resident about what life on the island has become. donald trump's legal troubles in the state of georgia could be coming to a head. we'll tell you the message from the prosecutor to certain witnesses. and how the white house is responding after a special counsel is appointed to look into president biden's son, hunter, and why some republicans say they're still not satisfied with the investigation. >> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with laila harrak. we begin in hawaii where days after wildfires decimated maui, the death toll is rising. authorities have confirmed 89 deaths making the fires the deadliest in the united states in more than a century and that number is expected to climb even more in the coming days as crews sift through the devastation caused by the fires. governor josh green says the area has suffered some $6 billion in losses with some 2200 structures damaged or destroyed, vast majority of them residential. >> this is the largest natural disaster we've ever experienced. it's going to also be a natural disaster that's going to take an incredible amount of time to recover from so in the next few days as we characterize how many people we've lost and how many people are coming into our community, please understand we come at this because it's going to be in the short term heartbreaking, in the long term people are going to need mental health care services, in the very long term we'll rebuild together. >> hawaiians are already taking it on themselves to answer the call for help with groups from nearby islands working together to bring in much needed relief and supplies to lahaina by boat. they know people want to get back to where they live but in many places it's just not safe. cnn shows us the long lines of those wanting to see what's left of their homes and what they're dealing with. the. >> reporter: well, this is the next chapter of recovery here in lahaina. this is the road that goes into the decimated town. as we zoom in, this is the main checkpoint. it has been off limits up until yesterday around noon. that is when this roadway reopened to traffic then shut down after too many people were going into restricted areas of the ruins. so as we work over this way, you can see that the line to get in goes on and on behind us. more than a mile. so people now are waiting to see if they're able to get in and what police are telling drivers at that checkpoint, they can only get in if they are residents or tourists staying at hotels within the disaster zone. we spoke with motorists before dawn. listen to what they tell us. >> i got out here at 11, i was done by 3:00 picking up all the supplies i got and then got to here and i've been here since 3:00 in the afternoon. >> reporter: frustrating? >> none of us has moved. my co-worker, she's up there two trucks. i've got three other co-workers. they've been here the whole time. >> it's either laughter or tears. when i talk to all of the people in our business who have been affected. 14 people lost their houses so we're just trying to do the most good we can but it's really frustrating when you can't. >> reporter: now we do have updated figures and projections from the federal government, 2,207 structures damaged or destroyed by the fire. 4,500 people could be the number of people who live here who will need shelter in the near and long term. so, again, the next chapter begins with getting back to the neighborhood and towns -- town, i should say, that people have loved and called home for decades, but it is uncertain when so many people will make it in to see what exactly has survived. cnn, maui. joining me now is clint hudson, a resident of maui. how are you? how is your family since you last spoke with my colleague jake tapper on thursday? have you been able to reconnect? all of my family is safe. we were here on the south side. most of my friends have been accounted for at this point. most harrowing is micah seen know. i did an interview with him and talked to him about his experience and it has been nothing short of a miracle that he survived, along with several dogs that he was taking care of. and it was much, much faster than i thought. i thought it took several hours for the town to burn, but they saw the flames right around 3:30 and by the time he got out -- he turned back around, got his family, headed out and the town was already fully enghufld flames. they were down by the ocean at 4:00 trapped in traffic because they got bottlenecked and the town was already almost completely on fire at that time. in less than 30 minutes the town was nearly completely engulfed. he was next to a van. they ran out from it and went over the wall as flames were coming over the top of the building. there was propane canisters all over from a party truck and they were exploding. and he said it wasn't like, you know, one bomb, it was like a sustained explosion for several hours as flames blowtorched over the top of them. afterwards he showed me some of the videos of everybody and they were all just completely covered in soot. their eyes swollen shut black from everything that had been coming through to them. most of my paint ball friends over on the west side lost everything. i happen to also own a paint ball field out there and it's been tough. we will definitely rebuild so long as we're given the ability to. people are worried that the state is going to take their land and their homes away, which is very reminiscent of historical past issues and cultural issues, and we're hoping for opportunities to make lahaina better than it was before. we're really happy to see many of our friends be reunited. we were scouring shelter lists and then we were at hitter's paradise and there were our basketba baseball friends that had to go to a shelter. they were with friends over on central maui. i was out there surveying the land with my drone, which is that's what i've been doing throughout the process. how everybody knows me because i've been keeping track where the fires are, how they've been progressing. so many people want to go out there and it's really bad to have every resource overwhelmed with too many individuals not seeking to help but just check on things. i took my drone and surveyed all of lahaina. right now people are going on, looking at their damage, checking their homes to see if they are there in order to alleviate the congestion. this seems to be a problem with a breakdown in communication. there was no 911 available. electricity was out. social media was down. people didn't get any kind of text communication that the fire had even started and i hear stories of people outside of their apartment buildings, you know, apartment buildings that didn't even burn, which there's very, very few buildings that didn't burn. all of the buildings are sitting in small areas where there wasn't fire engulfing everything watching other buildings fall over, succumb to as fixation and dying, having to crawl for shelter. right now most people lost everything in that area. there's very few people. and the ones that have something, they're going to go home to what? their neighbors are gone. maui is a community of its people, and most of the people i'm talking to have to go. they're just going to have to go to the mainland, find somewhere else because the resources are already spread thin here for housing. our county doesn't have enough people to process the permits as it is before this fire so we're trying to seek resolution for other options as opposed to having to go through a permitting process. maybe an insurance bond to protect the owners. it's just a quagmire. we don't know how quite to recover. we're very grateful for everybody's donations and thank you for those -- all the donations to maui united way and friends of children's justice center. it's meant a lot to maui's people and the individual donations, too. >> clint, it's just so heartbreaking and thank you so much for sharing some of those hair would he -- harrowing experiences with us and we're so glad you and your family and friends are okay considering the circumstances. >> thank you so much. aloha. for more information on how to help those impacted by the hawaii wildfires please go to cnn.com/impact. we are seeing the clearest indication yet that a prosecutor in georgia is moving forward with her case against former u.s. president trump. cnn's marshall cohen has details. >> reporter: it looks like all systems are go for the fulton county district attorney to present her case to a grand jury early this week in her investigation of former president donald trump and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia. cnn previously reported that this was expected in in the coming days, but we now know that some of the witnesses who were subpoenaed to tour de france were told specifically to show up on tuesday. that means that the proceedings may begin monday going into tuesday. one of those witnesses is an independent journalist named george cheaty who witnessed some of the fake pro trump electors meeting at the statehouse in atlanta in december 2020. another key figure who will head to the grand jury on tuesday is former georgia lieutenant governor jeff duncan. here's what he told our colleague frederico whitfield on friday. >> i did receive information to arrive at the fulton county grand jury. i will answer whatever questions put in front of me. don't want to go any deeper than that. look, for me, this is a story that is important for republicans to hear. let's hear nothing about the cast of characters. duncan who is a cnn contributor is a republican and he was in office when trump tried to flip the vote. the district attorney, elected democrat, started the investigation in 2021. she is scrutinizing trump's attempts to interfere with the vote counting and the election certification. she's also looking at the fake elector scheme as well as efforts by trump supporters to have fake electors. cnn has previously reported that she is eyeing conspiracy and racketeering charges known as rico and is expected to pursue indictments against perhaps more than a dozen defendants. trump has been indicted federally on charges stemming from his attempts to subvert the 2020 election and disenfranchise voters. he pleaded not guilty and he has claimed the probe in atlanta is are false. as former president trump deals with the investigation in georgia, the current president joe biden is facing pressure over a different probe, this one involving his son hunter. priscilla alvarez explains how the white house is reacting to that case. >> reporter: the white house is maintaining its no comment strategy after attorney general garland announced that the u.s. attorney leading the hunter biden probe would be special counsel. that is consistent with the tactic it's taken before. ian sams said the latest. we will refer you to doj or to hunter bind de-- biden's counse. this is a case that the bidens were hoping to put behind them and hoping to close that chapter after the expected plea deal that fell apart but now they're going to face a continued criticism from republicans as legal proceedings unfold. republicans on capitol hill have flirted with a potential impeachment into biden. when asked about that, the white house said that is baseless and april stunt but it is all to say the white house continues to face fierce criticism over the hunter biden probe, even on the heels of this announcement by the attorney general. the president, for his part, has not weighed in on this publicly but has previously said he and the first lady jill biden love and support their son. brpriscilla alvarez at the whit house. ukrainian missiles reportedly go after a strategic russian supply line. still ahead, they get busy as the russians target the cry mean bridge again. activist reacts to a crackdown. you'll hear why she believes the move is important to average ukrainians. for softness and resilience, without ththe price tag. if you know... you know it's pantene. meet the portable blender we can barely keep in stock. blendjet 2 gives you ice-crushing, big blender power on-the-go. so you can blend up a mouthwatering smoothie, protein shake, or latte wherever you are! recharge quickly with any usb port. best of all, it even cleans itself! just blend water with a drop of soap. what are you waiting for? order yours now from blendjet.com before they sell out again! viruses and bacteria float all around us. unlike air fresheners, only new lysol air sanitizer kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria in the air. because scent can't sanitize. lysol can. russia said it shot down a ukrainian drone in the belgrade region for the second day in a row. the drone was intercepted sunday morning without causing damage or casualties. that happened a day after reported ukrainian missile attack on the strategic cry mean bridge. it shows russian air defenses at work before they shot down three missiles according to russian appointed officials. russia says the attack didn't cause any new damage. meanwhile, british researchers say it has acquired the know how to make ukrainian drones. it has started to make its own version and will go ahead with their mass production. let's get you more on these developments. clare sebastian joins us now from london. what more do we know about the missile attack on the crimean bridge? >> reporter: the pro russian head said it involved three modified air defense missiles. no damage from what they could tell. it seems some kind of smoke screen was sort of put up over the bridge which could obscure any damage, but as of yet it doesn't seem that there has been. now obviously the crimean bridge is of huge significance. it's not only the only physical link between russia and occupied crimea, but also a major military supplier even though the russian ministry of foreign affairs is an attack on a piece of purely civilian infras infrastructure, that does not bear out. it has huge symbolic meaning for russia. it shows this physical link between russia and crimea. ukraine which hasn't said anything about the latest missile attacks has claimed responsibility for attacking the bridge in the past. this is a way of sort of showing that this bridge is in play and also that the bridge is illegitimate because according to international law russia's annexation of crimea was illegal. >> what do you make of the reports that russia has started producing its own version of iranian military drones? how much of a game changer would that be? >> so, look, we know that russia certainly has been looking for ways to increase its pipeline of these drones. iran has been providing them even though they decline doing that. they are saying they are helping russia build a factory -- building these drones on russian soil. this will take that one step further to actually a russian version -- a modified version of the drone. it shows just how much russia needs to replace them. they are in many ways disposable on the battlefield. it shows there would be an ongoing strategy of using drones for reconnaissance but for finding holes. if you are standing up new production lines, that signals that russia is in this for the long haul, willing to really invest in this war and of course that is not good news going forward for ukraine. >> clare sebastian in london. thank you so much for your continued coverage. and ukraine is stepping up its crackdown on suspected corruption in military recruitments on friday. president zelenskyy fired all heads of regional recruitment centers across the board. mr. zelenskyy accused of them of using their jobs for profiteering while the country is at war. one anticorruption activist said the move was not only about the suspects but also about average ukrainians. this is what she told me about an hour ago when i asked her how important it is for mr. zelenskyy to clamp down on corruption. >> corruption is perceived as treason by many ukrainians, especially in the war time. so any allegations of corruption, they are coming as dismorale for people and it is outrage for each and every news for instance of corruption. that's why for president zelenskyy it's very important to fight corruption just to get their system to work properly but also to show the people that the government is doing their job. >> this has been a very public announcement by the president dismissing everyone. does this mean that everyone was guilty of corruption, all offices had problems? or is this more meant as a message domestically and to ukraine's western backers? i mean, what has been the reaction so far? >> so we are talking about dismissal around 20 officers, the head of military recruitment centers. that's why it's very important to understand that not everyone is accused of corruption but so many of them and because of their inefficiency of military centers, there was a need to show people that the government is on top of the problem. we should understand the system is inheritance of their old soviet system and we didn't have enough time to do the reform. the reform only started several months before the invasion and there -- and the problems were piling up. and there was a lot of bureaucracy and corruption allegations at many levels. therefore putin, veterans and wounded soldiers is also a sign that the system is changing and it will be better in the coming months. protesters in israel have staged moralies against the government's planned judicial overhaul. in tel aviv thousands of people showed up on saturday for the 32nd weekend in a row. demonstrators say they want to keep up the pressure on the ruling coalition fearing their package of judicial reforms will weaken the courts. >> this is the second saturday night here and i'm here because i believe the government from my country to his country to this country is dangerous. i'm trying to watch and keep my parents' country my country and i'm trying to keep this country for my daughter and for myself as well. >> last month the government passed the first major bill of the overhaul plan but the supreme court has said it would hear challenges to it in jeept when we come back, the death toll in hawaii wildfires continues to grow. we'll have the latest. plus, new york says it's out of options for dealing with an influx of immigrants. we'll tell you why some migrants are being told to leave the shelters. that story and more coming up. . baby i hear one every night... every night. okay. i'll work on that.t. save 50% on the sleep numbmber limited edition smart bed. plus, 36 month financing on select smart beds. shop now only at sleep number. with new scope squeez mouthwash concentrate, just add water. squeez to control the strength of your mouthwash. and find a zone all your own. ♪ ♪ scope squeez. bug spray works best... when your family actually wears it. ♪ get odor-free eight hour protection from mosquitoes and ticks without the ick. zevo on-body repellent. people love it. bugs hate it. goli, taste your goals. days after wildfires decimated parts of maui, the death toll is still rising. just moments ago we learned authorities have now confirmed 93 deaths and is that number is expected to climb even more in the coming days. the fires are the deadliest in the u.s. in more than a century. many residents of lahaina are growing frustrated. officials say they know people want to get back to where they live but in many places it's just not safe. state officials say they understand. >> i know individuals are very frustrated and people want to get back to their homes. there have been structures that have not been -- that have not been destroyed and individuals want to go back so we're deferring to the counties to determine what access can be open. >> for those who have made it back home, what they found has been difficult to bear. >> this would be like the fronon door right here. it really takes a toll on you emotionally, mentally, physically. all that damage up there. got the fire department working hard. just life in general, how quickly it can go like that. literally in a blink of an eye. i feel like one of those cooking shows and you see a quick flame. that's how quickly things got out of control. >> this is a front foyer. those are stairs up to a three bedroom. >> i was panicking because my sons were still here. i didn't know if he had gotten out. i lost communication with them and finally they came out. >> it was just mad chaos. i don't know if they were given enough notice. basically you just had to run. >> it's very sad. the island is gone. it doesn't exist anymore. the whole town. >> i ran to the car. to be honest, i don't know if it's ever going to be livable again. it's still smoldering. toxic. hazardous. i don't know. it could be months. it could never happen. i don't know. i'm not even sure what i'm going to do yet. >> now at least six supreme died after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the english channel. french officials say rescue teams pulled nearly 60 people from the water. two remain unaccounted for. it's another tragedy in one of the world's busiest waterways. traffickers routinely send small, overcrowded boats from france to the u.k. the ship was one of dozens launched from france on saturday. >> translator: they were in trouble. there was the problem of sea sicness and also the boats are overloaded. they overloaded the boats so the boats can no longer move forward. the last boat where we intervened was too full. >> british authorities are hoping to stop the dangerous crossings but haven't made much progress. on thursday 750 people were detected crossing the channel to the u.k. and nearly 16,000 have made the treacherous journey just this year. french officials say the u.k. needs to do more. >> translator: today we must are change and they need to change their working methods. in any case, they could at least have the decency to open a reception facility on the other side of the border. officials in new york say they're out of options in dealing with the migrant crisis there. the city's nearly 200 shelters are overwhelmed. we have a rare look inside the system struggling to cope. >> as we've seen the numbers of asylum seekers at the border go down, we've seen our numbers in new york city take the opposite direction and go up. >> reporter: senior city officials faced a grilling this week from city council members. they were told hundreds of asylum seekers have been given 60 days' notice to leave shelters. it requires migrants without children who have been in city shelters for a significant amount of time to find other means of housing. >> we will work to help those who are needing to move out of shelter and take their next steps forward. >> it almost feels like we're sacrificing one group of people because we have a high responsibility to children and, you know, families. >> reporter: new york city officials insist they are completely out of options and say all you have to do is look inside any of the city's nearly 200 shelters. like this one in a building next to new york's jfk air cargo terminals that normally serves as a postal facility. now it's serving as a temporary home for some 750 male asylum seekers. it's typically used to sorting mail during holidays. it's a load being dock, a make shift prayer room. >> initially a lot of people coming here are from venezuela. we have 12, 14, 15 different languages. >> reporter: this is new york city's emergency management chief. >> every day we have 500 people, 3 to 500 people we're looking for room for, places for. we can't open up sites. you'll see this is the layout here. >> reporter: he offered cnn a rare look inside one of the city's nearly 200 sites being used to house about 60,000 migrants and counting. this particular site serves as a so-called respite center originally designed to meet short term and basic housing needs. not anymore warns the commissioner. >> we modeled this after the emergency storm shelters we've set up for coastal storms. those are designed just to house people for generally 48 to 72 hours. we have folks staying in these facilities for much longer, upwards of a month, month and a half. >> reporter: he admits the facility is not ideal for long term housing but with options running out, residents are making due. some skip the laundromat and then there's a make shift barber shop. none of this is sustainable according to iscol and other individuals. finding them private space is a whole different challenge. we met people where they await to find long-term staffing. >> translator: we are unaware of places but nearly one of the 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in new york since last spring. the only guarantee is uncertainty. paulo sandoval, cnn, new york. the biden administration is asking congress to approve a temporary program to help house migrant families. the white house is asking for $2.2 billion for border management operations, including shelter and services, for migrants. if it approved, some funds would be used to set up new facilities for families. president biden ended the controversial practice of family detention when he came into office. homeland security officials say the new housing program is not family detention they say the money will allow officials to fund temporary to manage families through the immigration process quickly and facilitate their removal for those who do not have a legal basis to stay. republican presidential hopefuls are making their cases to voters at the iowa state fair. the current front-runner's former president donald trump and ron desantis are hoping to prop up their campaigns all while making digs at each other. jeff zeleny tells us what they're saying. >> reporter: the iowa state fair on saturday was a playground for presidential candidates including, of course, former president president donald trump who arrived here in des moines as he learned georgia will continue their probe. he is accused of trying to medal in in the election. he said he defended that phone call he made to secretary of state brad raffensperger calling it air perfectly fine call as he arrived here at the fair. he talked about his front-runner status in this race. of course, he is leading the race at the moment, five months before the iowa caucuses open the 2024 campaign, but he said he's taking nothing for granted. >> so we'll be back. we're not taking any chances. we're up by over 50 points. that's a lot. we don't want to take any chances. we'll be back. we love you very much. >> reporter: trump only stayed at the fair for a couple of hours but his rival stayed for much longer, making their case why they should be the alternative. former governor ron desantis had his children and family in tow riding the bumper cars, taking turns playing games. he also was talking about his leading rival donald trump and about his refusal to sign that debate pledge. >> you don't take your ball and go home. it's not just about you. you've got to be willing to stand up and support the team. i think every candidate should agree to support the candidate. >> reporter: nikki haley also spending considerable time here at the iowa state fair as she has been doing for months, holding town meetings across the state. she is calling for a new generation of leaders and she said it's time for the party to move on. >> don't complain about what happens in a general election if you don't play in this caucus. it matters. it matters. >> reporter: with five months to go before the iowa caucuses open the 2024 campaign right here, the challenge, of course, is on for many of these candidates to make their case to voters. many will get a chance to do so at the republican debate. some will not make the debate stage making it even more challenging to appeal for voters. one thing is clear, talking to many voters over the last several days, yes, many support donald trump. many are still fans of his, but many also are questioning these indictments and simply if he can win a general election. one thing that's clear, the next phase of this campaign will be an aggressive one and many candidates have an opening they'll try and walk through. jeff zeleny, cnn, des moines. coming up on "cnn newsroom," several americans who have spent years in iran's most notorious prison will soon be returning home. the deal that could make that dream a reality next. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watchingng the game. who's winning? no idea. real milk. real delicious. and don't forget to try some delicious, creamy lactaid ice cream. what's that mabel? (mooo) wow, smart cow! (female announcer) attention! medicare has expanded dexcom coverage -for people with diabetes. -if you have diabetes, getting on dexcom g7 is the single most important thing you n do. it elimites painful fingersticks, helplower a1c, and is covered by medicare. (female announcer)tuck.g7, dexcom g7 sends yourated. glucose numbers to your phone or dexcom receiver without painful fingersticks. the arrow shows the direction your glucose is heading-- up, down, or steady. and because dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, you can make better decisions about food, medication, and activity in the moment. after using the dexcom g7, my a1c has never been lower. i lead line dancing three times a week, and i'm just living a great life now. (woman) it's so easy to use. dexcom g7 has given me confidence and control that everything i need is right there on my phone. (female announcer) now, millions more are covered by medicare. take advantage of the expanded coverage by calling today. bug spray works best... when your family actually wears it. ♪ get odor-free eight hour protection from mosquitoes and ticks without the ick. zevo on-body repellent. people love it. bugs hate it. that's why comcast business de is launching theal. mobile made free event. with our business internet, new and existing customers can get one year of unlimited mobile for free. it's our best internet. powered by the next generation 10g network and with 99.9% reliability. plus one line of free mobile for an entire year. it's the mobile made free event-happening now. get started for just $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get one free line of unlimited mobile. comcast business, powering possibilities. so, you've got the power of xfinity at home. now take it outside with xfinity mobile. like speed? it's the fastest mobile service around. with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only $30 bucks a line per month. that's hundreds in savings a year when you wave bye to the other guys. all on the most reliable 5g network nationwide. you really shouldn't walk out the front door without it. switch today at xfinitymobile.com. five americans who have spent years in iran's notorious evan prison have now been released on house arrest. it's the first part of a deal between the u.s. and iran that has been years in the making. sources say if all goes well they will soon be on their way home. already diplomacy between two separate hotels in doha, qatar, they have outlined this deal that we saw begin to play out earlier this week. the american delegation at one hotel in doha. they could see outside their window the hotel where the iranian delegation was located. it was qatar rio i officials whe shuttling back and forth. they were bringing messages back and forth, texting with updates on the americans as to when they would be back at the hotel according to u.s. officials familiar with the negotiations. they say it was about six months ago that the general form of this began to crystallize. key elements of the deal according to forces we have talked to, are familiar with these negotiations are that, of course, these four americans first of all were released from the iranian prison under house arrest now in iran. there's also a fifth american who's already placed under house arrest and then the expectation is in the coming weeks, there's $6 billion worth of iranian funds going to be transferred to a restricted account in qatar making it a little bit easier for them to access those funds to limitations on the fact they could only use those funds and the iranians are saying there's also prisoner swap aspects of this deal. you talked to officials familiar with these negotiations. they're still wary that this is all going to work because of how complicated this plan actually is. but the secretary of state striking an optimistic tone earlier this week saying he believes this is the beginning of the end of this nightmare for these americans who have been imprisoned in iran. four countries are in a race to explore the south pole. we'll tell you what's there and why they want to be first. barcode beat conductor. let's be more than our a allergies! and for fafast, allergy relief with a powerful decongestant, try zyrtec-d. try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. theyork continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly i'm sholeh, people-friendly. and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6.leh, before golo, nothing seem to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. when you smell the amazing scent of gain flings... time stops. (♪) and you realize you're in love... steve? with a laundry detergent. (♪) gain flings. seriously good scent. - [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020. after three weeks of thrills and surprises, the women's world cup has come down to its final four teams. england booked the last spot in the semi-finals on saturday after edging out a spirited colombian team. they took an early 1-0 lead but england would storm back with two straight goals, enough to secure the victory. earlier australia also triumphed in their match against france. it took a marathon penalty shootout. the winning goal on the 20th kick and be with that, the australians are heading to their first semi-finals in team history. they will face england on wednesday after spain take on sweden in the first round of the semis. well, he's known as mr. w by his students and now atlanta braves fans are doing their homework about pitcher alan winons. he tossed seven shutouts. the braves say he supplements his minor league salary in the off season by working as a substitute teacher. this was his first win in just his second appearance in the big leagues. now several countries are in a new space race to explore the moon's south pole often considered dark and mysterious. about to have something very important. russia's mission had been delayed because of its invasion of ukraine but now appears to be on track. >> reporter: the race is on to explore the far reaches of the moon. russia launching its first lunar landing in 40 years with the hopes of beating out the competition and becoming the first country to make a soft landing on the south pole of the moon. if successful, the mission would be an astronomical comeback for russia reclaiming some of the glory from the soviet era space heyday. putting it at the forefront to explore the deep craters of the shadowy part of the moon that's believed to contain water ice. >> russia's aspirations towards the moon are mixed up. i think first and foremost it's an expression of national power on the global stage. sure, not many people will be paying attention to this, but the right people will be paying attention to this. russia's back in the game. the liftoff was delayed for nearly two years, partially because of the backlash over russia's invasion of ukraine but they're pulling key camera equipment from the project. and even though luna 25 is not alone in its endeavors. the indian spacecraft is already in lunar orbit eyeing a similar soft landing spot on the moon on august 23. two days after russia's ambitious target landing date. but both missions will have to avoid the fate of the champion tune in 2019 which crash landed on the moon's surface. earlier this week the crew of artemis 2 eyed the craft and artemis 3 plans to land a crewed spacecraft on the south pole. nasa says this could be changed or delayed if a landing system created by spacex isn't ready on time. china also says it plans to land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade, something naas nasa says is worrying if they get to the south pole first and claim it as their territory. >> so naturally i don't want china to get to the south pole first with humans and then say this is ours, stay out. >> both the u.s. and china in collaboration with russia have advanced plans to build bases on the moon and in finding water ice which could be used to make fuel, oxygen and drinking water will be important to sustain those sites and the long-term ambitions of several space agencies. michael holmes, cnn. finally one of nature's most stunning light displays peak this weekend. the perseid meteor shower will be easy to see with only 10% of the crescent moon illuminated. the northern hemisphere is the best place for viewing and a few hours before dawn is the best time. nasa says you can see more than 50 meteors an hour streaking across the sky. i'll be back with more "cnn newsroom" after the break. stick around. ♪ i'm currently out of the office... focusing on a little blue-sky thinking. i'll be taking meetings... with family and friends. and checking v voicemail... as my activities permit. i'll connectct with you... afteter reconnecting with me. ♪ get 1.9% apr for 36 months plus $1,500 purchase allowance on a 2024 xt5 and xt6 when you finance through cadillac financial. ♪ wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. and it's all right here. streaming was never this easy, you know. this is the way. you really went all out didn't you? um, it's called commitment. could you turn down the volume? here, you can try. get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm laila harrak on "cnn newsroom." we were just here two days ago and the number was smaller. the number will continue to rise.