonable question to ask. i don't think it's something that's crossed any particular line or threshold, but it's something we need to keep in mind, especially now as we convene all 40 countries and assuming that there is a strong communication out of that session tomorrow, this really puts russia on notice, knowing, as we do, that russia has, for example, expended at least two, lost at least two and maybe as many as three years of production of tanks, vehicles, weapon systems, because their losses on the battlefield and gives measure to the horrific personnel losses, their equipment losses have been staggering. >> amazing how you put it, two or three year, not just the immediate losses, you got to look at lead time before you can put it back in there. thank you, general. >> and now, with sanctions, the export of microchips based on u.s. intellectual property, another huge limiting factor for him. >> right, these are the things, sort of level upon level we all so often miss. general, thank you so much, i appreciate your time. >> thank you, erin. next, a cnn exclusive. you will see some of the 2,000 text messages that reveal what trump's inner circle was saying about the election before, during, after, and it includes urgent pleas to get trump to act on january 6th. and elon musk, it's official, he will buy twitter for $44 billion. he says his goal is to save free speech on the platform. so does that mean president trump is coming back? ♪ baby got back by sir mix-a-lot ♪ unlimited cashback match... only from discover. finding the perfect developer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in prague, between the perfect cup of coffee and her museum of personal computers. and you can find her, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com we're a different kind of dentistry. one who believes in doing anything it takes to make dentistry work for your life. so we offer a complete exam and x-rays free to new patients without insurance - everyday. plus, patients get 20% off their treatment plan. we're on your corner and in your corner every step of the way. because your anything is our everything. aspen dental. anything to make you smile. book today at aspendental.com, walk in, or call 1-800-aspendental. tonight cnn obtaining more than 2,300 text messages sent and received by trump's former chief of staff mark meadows, the time frame for the messages basically election day on the one hand, biden inauguration on the other, details on how trump's inner circle responded to january 6th as rioters stormed the capitol, mulvaney, texting this needs to stop here, donald trump junior, they'll try to f his entire legacy on this, in all caps, tell them to go home. ryan, i just shared three of the thousands of messages the january 6th committee is looking at now what else do they reveal. >> it is remarkable when you rook at the teches all together because it gives an interesting picture why the january 6th committee is so interested in mark meadows as part of the their investigation, he was really the nexus of all this activity working very hard to prevent the recertification of the election results, he had a foot in the white house as chief of staff, foot in the campaign, connection to campaign leaders and of course as a former member of congress, also had a foot in that world. all these different factions working, leading up to january 6th to try to prevent the election from being certified but to that end, he was also kb getting a lot of advice and hearing from people who were very concerned what was happening on the days leading up to january 6th and january 6th in particular including some name that is may surprise you like marjorie taylor greene the firebrand conservative republican, big supporter of president trump who on january 6th texted meadows, this, mark, i was told there was an active shooter on the first floor of the capitol. please, tell the president to calm people. this isn't the way to solve anything. and while marjorie taylor greene was among many republican members of congress who were very concerned about what was happening here on january 6th, her tone was still one of defiance, still believed that the election was the stolen and that meadows should encourage the president to take dramatic steps to prevent joe biden from being inaugurated, listen to what she texted meadows on january 17th, just three days before the inauguration, she said quote, in our private chat with only members, several are saying the only way to save our republic is for trump to call for marshal law, she spells it wrong, i don't know on those things, i just wanted you to tell them, they stole this election, there is so much information in these text messages erin, but also a lot that meadows did not hand over to the committee, more than a thousand text message that is are redacted citing privilege over so there's a lot the committee still has to learn but we already know this is a key part of their investigation. >> thank you very much, ryan, and so these thousands of messages coming to light as republican candidates around the united states are embracing election conspiracies, as part of a quest to edge out opponents, sara murray is "outfront." >> the presidential election was rigged and stolen. >> reporter: the big lie is still the big motivator for many republican voters. >> where the direction s big proponents for asking questions. >> the 2022 michigan state convention will come to order. >> reporter: in michigan, republicans overwhelmingly endorsed christina corabo who spread conspiracies about the 2020 election, to be their nominee for secretary of state. the state's top election official. >> thank you. >> reporter: other candidates with election experience, karamo issen on track to take on the incumbent this fall. >> just as was mentioned, i am your worst nightmare. >> reporter: in the run up to the midterms, national republicans stay they're focused on economy and inflation and crime but republican primaries, magic words are donald trump and a litmus test are denying the results of the 2020 election without any evidence of widespread fraud. >> christina karamo, she is a fearless champion for election integrity. >> reporter: in georgia. >> brian kim sold us out and allowed radicals to steal the election. >> reporter: going after governor brian kemp in 2020, in colorado, state representative ron hanks, election denier running for u.s. senate with an ad featuring footage from the 2020 insurrection was awarded top slot of primary republican ballot by conservatives at the s assembly. peters, faces criminal charges for alleged role in security breach she calls politically motivated running for colorado secretary of state. >> pleasure to be here to sound the alarm. >> reporter: and also republicans backing for top billing on the gop ballot. in arizona, home of the infamous cyber ninja's review, sitting attorney general mark bernavich getting hammered on the air waves by other republicans for his role in certifying the states 2020 election results. >> berdavich says trump is wrong on election fraud, really? >> reporter: republican strategist jason cable said even with the challenging environment for democrats, republicans need to strike a broader appeal. >> pe peeling the 2020 election is popular with republican voters, not with nonrepublican voters. >> reporter: deniers like rudel and rudy giuliani as republicans convene more than 10 hours and trump-backed candidates cleaned up. >> support the american -- >> reporter: with matt dojerno securing party support, after months of trying an unsuccessful election lawsuit. >> we've proved how corruptible our election is and how fraud occurred in this state. >> reporter: now this convention in michigan involved two rounds of votings by republican delegates, two rounds of hand-counting those votes, also republicans can get on the same page for the official nominating convention in august. but when i asked matthew and christina karamo how they try to draw in voters beyond the republican party, neither would answer. >> all right, sarah, thank you. next, elon musk, one of twitter's most prolific , about to be the new owner of twitter. will he lift the ban on trump, and a locking point, now six split fences being put up to keep people caged in their homes in shanghai. etets strict 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[crowd cheers] because i do. okay, that was awesome. voya. be confident to and through retirement. bombshell news rocking the business world and political world, tesla ceo elon musk happens to be the richest man in the world will buy twitter for $44 billion, the dow sent soaring in all kinds of trouble lately, closed up 213 was down 500 so nearly 800 point spreading, the deal caused many on the left to slam musk, claiming he'll let anyone including trump banned from the platform to tweet whatever they want. so musk went to twitter, i hope even my worst critics remain on twitter because that is what free speech means. so dan, editor at axios, it's been amazing to watch people getting so twisted up about this. in his statement about acquiring twitter, musk said today he's exciting about authenticating all humans. what does he mean by this? what's he going do here. >> what he mean as if you're on twitter, there's a lot of bots on there essentially spam accounts, if you tweet about something positive or negative, particularly a hashtag, often get tons of automated response from things that look like people but aren't so musk feels that's one of the things that ruins the twitter experience. one thing to note though, some bots are useful. for example, weather alerts are boughts so you don't want to eliminate all bots but tspammin one . >> if you can find an algorithm to solve these problems, those in intractable problems so far, but one of the questions that has the left up in arms, if twitter will be overtaken by trump who was banned. he's called musk a genius, in fact one of the great geniuses we have and have to protect our genius, gone on and on about musk. musk, though, much different when it comes to trump. here he is. >> the president is amazingly good at twitter. >> do you see any similarities between you and him? >> not, that there are zero similarities. >> do you support him? >> i think there are some things that i think are good like the space force. but i -- there are some things are think are not good like support for oil and gas. >> so, you know, it's interesting, dan, when you listen to that. musk then stepped down as a white house adviser when trump pulled out of paris climate accord but if you pay attention to many on the far left in twitter they think this deal is the undoing of civilization as we know it because musk is going to allow a lot of lies and some sort of pro trump situation to take over. what do you think really happens? >> look, musk is certainly going to probably replatform people who have been deplatformed and if trump is one of them the guess is he will end up back on twitter, i don't see him sticking on truth social alone from a scale perspective. musk is a very easy person to caricature because of the things he does on twitter but more a class different than left winger or right winger so i think the reactions on the end in both sides kind of this cheering on the right, the freaking out on the left are going to prove to be overreactions. >> yeah, i have to say, i have been totally watching him. dan, thank you so much, we will see what will happen with this. next, giant shipping containers arriving in shanghai but these containers not bringing what is so desperately needed, food and medicine, rather, 6 foot high fences to keep people from getting out. for your full financial picture. with the right balance of risk and reward. so you can enjoy more of...this. ththis is the planning effect. my fellow xfinity customers! 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"ac 360" starts now. good evening from kyiv. there is much to report tonight but also much to reflect on. two months and a day ago, russian forces rolled into the country expecting by now we'd be reporting from occupied kyiv, the fact we're not says so much about the endurance and bravery of the ukrainian people and the reminders are everywhere as are the signs those two qualities are about to get pushed even harder. some things are beyond enduran