besieged city is in mariupol. i'm griff jenkins from kyiv, ukraine. aishah: hi, a lot to get to. in the port city of odesa, that russian missiles have killed at least five people, including a three-month-old baby, a tragic, tragic day there in odesa. griff, my friend, so good to see you safe and sound and hopefully you're going to be able to come back soon we want you back home and safe. griff, this is an important weekend for so much russians and ukrainians celebrating eastern orthodox easter. we were hoping, hopefully for a pause in fighting, but it doesn't look like that's the case, right? >> that's right, president zelenskyy saying that vladimir putin rejected the offer for a truce, an easter truce, if you will, and that golden dome, st. michael's golden dome monastery behind me one of the many orthodox churches here across ukraine who have much to mourn this sad easter here and to be thankful, there's one church in the region northeast of where we are, that was hit very hard during that initial assault on the capital area as russian forces came from the east down on the capital and they destroyed an orthodox church there that won't have an easter orthodox sunday service tomorrow. it's left in ruins, nothing standing, but a simple cross amongst ruins. that's a church that survived world war ii in the entire soviet era. it's gone today. a snapshot of the difficulties and as you mentioned the strikes happening there not just in the east where we know that that refocus of phase two of the russian assault is having, but also in the southern areas, and in odesa, along that black sea coastline as far west as you can go. let me bring in-- i'll stop talking in a second, aishah. the man here trey yingst, what is the latest? >> we're following the developments across the country. the ukrainian people are looking for celebrating easter weekend, but they're not getting it. over the weekend it's not heard and including russian president vladimir putin who talked about many of the situations across ukraine. he mentioned the unfolding developments in mariupol, that besieged port city more than a thousand ukrainian soldiers and citizens are currently underneath a steel plant in nuclear bunkers and they're cut off from the rest of the world. and in odesa, a missile strike, killing five people according to reports and shelling in the second largest city in ukraine. so each part of the country is seeing casualties rising and inability to celebrate this easter weekend in ukraine. neil: and you mentioned why it's startling and a surprise, 59 days into this war. >> odesa is critical because it gives ukrainians access to the black sea and it's important this weekend to discuss because over the weak-- weekdays we saw generals talk about taking over not only ukraine, but the southern part not mariupol, but odesa, it will cut that off. not only for food and supplies, but ammunition and odesa receiving the missile strikes, killing five civilians. it's back in the ukrainian military echelon, figuring where do we put our troops now. all of them in the eastern front line in the donbas region or some soldiers back to odesa and port cities. griff: you were doing some reporting in kyiv. >> we were over talking about civilians about their experience. a lot of our reporting, griff, has been in places, bucha, northwest of the capital of kyiv. and they were hit hard by the russian troops as they approached the capital and the civilians brought the stories of terror and horror they experienced. one woman told us about how she and her husband were inside of a potato storage unit underground and under a shed and russian footsteps could be heard as they were walking. ultimately they survived, but that wasn't the case for other people. we met those with photos of ukrainian people executed. and what they faced when they entered around the capital of kyiv. unfortunately it's what the international community believes is happening in the areas. griff: when you talk to these people, you get the sense that they're frightened for good reason, that russians and putin are making them fear. >> if it's not taking place in their village and hometowns, they understand the atrociies have taken place, mass graves, torture, rape, and taking place and the ukrainians are in fear for their life. griff: we'll check back to you as it warrants. in south ukraine, president zelenskyy is asking for tougher sanctions against russia and asking that they recognize russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. we sat down with an exclusive interview with a man behind ukraine's new action plan, andrii yermak at the compound. >> thank you, it's an honor to speak with you, we've meanted with michael mcfall, and our plan, somebody called it a plan of mcfall, but in the truth, i'm three weeks ago apply to michael this proposal to create some group of experts, international experts and ukrainian who will deeply analyze already issued sanctions, what works, what does have beautiful title, but zero by effect, because there is effect. the war is continuing. the ukrainians continue to killed by russians, killed our children, our woman, our man, our soldier, our civilian and destroying our city. it's absolutely understandable that these sanctions, which exist, it's not enough. griff: what's the strongest part of this new sanctions? >> fuel embargo, russian energy because it's a very big part of their budget. we proposed to issue these sanctions for all russians banks. increase the numbers of the physical person, because it's necessary to concentrate the first wave of the sanctions, it was against they called these people oligarchs, but many people in russia who's participated in this , these decisions against ukrainians, who support this war, they have to belong to the same sanctions. griff: you want the russian federation to be labeled as a state sponsor of terror. why? >> yes, of course, because its gave the additional opportunity to switch on tomorrow additional mechanisms because the main goal of the old sanctions, is stop the war. it's necessary to press russia through the sanks, to press the business people around the power in kremlin to stop these absolutely mad decisions. griff: should president biden visit? >> yes, and i hope that president biden, who made the president of the united states, who is best than all the presidents in the country, he visited. he's really done a lot for our country and continue doing, in my personal attitude, that personally he's care about what happens here and of course, i see this visit, it's important for ukraine and for president biden. griff:s there's a new package of aid, the president announced more aid, 800 million, will it be enough? >> i can send enough, then this war will stop, but using this opportunity from all my heart and the attitude of ukrainians, i can say big appreciation of the all american nation and person of president biden because really, it's a very important for our country and today i can say that never in the history was not so support, international support for one country. it's historical moment. first of all, it's historical for the world. world show that it's possible to be together. griff: you're getting, as this new offensive in the donbas, donbas has started, do you have the weapons you'll need or does the west and the u.s. need to increase and be faster? >> for this moment we not have enough. we continue to receive. i hope in the most important moment we will be ready and our partners made everything about which we already decided and they confirmed, but you know, sometimes in the light, it's necessary that the things happen in time. i hope, i believe because ukrainians show for all the world that to be -- to do this contribution, the ukrainian victory, it's contribution for the future. it's not one contribution for particularly ukraine, it's for the future for all the world. griff: do you still need those mig 29 fighters? >> yes, but if it will be f-16's or some new planes, it's as well welcome. griff: you will need that? >> yeah, absolutely. griff: what to you want for americans watching this now and the world, what do you want them to know right now? >> first of all, i think that now the mainly americans really understand who is ukrainians and why america have to carry out about my country. i'm sure that we win, but you know that you win yourself it's one case, but then you understand that in this tragic, very hard way, there was not too long, you was the friend who support you. our mutual victory will be real mutual victory. it will be greatest victory of ukraine, but at the same time the biggest victory of united states. maybe in the future history, this world will be called like ukrainian war for the freedom. griff: so putin will not have anything to celebrate on may 9th. >> we do all our best that the celebration will be in our land and it will be celebration of ukrainians together with our friend. griff: mr. yermak, thank you for your time. >> thank you. griff: we're grateful for the team of mr. yermak and he had so much to saw about ukraine and democracy and freedom. one other small note, he also talked about what a leader volodymyr zelenskyy is. i said were you surprised? he said the whole world was surprised. i knew early on that he was going to be the leader he was. now, almost 60 days into this war, every night he talks to the nation. every day he stands in the streets and he's become a leader, yermak says, not only ukraine, but a model with the world. aishah: and i thought he was brutally honest with you as ukrainians tend to be. the one take away, the message i thought i heard it before four weeks ago, six weeks ago, it's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that we're two months into that war, whole cities are gone, millions of refugees, displaced now not being able to go back home even if the war ends tomorrow and the chief of staff for zelenskyy saying, look, sanctions are not enough. we don't have enough, we still need more, there's appreciation, but i think the question moving forward, especially as we wrap our minds around where we are in this war, is how do we get ukraine what it needs to win and to win quickly. i think that's what lawmakers on the hill keep questioning is how do we make this happen as quickly as possible. nobody wants to see this war drag on and on and on. neil: no, they don't and that's why andrii yermak is out there talking just not to us on social media, but president zelenskyy and the prime minister as well, saying that it's a two-part success path, weapons, but also sanctions to strengthen putin in his own country and his forces here in ukraine. aishah: thanks, griff. a search underway for the national guardsman who jumped into the river to save a drowning migrant. we're there at eagle pass straight ahead. va home loan benefit that lets you refinance up to 100% of your home's value. and with home values rising, that can mean a lot more money for you and your family. a newday va home loan lets you refinance your home to pay credit card debt or just put money in the bank. it even lowers your paymentsby over $600 a month. we all know some of life's most important financial decisions are made right here at the kitchen table. so if you're a veteran and need cash, calling newday usa could be one of the best decisions you'll ever make. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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>> well, whether it's border agents or texas national guard soldiers, they're all heartbroken about this and actually the hotel we're staying at a bunch of the national guard soldiers are often in the lobby, staying there as well. when i came home last night several of the soldiers were talking about this incident and one much them knew the guy, i overheard them talking and they sounded very somber about this. you're right this hasn't happened before. you can see the hum-vee over our soldier. the texas national guard is doing a lot of hard work and hands on as border patrol is overwhelmed and they've jumped in the water before to rescue these migrants and they're not just here for show. these guys are willing to put their lives on the line to try to save people's lives who are breaking the laws coming over and they don't care they're trying to save them and unfortunately it looks like this soldier lost his life in this incident. griff: bill melusgin. thank you. and for more on this hour, the spokesperson for the south texas region, will bring us the latest on the missing soldier and growing crisis at our southern border. stay tuned. aishah: griff, mass confusion. our political panel coming up, the mixed messaging in the country days after a florida judge struck down the mandates on planes, trains, and other mass transit coming up. rly es, landscaper larry and his trusty crew... were delayed when the new kid totaled his truck. timber... fortunately, they were covered by progressive, so it was a happy ending... for almost everyone. 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started friday at 12 a.m. everyone ages two years and older regardless of vaccination status to wear masks on public transit, transit hubs and airports and subway stations even though a federal judge voided the mask mandate covering airlines and other public transportation on monday. l.a. county's health director says during a zoom presentation masking up is locally due to elevated covid transmission. >> while it would be much preferable to have as c.d.c. previously mandated, a requirement that covers the entire country. until the legal challenges are addressed, it's important that local jurisdictions are taking measures from the c.d.c. what measures are needed to protect the public health. >> so if you're passing through lax, you're requiring to wear a mask, but don't have to wear a mask on the plane sitting next to someone. >> i think there's a reason we have the vaccination, so, i'll definitely follow the rules, but i don't really like wearing a mask. >> the thing i don't like is the flip-flop. >> i personally think i'm going to continue to wear the mask and protect others and continue to be safe. >> also, riders in new york, massachusetts, and wisconsin are also still required to mask up in a number of transit settings, per their local public health guidance. aishah: thank you, christina coleman from los angeles. there's lot of confusion and as of monday night, wearing a mask is optional on the computer rail system and on the system on tuesday. by friday, commuters who use public transit in l.a. county are required to mask up again. l.a. county issued a new public health order that started friday at 12 a.m. which requires everyone age two and older, regardless of their vaccination status to wear a mask. i want to bring in our political fan now to talk about this. jeff cuellar, radio host, and a white house deputy special assistant. thank you for being with us on a confusing saturday for a lot of americans. i just got off a plane and many people were not wearing a mask. some were choosing, to, a lot of people talking about this. we've got states and cities doing all sorts of different things based on transmission rates. matt, i want to ask you first, the president hasn't helped when it comes to adding to the confusion, because this week he was telling reporters people should be able to decide whether to wear a mask on a plane or not and then he confused the mask mandate with title 42. watch this. >> ♪♪ >> i've not gotten any brief from my c.d.c. i don't know, follow the signs. >> so matt, can you understand why so many people are just confused? because the messaging is kind of all over the place. >> look, covid has had a variety of messages involved in the public health crisis for two years. we've seen different jurisdictions, sometimes different within the state, taking different actions, and lockdown orders and mask mandates and this is part of life with a pandemic or an endemic disease like covid. so, i don't think that we're experiencing anything all that different right now. and let's be clear about where this confusion is coming from. it's coming from a decision by a judge who is appointed by president trump, she was rated unqualified by the aba and made a big mistake and caused confusion. the mandate was set to expire on may 3rd. she chose to wade in with a bad decision and cause confusion. aishah: let's talk about the decision from the judge. usually when you file for appeal as the department of justice is, you also file for a temporary stay because the focus is to try, apparently, if this is a public health crisis, to get masks back on people's faces. but that's not happened. why do you think that that's not happened? why aren't we seeing a stay being called for? is this about people's safety or is this about the precedent that this sets? >> i should-- >> aishah, this is about the administration trying to extend their power. it's not about health, it's not about airlines. the ceo's of all of these airlines are saying that they wanted to get rid of this mask mandate because their employees were being put at risk, passengers hated it. the air in these planes is safer than the air you breathe in a restaurant. they have air filtration systems. do you know, aishah, when this decision was announced you had passengers celebrating, you had flight attendants celebrating and you had the videos put out. and as you pointed out there's confusion in the biden administration, people are done with covid, and ready to get back to their lives. they want to eat where they want to eat and travel, and by the way, it doesn't do anything as far as protecting you. studies shown it's about virtual signaling. the type of masks that do any type of goods are not the masks that 99% of the people are wearing, so it's really a ridiculous requirement and the american people want to move on and these airline ceo's, they know best about the health and safety of their passengers and their employees, they're the ones that petitioned the biden administration to end this. they've had enough. all of these incidents, aishah, of unruly passengers, started increasing when the mask mandateut in place. why put our-- why subject these employees to that. subject the passengers to that? i want to defend this judge. she made a great decision, not having the recommendation of the aba is a badge of honor. i think she's one of the best judges i've seen that the trump administration appointed. i gave her high marks, it's a courageous decision and something that the person people support. aishah: matt, i want your response because i saw you shaking your head before i went to jeff. why is there no call for a stay? >> well, a couple of things, first of all, what jeff said about masks is simply not true. wearing a mask, kn95 mask which is easily available for anybody, really substantially helps cut down both your risk of getting covid and other people. so, that's just fake. what i think the reason that they're not petitioning for a stay, because it was stet to s--- set to expire on may 3rd anyway. the reason they have to appeal this terrible decision, this could happen again, we could have another pandemic, we probably will. we live in this global society and pandemics are going to become relatively common and we have to have the public health authority to take steps to protect people. almost a million americans have died from covid. a million, and that's a really horrifying statistic that people without fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers and kids, we've got to have the ability to protect people when these pandemics strike. aishah: jeff, really quickly, i do want to get to this because we're running out of time. i want to ask, i know there's talk about this and on capitol hill when it comes to the c.d.c. and confusion after everything we've gone through the past it would have and a half years, the loss of trust that some people feel they've lost with the c.d.c. do you think that the c.d.c. director should be a congressional approved position? it's not currently, the president just decides who comes in and takes over the c.d.c. do you think that they should go through what others go through before they're appointed? >> of course, aishah, i think the c.d.c. leadership has been very questionable. i think their decisions have been back and forth. i mean, flip-flopping from the very beginning. i'd like to see a new c.d.c. director. i'd like to see dr. fauci fired. i think he has done a horrible job. and that's why we have the confusion, conflicting signals from the biden administration, from the c.d.c. american people are confused not good leadership on this. aishah: okay. >> of course, congress needs to play a bigger role. quickly to you, matt, yes or no, c.d.c. directors appointed? >> sure, i have no problem with that. aishah: great, thank you so much. we appreciate your thoughts and your expertise. hope to see you soon again. griff. >> thank you. griff: aishah, we want to take moment and listen in to president volodymyr zelenskyy taking questions from the press, listen in. unfortunately i won't have enough time to talk to each of you, but after victory, we'll talk with each of you longer for a longer time. but now, time is very precious for our country. so, we're ready to perform this, to conduct this press conference now. ask, please, your questions. let's go. >> so, raise your --. >> please wait for the mic. thank you, mr. president. recently we saw from moscow, from the russian president who was holding the desk, very firmly. can you say, why he invaded ukraine? maybe he got sick or what something? what happened to him? >> it hard to evaluate every step of the president of russia's situation. it's hard for me to estimate why he's holding the desk or the chair, why he has been doing this for all of these years. i don't think it's connected to the fact that-- or why his army invaded our land and as cobra, crawling snake, this occupation is ongoing every day and every year. we know together with you that it's been going on for eight years, and unfortunately, we don't want to get used to this crawling, you know, extended occupation beau unfortunately it's happening. we saw it. on ukraine, i think the russian federation will -- russian president wanted to have this influence in ukraine. we can speak about it openly today. we're fighting against it and so we can say honestly and openly since the beginning of our independence in our country we probably were the only ones dreaming for our independence and important only to us and for the civilized world to have-- we see given the support for friendly countries, but the russian federation does not consider us on the level of government and they don't consider us the majority of the society also of the russian federation. they do not consider us an independent country. they do not respect us, they don't respect our culture, our values, and people, they don't think we have a right to independence, and we don't have a right to life it means. we're fighting for our life today and that means we're fighting for independence. we're fighting for our freedom, for freedom of ukraine. >> and that was just a little bit of the q & a, the press conference happening here in kyiv with president volodymyr zelenskyy. zelenskyy talking about the independence of the ukrainian people and aishah, highlighting the fact that in this eastern donbas region where the new phase, second phase of this war has begun, is where the ukrainian people have been fighting for independence there for eight years and he really highlighted the fact that vladimir putin ultimately does not either recognize the right of the ukrainian people to be independent more does he want them to essentially be an independent country. aishah. aishah: and i think he also doubled down on fact that, you know, it's been two months now, griff, and he said we don't want to get used to the ongoing occupation, but that's what we're seeing happening and you can see the pure exhaustion in his face and we've seen it in the faces of ukrainian people, and you see it there and it goes on and on and on and we don't want this to turning into a month's long occupation or war which is what many, many people fear will happen. griff: the dynamic on the ground is fascinating. you mentioned the exhaustion, after 59 days could you would exhaustion. but it's zelenskyy's demeanor and constant nonstop leadership that is motivating people. when you talk to ukrainian people and i went to bucka with are devastation arbor or borodyanka, it's an insight into the complex situation as you hear the ukrainians gearing up for more and more of the war coming, aishah. aishah: of course, and you think about everything they've gone through and they've lost their homes and you hit the nail on the head when you said it's their resolve that inspires the rest of the world, but put yourself in their shoes, this is their home, all they've ever known, they're not going to give up kyiv. they haven't for centuries. they're not going anywhere and it's just very difficult for the rest of the world to stand by and watch. griff: that's right, indeed. as russia steps up attacks on the eastern donbas and consolidates its control of the southern port city of mariupol, stories of heroism are pouring out of the country as civilians turned fighters to defend their homeland. earlier this week i spoke with several such defenders that stopped the russian invaders in its track near kyiv. watch. >> a ukrainian city was saved by ukrainian farmers who became fighters. >> they came here to my homeland to trample my land. we did not come to their land. it was like a knife in the back. >> it's a scene of destruction. we pass the graveyard with the remnants of a russian missile among tombstones, but putin's forces failed here because of the contribution of a localized militia that many could bined forces. >> and they were across and got here, but our troops managed to defeat them and stopped farther advance. this is all that remains of a russian tank stopped cold on the battlefield at moshchun. while the capital is safe for you, the southern seaport of mariupol is dire where civilians are trapped, trying to survive. and in the ukrainian bunker, they say they will not surrender despite russian ultimatums that have now expired. >> in addition to military supplies, there are civilians fallen victim to this war. we appeal and plead all world leaders to help us. >> if mariupol falls, it would give russia the land bridge to the crimea peninsula they've long sought and free up sources in the east. one ukrainian member of congress says that more weapons are needed. >> and in donbas it's started we need the weapons, aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles. griff: and that marine commander you saw there, i lost contact aishah, with him yesterday. i've been talking to him every day. he's holed up with the fighters in that steel plant and we haven't gotten communication back with him and concerning since russia continued to attack as we speak. aishah: it's a volatile situation there on the ground, griff. stay safe for us. still to come, the weather is warming up, that means nascar is back in action as drivers rev up to take on the talladega speedway. more on that next. what happens when performance... meets power? you try crazy things... ...because you're crazy... ...and you like it. you get bigger... ...badder... ...faster. ♪ you can never have too much of a good thing... and power is a very good thing. ♪ - i'm norm. - i'm szasz. [norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. we do consulting, but we also write. [szasz] we take care of ourselves constantly; it's important. we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >> drivers, start your engines. nascar fans, tomorrow's race will take place at the famous talladega super speedway in alabama. all eyes are on the next gen car. charles watson is at the speedway. it looks warm there, charles. how is it going? >> it's warm and a lot of fun. we just got done with a lot of the qualifying races a few moments ago, now that that's wrapped up and the positions are all set, a lot of these teams are back in the garage area getting the final tuneups in before the big race tomorrow. nascar's geico 500. you can bet a lot of eyes are going to be on nascar's next gen car and how it will perform tomorrow. this is its debut season and so far we're told the cars are performing pretty good. it's got a lot of knew new features, with a fully symmetrical body and if you want to in one piece. we're talking about the largest oval track, 2.6 miles and speeds are known to exceed well over 200 miles per hour. the perfect ingredient for a pileup or the big one, as folks here at dega refer to it, but that's not what they have to focus on today. that's a preview for some. right now the focus is on fun and plenty of good weather. you can see folks out here playing a nice game of cornhole. don't know who is winning, but seems like this young lady is doing a pretty good job. you've got the families out, walking around and enjoying the warm weather today. all the wonderful food and all the fan activities that nascar is providing today and the fan experience. so, lots of fun for nascar fans this weekend at talladega and it should be a good one tomorrow at nascar's geico 500. back to you, aishah. aishah: maybe you should get in on that cornhole and you'd be good at it. and the big race tomorrow 2:30 p.m. eastern, watch all of it and more on fox sports. griff. griff: the russian war casting a dark shadow on the holy orthodox easter holiday. we sit down with a priest with more on the faith in ukraine next. we called and got $96,602. that's more than ever. we called and we got $62,810. home values are soaring. now is the best time in history to turn your home equity into cash. we called and we got $68,201. we called and we got $58,800. use it to improve your home or save for retirement. i called and got $60,300. take ten minutes and call newday usa. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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mayor describing russian attacks and warning civilians to leave the city as russia steps up push in southern ukraine. welcome to fox news live, i'm griff jenkins in kyiv, ukraine. aishah: i'm aishah here to start with you. officials say russian missile attacks there have killed 5 people including a 3-month-old baby. griff, the violence continues, the terror in ukraine continues. it's two months now and very important week for millions of ukrainians, millions of russians, we hoped there might be a pause in the fighting because of this very important holy week and, of course, easter, orthodox easter in a few hours but that's certainly not the case. the russians have not stopped their attacks. griff: that's right. important pointing out attacks in odesa for our viewers. the fighting has kicked, intense shelling in eastern donbas region but as we heard from russian commanders that they are also going to try to seize total folks full control of the south and odesa is the key largest sea port city on the black sea, it's on the western side. so as you look at the poor beseeming city of mariupol which is hanging in the balance, that's on the eastern side of the black sea, all the way on the west is odesa, that clearly, the strikes there indication that vladimir putin's intentions are to essentially extend russia's borders all the way from russia down through that eastern donbas with a land bridge to the crimean peninsula to moldova not a nato country. if they do increase attacks there, it would essentially land-lock ukraine as a country in a large amount of the world particularly in africa goes through odesa, through the southern port. has implications for the country of ukraine which are catastrophic but also globally in terms food supply. i was talking and have been talking since i've been here for the very part of a month with alex, member of parliament from odesa, you saw him in my reporting in the package we ran last hour and was hoping that odesa would not be a target but they knew might be and the world needs to be prepared to defend that access to the black sea and as we heard from that mayor in the open, from mykoliav, alex is worried that mykoliav in between odesa and mariupol that mykoliav will be next and also across the south southern region, aishah. aishah: president zelenskyy holding conference moments ago to the fact that we don't want to see ongoing occupation but that is what we see happening, griff. griff: it is, indeed. moving on now to nation's capital where the bipartisan administration facing bipartisan blowback for rescinding title 42. lucas tomlinson live at the white house with the latest, hey, lucas. lucas: griff, the president will host the hispanic caucus and they expect to discuss immigration and title 42, topics that loom hard ahead of midterm elections. >> this is not good for democrats in november. you know, in talking to some of my republican colleagues they are saying we can't believe the white house is giving us this narrative. lucas: dozens of democratic lawmakers urging to keep title 42 policy in place that has barred 1.7 million migrants from coming into the united states since the height of the pandemic two years ago. a group of bipartisan have introduced a bill to delay repeal for 60 days. the biden administration plans to scrap the health measure on may 23rd. the president's own dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas told congress he's also concerned about the administration repealing title 42. biden policies on immigration and masks are out of touch. >> whatever president biden says is that we should force toddlers to wear masks on airplanes, but we should throw open our southern border to a quarter million illegal immigrants every single month. lucas: white house is saying that they are closely monitoring the situation. official telling fox there in touch with the proper authorities. griff. griff: lucas tomlinson live for us at the white house, lucas, thank you very much. aishah. aishah: latest on the national guard soldier. you're loo at images from eagle pass, texas, where officials are still at this hour searching for the mexico national guard soldier who is believed to have drowned on friday while trying to save a migrant in the rio grande river. bill melugan has the latest, bill. bill: the national guard is presumed to have drowned and his body still has not been found. he never resurfaced and the state of texas in the process of notifying the soldier's family. if you take a look at the scene. latest update as we know it. last night the texas military department said they call off search operations because the river's currents were just too strong. we've been told by sources at the scene that those -- those searches have restarted today, though, it is more of a recovery operation. keep in mind, the local sheriff telling us the soldier jumped in the water around 8:30 a.m. local time yesterday morning trying to save a female migrant who was crossing, the female migrant ended up surviving in border patrol custody but unfortunately the soldier never resurfaced and, again, because it's been so long this has been considered a presumed drowning. both were searching for the soldier all day yesterday to no avail. what they did find body armor, walkie-talkie which he discarded before jumping in the weared. if and when they found the soldier's body, the first texas national guard soldier to drown, die in the river as part of operation lone star. we want to show you this video we shot earlier this morning because the river crossings continue, we saw a group of migrants crossing within the last hour here in broad daylight. as you can see right now the river running much lower. the water bierly going up to the knees of the migrants. it's hit or miss depending on where you are in the river here. but regardless the crossings are nonstop and former ice director tom homan says the border is simply out of american control right now. take a listen. tom: the most shocking thing of this administration we have lost operational control of the border. several men told me, we have lost operational control of our southern border. bill: and aishah, several migrant drownings on this portion of the river this week alone we saw multiple bodies being pulled from the water earlier this week. when it comes to this missing national guard soldier who is presumed dead, the texas military department says they will not stop recovery operations until they find that soldier. we will send it back to you. aishah: only expected to get worse. a lot of folks worried about that, bill melgin at the border, excellent probation reporting, griff. griff: for more on this let's bring in texas department safety lieutenant chris oliveras, lieutenant, thank you for joining us. it's always great to talk with you. i've spent a lot of time with you down there in texas but today is a particularly somber day, somber weekend, how is dps handling the latest news. >> good afternoon, great to be with you. yes, you've been with men and women of texas dps, national guard, border patrol and you have seen the great work they are doing day in and day out to be on the front lines but what occurred, of course, on friday with our national guard soldier is very tragic. the brave soldier, that's the true example of bravery and courage by going into the river, dangerous river trying to rescue immigrants in distress. that's what the men and women do day in and day out, national guardsmen. they risk their liveses by being on the front lines not only apprehending criminals and seizing drugs but performing rescuing operations. it's a very dangerous river. just this month alone 19 drownings in area. bill reported 3 in a single day. it's dangerous, our men and women risk their lives to go into the rescue immigrants that are violating federal law but nonetheless they -- regardless put that aside and go rescue the people that are coming across because that's what they are there for, they are there to provide a service and also to protect the state of texas. griff: lieutenant, in your opinion was this avoidable, could this have been prevented in some way? >> you know, griff, it's kind of hard to say, of course, because when we are on the front lines regarding if it's the national guardsman, border patrol, dps trooper, they have a split-second decision to make operations, whether river or mountain in west texas. there's really no way to determine if this could have been avoidable. now we do know, of course, for a fact if there was more effective border policies that would reduce the number of illegal immigrants coming across the dangerous river. again, we will continue to see the flow of immigrants coming across. bill reported earlier that there are immigrants coming across the river knowing there's been drownings in this past week alone but, again, difficult to put into words about what took place and, again, great work by men and women, right now we are using every resource at our disposal from u.s. border patrol, texas game, military team performing search and rescue operations to rescue the soldiers and, of course, we want to extend our prayers on behalf of the department of public safety to the first responders and and everyone who is every day away from their families to protect the entire country. griff: let's look at we can, lieutenant, the month numbers, 200,021 compared to 173,277. we didn't hill 200,000 until july last year and last year was a record unprecedented number of apprehensions. when you hear tom homan and the report with those reports talking about the border being out of control, how do you see it. is it out of control. >> it is. the border patrol agents are overwhelmed with the constant processing with the searching of illegal immigrants coming across. for the first six months over 1.2 million encounters, that's not including the over 300,000 known got aways. that's why governor abbott stepped in from the very beginning and texas is taking unprecedented action right now with operation lone star and additional state assets to the border to help our federal partners just what we have been able to do since the start of operation lone star. over 14,000 criminal arrests. out of that 12,000 felony arrests, of course, 3800 criminal trespass arrests. the illegal immigrants that are checkpoints and private ranches. so we are trying to gain operation control of this border, the state of texas is, that's why we have a proactive plan in place and try to prevent what's -- what's to come in may with the caravans, thousands of immigrants that are waiting in mexico. we do in the want to see, we want to prevent what took place in del rio last year with the haitians and we are involving border operations with federal partners and international partners as well. griff: do you need a little more -- just in the 30 seconds we've got, is there more that your federal partners, not border patrol but the white house and the lawmakers in washington could be doing to help you? >> well, of course, they need to take more effective strategies, have a comprehensive immigration reform, also do not cancel title 42. if you are going to cancel 42 have a effective strategy in place so we don't see mass flow of immigrants coming across and also work with other local partners as well and also congressional partners and they come together and have a plan in place and because of that the state of texas has to step in and develop strategies to help secure the border and help our federal partners. griff: well, we shall be watch if they have that plan in place. my sources from traveling to mexico, a caravan has already started. it's not a huge one but it started in tapachula and made itself to ixtla and traveling to eagle pass. lieutenant, thank you for taking the time, sir. >> thank you, griff, stay safe out there. griff: coming up we visited a local ukrainian priest ahead of this holy orthodox easter weekend. that's coming up after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all of the time. aishah: all right, well, that was one of the shocking lines that came out of the trial between johnny depp and amber hurd as they accused each other of physical and emotional abuse with bombshells coming in the next couple of weeks, yes, it's not over, folks, joining me to talk about this which is-based attorney who has handled a broad-range of criminal and civil matters. andrew, oh, my gosh, andrew. this is probably the most terrible nastiest divorce america has ever witnessed and it's happening on live tv. first of all, i want to ask you, should johnny depp file the lawsuit, there was an op-ed that some people read and some people didn't, this is -- you're eering your dirty laundry on live tv. >> it's all been devastating to reputation. if you think about it johnny depp in the public is about radioactive as chernobyl. so this thing could get real bad even worse real fast for mr. depp. aishah: we have seen awful pictures of depp in the hospital, injuries. are you surprised by amber's lawyers too that they are allowing all of this. this is a defamation case, it's not assault, abuse case, are you surprised that they are allowing all of this to take place because they have some strategy that they want to hit it when it's there time? >> i think you touched on it at the stop of the story where this is just a nasty, nasty divorce. this isn't a divorce proceeding per se but it is the second defamation. depp lost one in london and i think he will lose this one and this marriage was volatile and some of the volatility, anger is still there and we are seeing it in this trial. aishah: big time. amber heard hasn't testified yet but watch her lawyers grill depp. >> you understood that ms. herd was not happy you overusing alcohol or overusing drugs? >> no, sir. >> you trashed hotel rooms because you had bad couple of days and unpleasant time? >> i have assaulted a couch or two, yes, sir. aishah: andrew, what do you think? do you think depp has been a good witness for himself? >> he hasn't come off as bad as i thought he would come off. pretty humorous. look, he's a likable guy other than horrific allegations. everybody loved him in the pirates of the caribbean and there's a halo effect around him and that's why the photos, the texts, the testimony is endeavor stating because it shatters the perception that we have of mr. depp. this stuff has cost him money. he did not get renewed in pirates of the caribbean and also not going to be in the harry potter movie so this has hurt him already and it's going to hurt him more. aishah: yeah, how does this trial compare, andrew, the others considering we are living in a different time, post me too movement. the jury has a very, very tough job here, really, trying to decide, to determine who the abuser is and who the victim is. it's really a wild and they have a big difficult job here. >> they really do. postme too movement is a little difficult for johnny depp to come in and charm the jurors and say, gee, this is my rogish behavior. that doesn't buy it anymore. we are in an era where men say, gee, i'm rich, i'm famous. amanda heard comes next week and it'll be interesting to see what the testimony and cross-examination of her is going to be and it's going to be extraordinarily aggressive. it's ugly now, it's even going to getting usuallyier. aishah: you can tell by looking at her is that that's she has look on her face, oh, boy s she ready to let it all hang out. we will see what happens next. andrew thanks so much for being with us. we always love having you. come back soon. >> any time, thank you. aishah: griff. griff: ukrainian president zelenskyy says russia's government has rejected calls for ceasefire over orthodox easter a holiday marked ukraineia and russia. we visited kyiv's central church and asked local priest how this devastating war is impacting faith across the country. >> we are at st. vladamir's cathedral with father alexander. father, tell me about this cathedral. >> the cathedral is the main cathedral of the ukrainian orthodox church. this is one of the main spiritual places for kyiv as well as for ukraine. griff: in this orthodox easter very different from the war, tell me how it's different? >> the whole country has been living in new realities and we are all suffering from a terrible large-scale russian aggression. and, of course, each new day is different. in particular christians in ukraine will celebrate easter in special conditions, the condition are that many ukrainians are suffering because of the west especially the east and south of our state. there's a curfew so people cannot leave homes without much need that, of course, all of this is taking into account. griff: how important in this time of war with the atrocities we saw in bucha, how important is faith right now? >> in our opinion faith is very important for a person and especially when a person is feeling grief, suffering misery. griff: the head of the russian orthodox church is supporting russia's war and invasion, how does he feel about that? >> the fact that the head of the russian orthodox supports russia's aggression of ukraine is appalling and this tell us that the leadership of the russian orthodox church is under the influence of the kremlin and on the other hand russian society is a victim of propaganda. griff: father alexander, what is your message this easter? >> the peace of easter gives us hope that good always defeats evil. light conquers darkness and love conquers hatred and truth conquers untruth and the ukrainian people will win because the truth is on our side and if the truth is on our side, god is with us. we have not attacked anyone. we want to live in our home in our country peacefully but we will win. evil will be stopped because god is always with truth, with good and light. griff: how hard has this been for you personally to see atrocities in kyiv and elsewhere and mariupol? >> it's hard to put into words. every person who has a heart and soul seen bucha, i was there personally, mariupol, my heartbreaks with human atrocities the kremlin destroy the ukrainian people. griff: heartbreaks for the tragedies that we saw in bucha and as father alexander says, aishah, light conquers darkness and that will certainly be a common theme in many orthodox churches across the country here in ukraine. aishah. aishah: you're absolutely right but it's hard not to be devastated for all of those people because easter is supposed to be a joyous time of the year. i have many friends who are eastern orthodox christians and just to watch what these people have gone through for the last two months, to have lost their homes, to have lost loved ones and not even have a reprieve to bury their loved ones on the holiest day of the year for them it's heartbreaking and i know that many, many prayers from people around the world will be with the ukrainians on this day as they celebrate easter, griff. all right, still to come, over the border from ukraine into russia orthodox christians there also griff: i asked father about the leader to have russian orthodox church there, sureal is his name and he's absolutely hook-line and sinker with the creme lib in the propaganda, and, of course, you applaud the russian faithful like the people we saw speaking out against what they know to be the truth which is a war over here that's been going on for two months. aishah: you will continue that incredible reporting for us, griff. thanks. griff: meanwhile lawmakers from both sides of the aisle speak out on the biden administration response to the russian war in ukraine, that's coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ aishah: have you noticed this more and more democrats are pushing back on the white house over the rollback of title 42 including the bipartisan problem-solvers caucus, that's a big one, 58-member group has endorsed a bill that would extend the border policy past the may deadline. i spoke earlier with pennsylvania democratic congresswoman christy and sits on the armed services committee and foreign affairs committee. congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us on this saturday. we appreciate your time. i want to start at the border especially with the national guard soldier who we fear has drowned in the rio grande river trying to rescue migrants such a dangerous feat trying to come over to the country. the president hasn't said anything about the tragedy, should he? >> well, thank you first of all for having me and that indeed a tragedy and our hearts should all go out to him and to his family for his service and for the efforts to protect people who are doing their best to pursue the beauty that is the american dream and, in fact, i am the daughter of a refugee myself, my father came here as a 5-year-old with his mom, young mom and his grandmother having actually survived the holocaust and was born in what he is now ukraine so i have enormous amount of empathy for people who are trying to pursue one generation later i sit in front of you as a member of congress a life that america promises. we definitely have issues at the border that we need to be addressing to make sure that that process is done safely and humanely for everyone who is involved. aishah: do you think the president should take as an opportunity, though, to reach out to those folks who feel that the federal government isn't doing much to help their cause? >> sure, i believe that there is something that needs to be done in this area not just at the southern border but frankly all of our borders. we need to be thoughtful about a strategic and comprehensive immigration plan. i had the opportunity to go to the border a while ago and had the chance to see so many of the people as you have mentioned national guard or immigration or border patrol who are working so hard to be able to provide that humane lending thought but we haven't given them the tools to be able to succeed. there frankly there is a disjointed process and we need to be ensuring those people up to give them opportunities to succeed. i very much would like to call the president and colleagues in congress and in the senate to work together collaboratively, bipartisanly to come up with some solutions. this is not something that should be a red or blue issue. this is an issue of the promise of this nation and this is an issue of the promise that we have to keep each other safe as well. aishah: in talking with border patrol agents, i've been down to the border twice right now and there's been growing concern for quite some time that once title 42 is lifted we will see an even bigger surge of migrants illegally crossing into the border. more and more democrats as you know are splitting with the president on this plan to lift title 42. i believe we are now up to 47 democrats in both the house and senate combined. you're among them. why now speak out when this crisis has been ongoing and what is your message to the president? >> sure, this is specifically about title 42. title 42 in its original intent was designed because we were in a global pandemic and unprecedented global pandemic and we still are. and so my encouragement to the administration is to revisit the decision to pull that back because in our country and globally we still are under this pandemic situation and so i think it's premature to pull back title 42 without really thinking hard about all of the inconsistency that do exist if you do that at the southern border but perhaps don't do other things in other places and so that's -- that's why now but i would also again reiterate that there is a responsibility not only to look at that particular issue title 42 but also really to look holistically at the issue of border control all over at border safety. aishah: absolutely. i want to quickly switch gears to ukraine. you were in ukraine right before the war began back in january, your father is from lviv. the president just announced another $800 million in military aid, we are talking about how it serves ammunitions, tactical drone. congresswoman, is this enough where we are right now in this war, is this military enough do you think? >> so part of my responsibility in congress and constitutionally is oversight. this is part of the reason why i feel it's my job to express my opinions to the administration and to my colleagues. in terms of the need and requirements of ukraine and zelenskyy and his administration, we should be listening hard to what it is that mr. zelenskyy is asking for and we should be providing all of the things that he's asking for literally short of boots on the ground that americans or americans in the sky which we have not heard from as a request but something that would require further investigation. i have encouraged the president to continue to look even further and more broadly to provide more resources than have been given to zelenskyy because the stakes are not just about ukraine, they are about the world order globally. aishah: absolutely, the rest of europe is watching as well to see -- >> and asia. aishah: thank you for your time and expertise, come back soon, griff. griff: and aishah, we will bring you reaction from the other side of the aisle with republican iowa senator johnny ernst after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ on the new mozza meat and supreme meats. love the smell of italian food. subway keeps refreshing and refres- your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire your spirit is stronger than your highs and lows. your creativity can outshine any bad day. because you are greater than your bipolar i, and you can help take control of your symptoms - and ask about vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. once-daily vraylar is proven to treat depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar i in adults. full-spectrum relief for all bipolar i symptoms. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high cholesterol and weight gain, and high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. sleepiness and stomach issues are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. you are greater than your bipolar i. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. griff: before the break we spoke to a democratic lawmaker who traveled to ukraine before the war, now let's bring in iowa republican senator joni ernst who led a bipartisan delegation in poland last month and member of the senate armed services and small business committees. senator ernst thank you for taking time as you reflect two months in war in ukraine and own trip in poland and germany, what are your thoughts? >> griff, my thoughts are that we need to ensure that ukraine wins this war, they are a sovereign nation and we need to do everything that we can to provide them the armament, ammunition, supplies necessary to defeat the russians soundly and get them out of ukraine. so we've really got to step up our game as the united states of america and ensure that president zelenskyy and the ukrainian military have absolutely everything they need. griff: senator, i was interviewing president zelenskyy's chief of staff andrew, he's grateful but says more is needed and quickly as this fight ramps up in the eastern donbas and southern coastline, do you believe that more weapons will, indeed, come and are needed right now? senator: they are needed, griff. and you are hearing the same thing that we are hearing as members of congress. when i led the bipartisan delegation into germany and poland we heard from ukrainian civil society leaders and they are asking for more from the united states. i am grateful that we have been able to provide what we have thus far but it is absolutely necessary that we up our game and provide what president zelenskyy is asking for. they have a plan for all of the different platforms they have requested but if we can get those items to them, get them quickly, they have the opportunity to defeat the russian army. this is the goal is to make sure that they win and that they win soundly. griff: senator, told me that he wants the u.s. to designate the russian federation, putin's government as state sponsor of terror, could you support that? senator: absolutely i could support that, griff. as a matter of fact i'm a cosponsor on a bill that is sponsored -- originally sponsored by jim who is the ranking member of the senate foreign relations committee. it is called the guard act and within that bill it would specify that russia is a state-sponsor of terrorism. what we have seen through ukraine is absolutely abhorrent, innocent men, women, children, elderly and this has to stop and the way to putting extreme pressure on vladimir putin and russia. griff: changing gears just a little bit senator ernst americans believe that the inflation at 40-year high has got to stop. look here at the latest gas prices, we can show you 4.12 today compared to a year ago, 2.88. is in your opinion the administration doing enough to get this inflation under control? senator: oh, griff, this is hitting our iowans and all americans hard with with this 40-year high inflation, gas prices at an all-time high and, no, the president is not doing nearly enough. we should be ramping up american energy production, of course, unleashing enof -- innovation, we have biofuels that we should be tapping to and expanding and allowing other companies opportunities in the united states. it is about american jobs and american energy resources. the president, he laughs this off when he looks at the prices at the pump and he basically has told americans just go buy yourself a 50,000-dollar electric vehicle. and, folks we know that's not the answer. so, again, griff, we've got to unleash american innovation and energy and we could actually bring these prices down at the pump. griff: we shall see and it'll certainly perhaps be a part of these midterm elections about to take up. senator joni ernst thank you for taking time and we hope to hear from you again on the ukraine issue because you have been an integral part of that. senator: stay safe, griff. aishah: griff, millions have fled war in ukraine and some suffering wounds. we will talk with an organization that is helping refugees with medical help. ♪ ♪ ♪ griff: project hope is helping the people of ukraine by supplying them with much-needed medical aid sending everything from medications and emergency kits to basic hygiene items. joining me robbie, the president of project hope. you're doing amazing work over here. why did you start doing this and what specifically are you doing? >> well, thank you for having me, griff. we are doing this because people need it. we have seen the suffering in ukraine and in the region as well among refugees and those that are staying in ukraine and what we are doing initially is sending medicines and medical supplies to areas in ukraine on the front line and kyiv and lviv and kharkiv and i saw the suffering that ukrainians are going through but at the same time i saw the resilience of ukrainians especially doctors and nurses that have been working around the clock to help people. griff: and roby you mentioned kharkiv and hard-hit areas, i have seen firsthand, has your job made difficult because russian forces are attacking civilians on such a widespread scale? >> absolutely. i mean, i visited trauma ward in kyiv and i saw the number of civilians that have been injured throughout the war and some of them could not make it to the hospital for a month. they were without any treatment for a month and they developed infections. and that's what wars cause but also trying to get medicines to certain areas like kharkiv, it's extremely difficult. we have to monitor routes and see which way we can get them in and the staff that take the supplies are safe. griff: and you did this robih in coordination with the state department, are you getting the support that you need logistically to do your job, to do what you're trying to do more the people in the hard-hit areas? >> i mean, we have our connections in ukraine. we have our teams but also local partners, ukrainian partners and many logistical companies in ukraine that we work with and they help us get the medicines and medical supplies to places, they know the area and they know the routes and they know the needs. we work hand in hand with ukrainian counterparts to know what they need the most. griff: robih torbay, thank you for what you're doing in this country. you can go to help them go to projecthope.org, robih, thank you for taking the time. >> thank you so much, stay safe. griff: amazing work they are doing, aishah. aishah: incredible work especially our american medic that is have gone there to help and incredible reporting help. that's all for us. next eric and arthel. or just put money in the bank. it even lowers your paymentsby over $600 a month. we all know some of life's most important financial decisions are made right here at the kitchen table. so if you're a veteran and need cash, calling newday usa could be one of the best decisions you'll ever make. 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