this time to give the country an opportunity weigh in on this matter. it's literally life or death. you know, we're not asked to be successful. we're asked to be faithful. that's a quote i keep in my heart from mother teresa. >> we'll end on that note. thank you, both. thanks to both of you for watching this morning. we'll see you tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. ana cabrera picks up the coverage right now. right now on "ana cabrera reports," the race for the presidency. a republican mega donor network now pulling its cash from nikki haley as her fight to beat donald trump moves to michigan. the chairman of the rnc announcing her resignation hours ago. did she lose trump's favor? also ahead, five days and counting, another government shutdown looming at the end of this week. can congress cut a deal in time? new fallout after the alabama court ruling on frozen embryos. fertility clinics now pausing ivf services amid mounting uncertainty. thanks for joining us. hope you had a wonderful weekend. it's 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. nikki haley vowing to stay in the fight against donald trump despite a double-digit loss in her home state of south carolina. there are several new developments this morning including a major fund-raising network now pulling its cash from haley, and the chair of the rnc announcing her resignation hours ago following criticism from the former president. joining us from michigan traveling between haley events, nbc news correspondent ali vitali. also with us, nbc's vaughn hillyard, democratic strategist basil smikle and rina shah. let me start with you, ali. on the move. set the stage for us what we'll see in michigan this week as haley vows to stay in this race. >> reporter: i'm taking a page from the vaughn hillyard playbook and doing this live shot from the car. we're moving across michigan because that's exactly what nikki haley is doing. she promised to do this well before her loss in the south carolina primary. what the primary loss gave her, though, was the silver lining that many advisers have talked to me about which is that, yes, she lost and soundly so, but she notched about 40% of the vote means that's not where donald trump should be, in the words of haley advisers, as a quasi-incumbent candidate. that's leaving the haley team space to say, hey, we see 40% of people in south carolina and across the country who want an alternative to trump, in large part because they don't want to go into 2024 with a 2020 redo of trump versus biden. it's why we're hearing voters on the ground in michigan, people who voted for biden, people who might vote for trump, might vote for haley alike saying, hey, it's not a bad thing that she stays in. watch. >> i think she's a smart woman. i think she's done a lot of great things for this country. >> i appreciate she's running against trump. i wish they had more choices besides her. i don't think she's going to get the nomination, unfortunately, but at least she's stirring up some trouble out there, maybe making people think. >> it's trump versus biden. what do you do? >> for me, it's simple. i'd vote for biden. if trump doesn't respect that he lost and wanted to use violence to remove him, we don't have democracy. >> reporter: that last voter there, ana, is so indicative of the conversations i've had with haley voters across the country. those who don't want to vote for trump in large part because of the ways that they saw him try to leverage the power of the oval office after he lost in 2020. that's something that's motivating them a way they feel trump is dangerous and it's why they're voting for someone like haley in this primary, despite the fact that many of them know, she is not going to be able to win this nomination, her delegate strategy is such that even in states where she could come close -- and i don't know many of those states that exist -- many of those rules are winner-take-all states. right now it's a candidacy of principle, a canned see of alternative. i have to tell you, even as these voters know she's not going to win, they are excited, they are engaged at her events and they want her to stay in and pro viet an alternative. >> ali vitali, thank you for that reporting. rina, haley said she'll fight out. she just lost a major donor, americans for prosperity backed by the koch brothers. saying, given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don't believe any outside group can widen her path to victory. what does this mean? does she have the money to keep going? >> she definitely has the money in the coffers to see this race through super tuesday. that's simply put just the name of the game right now. she understands, her team knows that it becomes mathematically impossible after super tuesday for her to clinch enough delegates to essentially topple trump. as has been said many times over inside the beltway and elsewhere, she may be hanging around for other issues. i'm seeing a real fear in trump world how he manages to keep his coffers full. haley will still get the corporate donors looking at her favorably because she's the only thing that stands between trump and the white house. look, they also see her as somebody who is very practical and has a good opportunity to topple any democrat when it comes to the general election. i say don't count her out yet because trump is not yet the presumptive nominee. he's not picked up enough delegates. this is an unusual moment in which what we're seeing now is the tension of money within trump world and the rnc as well. so nikki haley does have a couple openings that are unconventional in nature. and also, let's not forget there is an appetite out there for her that we have not yet seen the empirical evidence for, and i do believe we'll see a bit more of that on super tuesday. >> vaughn, haley says she raised a half million even though she lost by double digits in south carolina. >> we have to give ali credit for driving an american-made jeep throughout michigan. i should note that. for donald trump, notable saturday night in south carolina during his victory speech, he didn't mention nikki haley by name once or the fact he even had a republican opponent at this point, instead folking his his attention on joe biden. we're talking about his financing, he only raised $8 million, his campaign did, in january, a month in which he won the iowa caucus and the new hampshire primary, usually you should have pretty good fund-raising hauls coming out of here. for him and his allies, there's a coalescing, even senate republican john thune backing him last night. i want to let you hear my yes to lindsey graham, the fellow south carolinian. >> what is your message to fell le south carolinian. >> we like you, we admire you, we're proud of you. it's time to unify. >> the republicans want to unify. the dnc and joe biden are outfund-raising them by millions of dollars, not only the campaigns, but the super pacs. . >> we know trump has tried to use his legal woes as a campaign boost, as a fund-raising boost. here he is this weekend, now in a new controversy because of comments he made about his legal woes connecting with black voters. take a listen. >> i got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time. and a lot of people said that that's why the black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as i'm being discriminated against. i'm being indicted for you, the american people. i'm being indicted for you, the black population. i am being indicted for a lot of different groups. >> basil, what's your reaction to that? >> there are a lot of choice words i have for him right now that i won't use on air, but what an idiot, to actually make that kind of comparison when he's the same individual that put an ad in the paper condemning five young black men to death. he's not doing this for me. he's not doing this for anybody that considers -- well, for any black person, because i know how much disdain he has for communities of color and for poor people. so let's put that on the table. with that said, i do think that he has used this opportunity to raise money for himself. i understand and take nina's point that i do wonder where his own money is going to come from in terms of fund-raising because he's put so much of that towards his legal defense. if i'm a republican strategist, one of the things i'm considering -- i would be considering right now is with all of the anger on this alabama decision regarding in vitro fertilization, that's really going to hurt senate and congressional candidates across the country. if i'm the rnc and even the koch brothers network, we need to start looking at the down-ballot races if the president is using the rnc as his own coffer, because i doubt he's thinking about the rest of the ticket. it's really interesting to pay attention to his money moves going forward. but with respect to what he's doing with black voters. >> let's talk about the rnc and the changes coming. we have an announcement from rnc chairwoman ronna mcdaniel. what do we know? >> she says she's going to step aside when the body convenes in houston on september 7th and 8th. drnl says he wants michael watley to take her place and his daughter-in-law to be the number two in the capacity of co-chair. it's not just donald trump's decision, let's be clear. it's going to come to a vote of only 168 members. the current number two, drew mckissic, the co-chair, he also announced his resignation. he was looking at challenging watley for the position despite donald trump's wishes. there are a lot of question marks about whether the rnc would provide legal funds for donald trump and also whether they would team up with donald trump prematurely before nikki haley even drops out. one rnc member told me there's a lot of water to flow beneath the bridge before that happens. >> during the election season, this is a big shakeup. what do you think this means as far as where the rnc is headed now, rina? >> oh, my gosh, there's so much i can say here. i was an elected delegate in 2016. i have been inside of the belly of the beast. it was ugly back then before trump was the presumptive nominee. you have trump loyalists who want to do the former president's bidding. ronna mcdaniels' resignation, it's surprising schepp would go. this is a great job to have. she was a regular woman in politics in michigan one day, then she got the vanity and all the glamour of this job. there's no other reason trump would push his own people to be in the top positions of the cnc except that the trump world needs money. this tells you that ronna mcdaniel is not okay with trump world using the rnc as a bank. that's the big reason she's leaving. she'd rather resigned than be pushed out. last year she sat with us in a private setting and talked about the rnc is a turnout operation, they don't tell candidates what to do. she expressed frustration about how many republican candidates have fudged the message on abortion. i, myself am anti-abortion for myself but pro-choice for other women. that's a position -- she said there's room in the party for people like me who didn't support the former president. her leadership didn't have any positive impact on the rnc infrastructure. she was always fighting an uphill battle about trump and his cultish ilk. >> it's so interesting to hear you say that. as an outsider, it sure seemed like she went along with whatever trump wanted. so i can't imagine somebody being even more loyal to him. nonetheless, basil, let's come full circle. as we look ahead to tomorrow in michigan, there's another story line and this push by some critics, some democrats who are critical of president biden's policy when it comes to the israel-gaza war and they're urging people to vote uncommitted on the ballot. do you think the president should be worried? >> it should be concerning because, if i remember, the poll showed 28% of voters under 30 are looking at exactly doing that, voting uncommitted. a couple of quick things. this might be the first time in a long time forever that foreign policy is actually impacted a u.s. election. i think that happens in part because we have such a diverse nation to becoming more and more diverse. a lot of first-generation americans who are much more connected to where they and their families have come from than perhaps ever before. with social media they can get more information about what's happening at home. that really does influence your view on what your president is doing across the globe. i understand where this is coming from. in my youth it was apartheid, and we also saw in the reagan era hiv and aids activists pushing the administration to do more. i get that. what i would say is there are always electoral consequences to these actions. if you're going to do this now, just think about the general election and making a different decision. that's what i would say. >> thank you so much, basil michael, vaughn hillyard and rina shah, appreciate the conversation. now to some breaking news in donald trump's legal fights. moments ago the former president formally appealed the civil fraud ruling against him in new york. let's get right to msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin. lisa, what do we know about this appeal? >> reporter: what trump filed this morning and his co-defendants with him are two notices of appeal. one is at judge engoron's decision, that's the 92-page decision in which he found trump and his co-defendants liable for six additional counts of fraud in their business dealings in the trump organization over the period of almost a decade. he has also now appealed a judgment entered late last week. that judgment reduced the dollar amount, as you know, to $464 million and counting by the day with each additional day for added judgment. we don't see a brief yet. that's because trump under ordinary new york civil procedure rules has six months to do what's called perfecting the appeal. that's filing a brief, filing the trial record with the appellate court. the other thing we know right now is what we haven't seen. we haven't seen any indicia of an undertaking or a bond that trump and his co-defendants have posted in the amount of the underlying award. >> of course, thaus multimillion dollars. what about the interest every day, $111,000. given that they've filed this appeal, does that put that on hold? >> no, it doesn't. we don't have a stay on enforcement of the judgment either. that's because without that undertaking or bond, there is no pause in the proceedings. that means that the attorney general can take steps to move ahead to enforce this judgment unless and until trump achieves that stay by posting a bond, ana. >> lisa rubin, thank you for jumping on with us. when we're back in 60 seconds, a dangerous dance. can a divided congress unite to avoid a partial government shutdown just days from now? plus, we're at the courthouse where the ex-fbi informant accused of lying about hunter biden and the president is set to appear to dafrnlts also, more fallout for families after the ivf court ruling. later, disorder on the court. the dangers facing basketball players from fan-fueled court storming. court storngmi urtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt. you know, when i take the bike out like this, all my stresses just melt away. i hear that. this bad boy can fix anything. yep, tough day at work, nice cruise will sort you right out. when i'm riding, i'm not even thinking about my painful cavity. well, you shouldn't ignore that. and every time i get stressed about having to pay my bills, i just hop on the bike, man. oh, come on, man, you got to pay your bills. you don't have to worry about anything when you're protected by america's number-one motorcycle insurer. well, you definitely do. those things aren't related, so... ah, yee! oh, that is a vibrating pain. eggs make all our family moments better. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so fresh and amazing. deliciously superior nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. yet again funding set to expire for several critical departments on march 1st if they can't reach a budget deal. president biden called a meeting for both parties at the white house tomorrow. nbc's ryan nobles joins us. what do we know about this meeting? any updates on the deal to get a deal passed? >> reporter: it's the end of february but certainly feels like groundhog day again. it's the same situation as relates to government spending as lawmakers are barreling down the possibility of a government shutdown this wook, at least a partial government shutdown with no real path to getting to a finish line. the meeting tomorrow with the four congressional leaders and the president appears to be significant. there's a real issue on the house side of things. that's where the speaker of the house is trying to find some way to get this bill to the floor without alienating conservatives in his ranks who want to attach policy riders to the spending proposal which has largely been agreed to that the senate is not going to go for. it's up to speaker johnson to figure out to figure out u how to get a bill to the floor that will pass both houses and be signed by the president. it's got to be done by friday. if not, at least a third of the government will be shut down. >> let's talk about another big event. this week hunter biden set to testify. what can we expect there? >> this is going to be behind closed dooshs. this is something the piement committees have been interested in seeing this happen. they subpoenaed hunter biden. at one point he said he wasn't interested, wanted to do it in a public setting but eventually agreed to the closed-door session. the president's brother, james biden, was behind closed doors last week up to eight hours. what investigators will try to pin down is whether or not there are any connections between his foreign business dealings and his father. this is something hunter biden has repeatedly said there's just no there there. republicans believe there are some inconsistencies. they'll have him in a situation where he cannot lie, he'll have to tell congressional investigators the truth. they'll match up their investigation to the questions they have for them to see if there's any opportunity at finding into contingency. this comes at a time where there seems to be waning support for the impeachment of president joe biden. this investigation hinges heavily on this interview that will take place behind closed doors on wednesday. >> we'll be watching it all closely. ryan nobles, thank you. in a related development, in less than two hours from now, the former fbi informant charged with fabricating a bribery scheme involving the bidens will appear in court after being elected for a second time. federal prosecutors convinced the judge that alexander smirnov needed to be taken into custody again because he was a flight risk. he's facing charges about lying the the fbi about president biden and his son untoer, claims that became central to the republican impeachment inquiry of the president. david, prosecutors initially expressed concern about smirnov's contact with russian intelligence and access to $6 million in liquid funds. what more can we learn today? >> reporter: ana, good morning. the main thing we'll learn today is whether smirnov will be detained in the lead-up to his trial. it's possible we'll get more details about smirnov himself. we know very little about him. he's been a confidential fbi source for more than ten years. we know he's in his 40s, he's a dual citizen of israel and the united states and worked extensively in ukraine. aside from that, we don't know much. we don't even know what he looks like. as far as being outside the courthouse, we're looking for a person to show up with sunglasses and a scarf covering his face. the reason we might learn more about him, it goes to the question of whether or not he's a flight risk. prosecutors have pointed out he has access to large amounts of money, two passports. he could easily get another israeli passport if needed. interestingestingly he has alleged ties to foreign intelligence agencies, including russian intelligence agencies. that's leading to a lot of conversation and questions around this key piece of evidence that house willings were using in the impeachment inquiry against hunter biden was, in fact, a part of some kind of russian intelligence operation. i should say, ana, at the same time prosecutors are saying smirnov has ties to russian intelligence agencies, they're also presenting him as a self-aggrandizing serial liar. his claims to having russian intelligence don't amount to conclusive evidence that this was, in fact, some kind of russian operation. >> david noriega reporting, thank you. we're tracking growing political fallout that one democratic is calling a, quote, war on women. as families in alabama have shrinking options following that state's supreme court ivf ruling. the u.s. supreme court case being herd today that will test the power of social media companies and what we see in our feeds. you're watching "ana cabrera reports." stay close. u're watching "ana ca reports. stay close rsv is out there. for those 60 years and older protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. it's hard to explain what this feels like. ♪♪ moving piles of earth, just by moving a lever. ♪♪ towing up to 4,000 lbs with a machine that weighs less than half that. cutting grass, clearing the way, and perfecting every inch of your land. ♪♪ we could keep trying to put it into words. ♪♪ but nothing compares to experiencing it for yourself. ♪♪ you just have to get in the seat. learn more at johndeere.com/getintheseat whoa, how did you defeat them? you just have to get with a little kung fu strength and by connecting my devices to the most powerful force of all. skadoosh. hah, huh? cool right? amazing. harness the power of xfinity internet and stay connected to the things you love. ah, they'll be like this for hours. hello dad, hello dad, hello da. uh-oh. good bunnies. ahh! this morning new fallout from that controversial alabama court ruling on frozen embryos. more fertility clinics pausing ivf treatments. some shipping companies refusing to transfer embryos out of the state, cutting off access for people hoping to become parents. nbc's senior legal correspondent laura jarrett has more. laura. >> hey there. it's been a little over a week since the court decision changed everything for so many families going through ivf or hoping to do so soon. many finding options on how to move forward increasingly complicated right now. with ivf on hold for many in alabama, patients hoping to finish their treatment somewhere else are hitting more roadblocks this morning. >> my patients with embryos frozen, cannot only have an people people transferred, but they also can't take their embryos elsewhere. it's wasted time and money. >> reporter: that's because some ooem shipping companies have stopped shipping. trying to avoid lawsuits after the alabama supreme court ruled embryos are unborn children making their destruction a wrongful death. >> as a physician, i never thought i would have to wait on the legislature to tell me how to do my job. >> reporter: the legal bind doctors are in right now putting increasing pressure on alabama lawmakers to do something. >> let's just find a way to get something done so we can pass this and get it to the governor. >> reporter: the controversy making its way into the race for the white house, too. >> if they need to do legislation to fix it, that's fine, but i don't want states to have knee-jerk reactions to where they insert government into these conversations between doctors and parents. >> calling on the alabama legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of ivf. >> reporter: some in the gop have a record on this issue at odds with their current public support of ivf. house speaker mike johnson issuing a statement describing ivf as, quote, a blessing for many moms and dads. but at the same time co-sponsored legislation last year defining human being to include all stages of life including the moment of fertilization. that same definition at the heart of the alabama court ruling that put ivf in jeopardy. if enacted, could compromise ivf procedures nationwide. some democratic lawmakers are now suggesting new federal legislation is needed to protect ivf at the national level. in the meantime, patients wondering why shipping companies are pausing everything. it goes back to the concern that something can happen in transit to the frozen embryo, a truck breaks down and they thaw accidentally. that creates potential legal liability for their destruction. >> laura jarrett with the latest on that developing story. right now in washington, d.c., america's highest court is hearing arguments that may reshape what you see online. the case challenges two gop-backed laws in texas and florida that prohibit social media sites from limiting political speech. this came after the january 6th attack after donald trump's accounts were band. proponents say these laws fight against censorship. social media companies say they take away their ability to regulate dangerous speech on their platforms. nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian is joining us with more on this. walk us through what's at stake here, ken. >> good morning, ana. experts say this is a case that can transform the internet as we know it. some calling it the most important test for social media companies since their creation. these two laws result from banning of donald trump over his incendiary comments in connection with the january 6th riot. the texas law forbids the companies from taking down any political speech at all. the constitutional issue here is whether social media companies have a first amendment right to regulate content on their platforms. are they like newspapers which have a right to publish what they want? or are they more like the old phone companies, so-called common carriers required by law to carry everybody's messages because they're such a crucial feature of modern communications. the appeals courts have disagreed. experts say this goes well beyond politics and may well determine whether the platforms can forbid threats, racism or pornographic content. >> has the court ruled on similar cases in the past that might give us some clue? >> there really is no exact precedent, but there are some clues. the supreme court in 1974 overturned a florida law that required newspapers to give equal space to both sides. the court said that violated the first amendment requiring newspapers to publish content against their will. the thing is, facebook, instagram and youtube are not exactly like newspapers. they play a much broader role in how people communicate and they're protected from libel suits. the biden administration has weighed in a brief supporting the rights of platforms to regulate their content. >> we know there are so many factors related to regulating these social media companies. we were covering that hearing the other day on capitol hill related to social media. thank you so much, ken dilanian. overseas now, what ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is telling our own richard engel about what his country needs to fight russia two years into that war. you're watching "ana cabrera reports." you're watching "ana cabrera reports. hi, i'm greg. i live in bloomington, illinois. i'm not an actor. i'm just a regular person. some people say, "why should i take prevagen? 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"known for her grilling of corporate executives." with "deep policy knowledge." katie porter's housing plan has "bipartisan-friendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. the economy is simply not working for millions of hard working families. with democrat katie porter. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message. we're back with breaking news. president biden will travel to the southern border in texas this thursday as he works to get the bipartisan senate border deal passed. also making a border visit thursday, former president donald trump. let's bring in white house correspondent kelly o'donnell. what do you know? >> what we're told by senior administration officials is that president biden will go to brownsville, texas, where he will meet with local leaders, law enforcement and border patrol agents. this is part of the administration and the president's push to try to get funding for the border, and we have seen the president talk publicly before about the fact that the union representing the border patrol agents has been supportive of the package that the white house worked with members of the senate to craft that would include national security and funding for the border. it would also make policy changes related to some of the key steps that have been really longstanding areas of tension, conflict and difficulty with the border. so for president biden to go to the border is significant on its own. when you put it in the context of this spending issue, there's a critical urgency for that. the administration would like to see that done. house republicans have objected even though overall house republicans are talking about wanting more border funding and security. and then you mentioned that former president trump will be there on the same day or at least in the region on the same day. that's one of those strange constellations of political power, and it will certainly create for a very interesting on-the-ground scenario for law enforcement and everyone else involved in a trip involving the current president and the former president. it really highlights how border related issues are driving the national conversation in terms of security, in terms of resources and in the very raw politics of the moment that we're in. ana. >> sources familiar now telling us trump's remarks will be in eagle pass, texas, on thursday. so we'll have an interesting combination there and covering both of these men as they highlight immigration and the border security issue. kelly o'donnell, thank you. obviously that issue connected to foreign funding, as we are now two years into the war in ukraine. russia is on the brink of a new offensive expected to get under way in the next two months as ammunition and weapon supplies in ukraine dwindle. just this morning ukrainian forces are on the retreat, leaving a village in southeastern ukraine near donetsk. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel sat down with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy on what's next. >> good to see you again. thank you very much. i just returned from several areas along the front line, in the south and in the east. soldiers there told me they have to ration their ammunition. what happens to your country if this american aid doesn't arrive? >> we will lose a lot of people. we will lose -- >> do you think the united states wants ukraine to win this war or just weaken russia and contain russia? >> i hope so. we count on our partners, and i hope it's not only words. >> reporter: in washington national security adviser jake sullivan on "meet the press." >> of course ukraine can win, but it can only do so if it has the tools that it needs. that's is why the united states needs to deliver the aid package, the house needs to step up and pass that bill. >> reporter: president zelenskyy warning against appeasing president putin. >> the world will not stop him. he will do it until 2030. >> you're assuming he's going to win this upcoming election and give him another presidential term until 2030? >> yes, of course. he already won. >> reporter: president putin's main rival, alexei navalny died in prison. his mother finally giving his body after she says authorities pressured her into having a private funeral. >> you said you believe this year is a turning point year for ukraine because of, in part, u.s. elections. are you talking about donald trump? are you worried that donald trump could pull the plug? >> if he will be the president, that is the decision on your people, of course. i hope that the policy will not change. i count on the american people, mostly they're on our side. >> richard is joining us now from kyiv. you've interviewed zelenskyy five times. he certainly sounds determined there. how would you describe his demeanor? did you sense more optimism or desperation? >> so he, as he generally is, is quite charismatic. he's easy to talk to. he's relaxed. he smiles. he chitchats before the interview. he's generally personable and comes across very charismatic and very confident as he generally does. but the fact that he did this interview and the fact that right now in kyiv there's a major government conference under way to try to reset the war, the fact that he's talking about the death toll which is a figure that they don't like to disclose in this country, he said at least 31,000 ukrainian troops have been killed so far which is a number lower than the u.s. estimate. it's the first time he's putting out these numbers. ist does show -- i don't want to say desperation, but that he needs help. >> separately this morning, an ally of alexei navalny says the opposition leader was almost set to be released from prison right before his death. what more do we know about this? >> reporter: this is an intriguing and developing story, one that is not confirmed. but it was claimed by a close associate of the late alexei navalny. this is maria pevchek. she remains a leading anti-corruption investigator, worked with navalny when he started his career. that's how he gained notoriety in russia, with his anti-corruption campaigns. she says there was a deal that was in the works that the deal was to swap navalny out for a russian operative who was convicted in germany of killing a chechen military commander in 2019. in addition to navalny getting out, there would be two americans freed. she didn't specify which americans, but we can only assume that one of them at least would be evan gershkovich, the other paul whelan, presumably, but at the very last minute putin reneged on the deal and alexei navalny was killed in prison. that is what she is suggesting, but so far we've not been able to confirm that. german officials have said they can't confirm it, and the kremlin is denying. >> of course, it is out there. thank you for addressing it. if confirmed, it makes this even more heartbreaking. richard engeltion, thank you for your reporting. up next on "ana cabrera reports," more on the breaking news from the top of the hour, donald trump appealing his civil fraud ruling. what are his legal chances and what happens to that rising price tag? 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(♪♪) former president donald trump has officially filed an appeal in the ruling against him in the new york civil fraud case after he was hit with that monster $464 million judgment that accumulates more than $111,000 per day in interest. i want to bring in michael zelle den, former federal prosecutor and former special counsel to robert mueller. good to see you. trump's appeal says the judge in his case committed errors in his decision and this is now headed to an appeals court. how will his team make their case? >> they're going to try to say a couple things, one that the statute latisha james used was the wrong statute, two, that the summary judgment against him was improperly granted and, three, that that the summary judgment order issued against him was improvidently granted and three that the judge was prejudice against him and they discarded evidence that should have been admitted and all those things together can create a basis for reversing the decision. >> do you think there's a strong argument that could be made for reversing the decision? >> not on the merits of the decision he issued with respect to the $355 million in damages. with respect to summary judgment, maybe it's a little closer. i think he substantially supported the basis for his opinion, and a lot of it is his valuation of witnesses, their credibility and that's not the sort of thing that appellate courts tend to reverse. >> lisa rubin told us earlier the appeal does not stop the interest, $111,000 per day. does that mean the appeals court will feel an urgency to act here? >> i don't know whether it will make them feel. they should act quickly. this is a lot of money, and even though he's a wealthy man it does add up, they should take account of the burdens this places on him, and they should do this as expeditiously as possible, especially with the political calendar ticking in the background as well. >> the former president also facing an $83 million judgment in that e. jean carroll defamation case. the judge in that case has denied trump's request for an indefinite stay while he pursues post-trial motions there. this is really adding up fast, michael. do you see any way around him having to sell some of his properties or face having them seized? >> well, the securities and exchange commission just granted permission for him to take truth social public. and his stake in that, which is about 78%, they say at market rates will be worth about $4 billion. in theory, he can put up as collateral his interest in truth social, and i think that that would be good, you know, value for someone who wants to put up a bond, and he may have to take out mortgages and other such things, but in the end, the people who put up bonds have to be secure that they'll get this. he's highly leveraged, so it could be that he has to sell something. >> and shifting just briefly to the former president's criminal cases, trump is now trying to argue presidential immunity in the classified documents case. but how does that work here, especially given that a number of the charges in this case relate to obstruction, post-presidency, right, when he was civilian trump. >> exactly. so it's -- you know, a spear yus argument generally in the court of appeals and the trial judge in the january 6th case has rejected it. i don't think it really has value in especially a post, you know, presidential behavior. i think these are intended to delay the decisions, stretch things out as long as they can. on the merits, i think he loses immunity. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> thanks, ana. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," courtside chaos, injuries intensifying a major debate in college basketball over the fan fueled phenomenon of court storming. hey little bear bear. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm gonna love you forever ♪ ♪ ♪ c'mon, bear. ♪ ♪ ♪ you don't...you don't have to worry... ♪ ♪ be by your side... i'll be there... ♪ ♪ with my arms wrapped around... ♪ i know what it's like to perform through pain. if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible. talk to a doctor about nurtec odt. you always got your mind on the green. not you. you! your business bank account with quickbooks money now earns 5% apy. (♪♪) that's how you business differently. intuit quickbooks. you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter that's how you business differently. or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited line. plus, get the new samsung galaxy s24 on us. we're back with a dangerous trend in sports, rushing the court or field after a big win. it is top of mind this morning after duke star kyle fill pow ski was hobbled after fans mobbed the court after wake forest's upset win. a month ago caitlin clark was accidentally knocked to the ground by a fan as well. nbc's emilie ikeda following this one for us. >> if you've seen major college football or basketball upset, you probably know what i'm talking about. moments after the game, excited fans rush onto the floor. now critics are calling for the tradition to be banned! and the party is on. >> reporter: as wake forest fans rushed the court following their big win over the eighth seeded blue devils, duke star kyle filipowski found himself captured in the chaos. injuring his knee. >> that right there is why court storming should not happen. >> there's no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can't just work around me. >> reporter: the clash reigniting a debate around so-called court storming and whether the tradition puts athletes in danger. >> i'm not the no fun police, but we've got to figure out a way to make this safe. >> could we not ban court storming please. >> duke's head coach sounding off. >> how many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or taunted, right, in their face. >> they have taken down the number two team -- >> the incident comes a month after an ohio state fan knocked college basketball superstar caitlin clark to the ground. >> kind of scary, could have caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me. >> those are very important uprights that are coming down. >> reporter: these riotous celebrations prevalent in college football with waves of fans jumping down onto the field to swarm the winning team. in 2005, one celebration took a tragic turn at the university of minnesota morris when fans pulled down a field goal post that fatally struck one student in the head. despite an increasing number of accidents, the ncaa does not have its own regulations on court and field storming, though some college conferences do implement fines on home teams. >> lsu wins it 7574. >> reporter: the s.e.c. doubled its fine for a first offense charging lsu $100,000 for this fan-driven takeout. without a way to ensure safety in situations like these, it's unclear how schools will tackle the growing problem. and we should note wake forest university's athletic director did say event staff had rehearsed post-game procedures but added clearly we must do better. back to you. >> that's a serious situation, but got to love that guy, the i don't want to be the no fun police, emilie ikeda, thank you. that does it for us today. great to have you here with us. see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. you can always catch our show online around the clock on youtube and other platforms as well. for now i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. josé diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning, it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. just moments ago nbc news learned president biden will visit the southern border later this week. the same day as former president trump. the crisis there a