whether he can keep most of those promises, the latest on the new deal being signed later this hour meant to secure a ten-year military alliance. plus, we are the party of common sense, the words of former president donald trump as he travels to capitol hill and tries to unite house republicans. one source inside today's meeting tells nbc news he seemed to be trying to make peace. and following the supreme court's decision not to restrict access to the abortion pill, the president and democrats insist the fight for reproductive freedom is far from over. so what happens now? more on all of that coming up: but we start with president biden working to underscore america's commitment to ukraine by signing a ten-year security agreement with president zelenskyy, although how much it will ultimately be worth and how long it could last is still a very open question. the two world leaders expected to sign the deal this hour. now, on paper it means the u.s. commits to keep training and arming ukrainian forces over the next decade, but because it's not a treaty, and it hasn't been ratified by congress, there's no guarantee it means any new money for zelenskyy. nbc's gabe gutierrez is traveling with the president, and former senior adviser to the supreme allied commander of europe, and the executive director of the mccain institute and david ignatius, foreign columnist and associated editor of "the washington post" as well as an msnbc contributor. gabe, can you give us more details on what is happening in italy, what this deal does and doesn't do? >> reporter: good afternoon, jose. well, this deal is meant to send a strong message to russia, and it comes just a day after the u.s. expanded sanctions against russia. now, as you alluded to, this is meant to show a commitment to ukraine over the next ten years. the u.s. is promising to train and equip ukraine's military. now, what it is not doing, jose is committing u.s. troops to go into ukrainian territory at any point to defend it. again, this is an executive agreement, bilateral security agreement, excuse me, being signed by president biden in just a short time here within the hour. ukrainian president zelenskyy and him are set to hold a joint press conference, jose. >> and so evelyn, no guarantee of more aid. what is the value of this agreement? >> reporter: well, jose, i think that if you look beyond the money and, you know, maybe we'll get into other sources of money that ukraine will now have access to, it means that the united states will be directed by the executive branch to help ukraine build its defense industry. that actually, you know, in the bureaucratic world does mean something. it lifts up a lot of restrictions on maybe technology sharing and may provide also some additional boost to investors. they may also have to go through u.s. -- u.s. investment channels, so our dfc, which is a bank that provides loans to companies that want to invest and do business in places like ukraine. so i think that it is actually significant, and obviously the political signal that we are saying, you know, we are committed to ukraine regardless of whether they are a member of nato. >> a very strong political message no doubt. david, how is the reality on the ground in ukraine years into this russian attack into that homeland? >> so the situation increasingly returns to one of stalemate. the russians appeared to be on the offensive in the long period when ukraine was waiting for u.s. arms to arrive after the house of representatives delayed approval of those arms. now that they're arriving, now that the u.s. has eased restrictions on how ukraine can use them, ukraine can now fire them somewhat into russian territory, it appears that the russian offensive has slowed. most reports from the front describe that. at the same time, ukraine is using the new weapons it has, especially the attack on his missiles to attack aggressively russian occupied crimea, so we're in a situation where, again, the two sides enormous cost are fighting it out without much gain on the ground either way. i think the agreement that president biden is signing with president zelenskyy is symbolism, but it's important symbolism. it's a message to ukrainians who are bloodied by this war so severely that the united states remains with them. there's a sense of continuity, and don't assume you can wait this out. don't assume that you can just wait for donald trump to be elected or the american public to become exhausted with the war because here's a commitment, executive order, yes, but like the military commitments we have with many countries around the world who are ally, not formal treaty allies but have military relationships with us just the same. ukraine now has one formally, and i think in that sense it's important symbolism. >> and david, just wondering, the losses that russia has been taking for a long time now, i mean, some say maybe up to a thousand losses per day in this campaign. is this something that putin can continue having without any costs? >> so jose, it's a meat grinder for both sides, most recent u.s. estimates are over 350,000 russian dead and wounded in this war over two years. putin seems to be able to sustain the war. he was reelected, but the polls suggest he's probably more popular now than when the war began. there is a point at which the russians become exhausted. there's no sign that it's been reached yet. there were interestingly some financial troubles in moscow financial markets today. if life gets much more difficult for the average russian in moscow or st. petersburg, maybe you'll see the beginning of a popular rebellion against the policy, but i don't see any sign of that yet. >> yeah, i mean, evelyn, you were talking about the very strong messaging that are coming out of the g-7 meeting vis-a-vis russia, the messages of, you know, do not -- for example, even expanding some sanctions on russia. however, russia is really their reaction, for example, they just sent ships, three military ships and a russian nuclear submarine to cuba. moscow says it's armed with a new top of the line hypersonic missiles, these three ships are, and they're just, you know, right off the coast of florida soon. what does it tell you about russia's geopolitical strategy right now? >> well, i think, jose, to kind of echo or underscore what my very smart friend david ignatius just said about the -- you know, the situation in russia, it doesn't look very good. vladimir putin is clearly very upset about a couple of things. first, the fact that we now took away the restrictions that we had placed on the use of the weaponry weapon providing the ukrainians so that they can now use them to attack valid military targets inside of russia, and you know, we are now providing them with this political reassurance and this very public sign of support. vladimir putin got so mad that, yes, he sent warships to cuba, and that is actually an escalation from the past. when i was in the pentagon in 2014, 2015, it wasn't uncommon to see russia sending spy ships, intelligence gathering ships, to even the west coast. so in 2014, 2015 after the crimea invasion and our robust response, the russians sent an intelligence gathering ship of the small group of ships off the coast of florida. they lingered there for quite some time. this is an escalation because of warships. today they announced they're accusing, they're indicting evan gershkovich, "the wall street journal" reporter that they have jailed and imprisoned with no right to trial thus far, and of course he won't get a free trial, they're calling him a spy. so that's another thing that happened today. again, more evidence that putin doesn't like this and he's basically not doing very well. this is not welcome for him. >> you know, david, i'm just wondering your thoughts on this. i mean, when you think of ships and warships, thinks of october 1962 and certainly the 15 days that rfk wrote about. it's a clear message from putin that is this something that is happening right at the u.s. back door. >> so, jose, i think you've got it exactly right. this is a deliberate attempt to evoke the most serious crisis in terms of nuclear confrontation in cold war history, the cuban missile crisis in 1962, putin has done it very deliberately, just as he and former president speak of tactical use of nuclear weapons. they're trying to intimidate the united states and europe by throwing up the specter that this could escalate into a nuclear conflict. that's part of russia's strategy. i think increasingly as u.s. officials watch this, they're skeptical that russia really will take these steps. i mean, for goodness sakes, russia's having trouble even moving west in ukraine, a tiny country. does it really propose to take on the united states and europe in some major conflict that would escalate up to nuclear war? it just -- there's an aspect of this i think that really is, as we says earlier, theater. it's meant to frighten. it's meant to break resolve. i'd be very curious about how the u.s. responds to this in terms of its own signaling. when another country does something, we get it, we match you in the same symbolic way. >> and so gabe, also today, the g-7 reached a deal to use profits from the $300 billion in frozen russian assets to back a $50 billion loan to the ukrainians, what can you tell us about that? >> yeah, jose, the g-7 countries have been trying to hash out the deal, the details of this for a while, but the g-7 leaders have agreed, as you said, to take that $300 billion in frozen russian assets, which, again started back in 2022. there's about 300 billion in frozen russian assets across the world, much of it held in belgium. they plan to use the interest off of that, which is estimated to be about $50 billion over the next ten years, the g-7 leaders will give that money to ukraine upfront in the form of a loan to help ukraine on the battlefield. now, jose, before i let you go, i do want to tell you something that i was just told, president biden was asked a question just within the past few moments. he was asked whether he has spoken about the -- a possible cease fire deal in the israel-hamas war. the president confirmed that he had already spoken about that deal with world leaders. he was asked whether he was confident there would be a deal. he responded no, but that he still has hope. jose. >> thank you for that last minute update on that, and david, i just want your thoughts on, you know, president biden is going there to southern italy to meet with these leaders that have a different political reality just a couple of days ago because of the elections that were held throughout europe. >> so this is a world in europe where incumbents are under fire. there is some right ward movement in germany, other countries. there's left ward movement in britain where prime minister sunak is likely to lose to the british labor party. it's hard to draw a single trend other than voter frustration with the status quo, something we're very familiar with in the united states, but you've seen that all over the world. i think it's interesting to see the g-7, this group that's supposed to symbolize stability, continuity, the major powers sailing forward. each country in some ways is facing very uncertain going because of domestic political pressures. >> yeah, and to see that meloni is really the strongest of all of them is pretty remarkable. gabe gutierrez, evelyn farkas and david ignatius, thank you so much for being with us today. i really appreciate the conversation. huge implications for women seeking access to a commonly used abortion pill. we've got the very latest on that after this. e very latest on that after this. reat and preven, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. 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>> right, jose, what the supreme court was really saying here is, look, we've said this before many, many times. if you want to actually come to court, you have to actually have been injured in some way, and the court relied very heavily on the fact that federal law already protects doctors when they want to do something that they feel is against -- or when they have to do something, provide a medical service that's against their conscience, they don't have to do it. they will be protected under federal law. because of that existing structure, the court is saying you don't have any standing here. you have not been harmed in any way. so in that sense, the court has sort of made clear the bar that plaintiffs have to satisfy in order to have their cases heard in court, and justice kavanaugh even said towards the end of his opinion, he even said, you know, this argument that if not us than who can bring these cases? we have rejected that as a standing argument. you don't have standing to bring these cases, and justice thomas who wrote the only concurring opinion here where he agrees with the decision of the court but wants to say something more, even justice thomas said, you know, i don't believe in this right to -- for an association here, an association of doctors to bring the case. we want personal injury. we want the plaintiffs to actually have been personally injured. so i think in terms of -- in terms of challenging laws that are currently on the books, it actually makes the bar a little bit higher, but it makes the bar higher for all parties, so we have to watch out about that a little bit as well. >> so yamiche, there is another abortion issue that the supreme court has still yet to rule on. >> that's right, there were actually 26 pending cases, one of them that you're talking about is a case that's really focused on emergency medical care. em emtala, a federal law that requires doctors and hospitals to give emergency care to people. there's a lawsuit now that's challenging the law in idaho that's a near total ban on abortion, and what the biden administration is saying is that is really in contradiction with federal legislation and federal law that says you have to give someone emergency access to health care, and that could include possibly giving someone abortion care if they need it, especially if someone's, for example, having a miscarriage or something like that. so it's very, very sort of an interesting case and one that we're going to continue to watch. the other really big abortion case, this was the most significant abortion ruling since roe v. wade. that one would be another big case that we're watching along with a slew of other cases dealing with gun laws, dealing with the trump immunity case. you're right to say there's another big abortion case coming. >> idaho versus u.s., yamiche alcindor and carol lam, thank you both so much. appreciate it. coming up, former president trump on capitol hill today for the first time since the january 6th insurrection. we'll break down what today's visit was all about. you're watching msnbc. s all abo. you're watching msnbc. rnover... ...and fights not one—but 5 signs of aging. with visible results... ...in just one week. neutrogena -remember when i said we need to screen for colon cancer? 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-but the good news is... xfinity mobile just got even better! now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. i gotta get this deal... i know... faster wifi and savings? ...i don't want to miss that. that's amazing doc. mobile savings are calling. visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. doc? 26 past the hour, today donald trump is working to mend fences and project unity with congressional republicans in his first visit to capitol hill since the january 6th insurrection. he's meeting with senate republicans after taking part in a business leader's round table. earlier, he participated in a closed door meeting with republican members of the house including some who renounced his actions before and during the 2021 capital attack, while the trump campaign tries to focus on the future, the biden campaign wants everyone to remember the role trump played that day in a new ad released today. >> on january 6th donald trump lit a fire in this country. >> 140 officers were injured. the siege lasted for seven hours. >> stoking the flames of division and hate. now he's pouring gasoline. >> they were unbelievable patriots. >> pledging to pardon the extremists who tried to overthrow our government. >> we will give them pardons. >> there's nothing more sacred than our democracy, but donald trump ready to burn it all down. >> and joining us are nbc news capitol hill correspondent julie tsirkin, former republican congressman from florida, carlos curbelo and msnbc political analyst, and sam stein, "politico's" deputy managing editor for politics and an msnbc contributor. julia, what are we expecting from trump today in his meetings first earlier with the house and now with the republican senate? >> reporter: well, jose, first of all, you could see or see behind me it is the campaign building for senate republicans. i'm told this meeting that trump had with the senate republicans is actually wrapping up almost an hour into the meeting when it began. senator cassidy who left the meeting, this is one of the republicans who actually voted to convict trump for his actions on january 6th, he told my colleagues that, look, trump had a message of unity. he told republicans that he's doing better in his campaign than the polls suggest. it's similar to what we heard from my conversations with republicans who were in the room during his first meeting with house republicans. there were some other conversations there including about abortion having a unified message about that in the room. some other topics on the economy, the border, and inflation as well. take a listen to what congressman mike lawler, a moderate republican from new york had to say after that meeting. >> the president was focused on the election, focused on the country and the challenges facing the country from, you know, our disastrous southern border and what is happening with the migrant crisis here as well as the economy and the cost of living and the impact that that has, and frankly, the failed foreign policy of the biden administration and the impact that that has had around the globe. >> reporter: so all looking ahead to november for trump, visiting the capitol hill area, not the capitol directly for the first time since trump was in the white house, and in the meeting behind me with senate republicans, the minority leader mitch mcconnell certainly not a friend of trump's was in that meeting as well. the only two we're told that were missing were senators susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska. both who voted to convict trump of his actions. >> "politico" reports that trump's agenda today would be, quote, i'm just going to read it, resolutely forward looking, a potential 2025 elective agenda will be a central focus with tax policy, foreign relations and entitlements all teed up for discussion. is this what is actually happening? >> to a degree. he talked about abortion policy and the need for republicans to unify on that, obviously the issue of border policy came up. he talked about tariffs so there was a policy element to the meeting, but i think in this case it's sort of the broad macro elements that matter more, right? this is obviously his first time back on the hill since january 6th. but it's also the first test of how republicans will embrace his guilty conviction for 34 counts of falsifying business records. keep in mind, he is a convicted felon now, and there was for a small period of time a little window that maybe republicans would not rally around him after that conviction. of course that window has closed, virtually everyone except for maybe larry hogan in the republican party -- proof of that, there is not really a bridge that's too far to cross for the republican party to embrace trump as their nominee. january 6th wasn't one. the convictions weren't one. they are gung-ho and all behind him. that's what today is about more so than the policy. >> so sam, i mean, is there or has there been any, any repercussions for trump within the republican party from those, you know, the convictions? >> so you got to think of it in two ways. in terms of the elected officials, barely any repercussions, right? i think back to 2016, for instance, after that one there was a number of republican officials who said we can't be with this guy. we need to turn away from this guy. eventually they did come back. after january 6th a number of republicans voted for his impeachment, a number of them said we need to get rid of this guy. he is toxic. famously lindsey graham saying that, i am done. after the guilty convictions we've had none of that. virtually everyone in elected leadership has rallied behind trump and attacked the prosecution. where i do think there are repercussions is among the voting electorate. we've seen small but tangible signs that a number of republicans and independents have turned on trump because of the convictions, whether that holds up over the course of five months is an entirely different question. but that is a repercussion in a post election that matters. >> yeah, i mean, carlos do you see any repercussions, small or not, to these convictions, and what is today's and these meetings that's expected that the former president is going to be speaking there any minute after he emerges from a meeting with republicans, senate republicans, but what is it that the impact is having on the republican party and its elected officials from the convictions? >> well, as we just heard, we are seeing the consequences in all of these primary states where nikki haley continues getting 10, 15, 20% of the vote, and that is one of the big reasons why donald trump is in washington today meeting with all of the these republicans, to project unity, to get a message to every republican in the country saying here i am. i'm standing with all of these republicans, the centrists, the more conservative members. we're all united and therefore, all republicans in the country have to get on board. they are worried about those nikki haley voters who may not come home, who may vote for joe biden, who may stay home. that is why donald trump is trying to project so much unity in washington, d.c., today despite the fact that there's still some fissures in the republican electorate. >> are those fissures going to be enough to make a difference, you think, carlos? >> well, certainly that's what they're attempting to do today, right? to heal that divide, trump is probably going to in some way try to reach out to nikki haley even though his pride might make it difficult for him, continue improving that republican because he needs that type of validation from establishment republican figures so that some of the republican voters who abandoned him in 2020 and many of whom are not back on his band wagon, at least not yet, are urged to do so. it's a major concern, if trump has any significant erosion of his base, it could make the whole difference in what everyone expects to be a very close election again. >> and as we see these live pictures of mitt romney who's just leaving that meeting, i understand that meeting has already wrapped up, the reporters asking him if he had spoken to trump during the meeting. and the senator saying that, no, he did not speak, although he was present at that meeting. julie tsirkin, sam stein, and former congressman carlos curbelo, thank you all so very much. appreciate it. any moment we expect to see president biden speak alongside ukrainian president zelenskyy in italy. we will of course take you there live when that begins, but first, strong words today from secretary blinken about what's holding up a cease fire deal between israel and hamas. we'll head to jerusalem next. and the president's new border policy one week later. are we seeing any real effects so far at the border? 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[whoosh] ♪ trains that sense what isn't on the schedule. ♪ trains that use the power of dell ai and intel. ♪ to see hundreds of miles of tracks. ♪ [vroom] [train horn] [buzz] clearing the way, [whoosh] so you arrive exactly where you belong. 40 past the hour, frustrations growing today as israel, hamas cease fire attacks hang in limbo. fresh off his eighth trip to the middle east, secretary of state antony blinken is calling out hamas accusing them of trying to add new conditions to a proposal everybody else had accepted. here's what he had to say this morning on the "today" show. >> the longer this goes on, the more people will suffer. it's time for the haggling to stop. it's time for a cease fire to start, and you have one man who's probably somewhere deep underground in gaza for hamas, mr. sinwar who's making all of these decisions. well, he's relatively safe underground, the people that he purports to represent, they're suffering every day. i don't think the deal is blown up. i think it's still possible, but at the end of the day, this has to come to a point where it's either yes or no. >> nbc's matt bradley is in jerusalem this afternoon. matt, good to see you. so where do negotiations stand at this hour? >> reporter: well, it's kind of hard to say because, as you heard from secretary blinken, he sounded exasperated when speaking to our colleague savannah. he sounded exasperated and exhausted when talking to the qatari prime minister yesterday in doha. it's a situation where, as you said, the eighth trip he just ended to the middle east, that doesn't even count the number of trips that have taken by the cia director bill burns. this has been an exhaustive experience for u.s. diplomats who have been trying to get to this deal over the line, but we did hear from hamas last night. they kind of rejected what antony blinken said. that their demands haven't changed. they haven't been asking for more maximalist positions in the last 24, 48 hours. they said that they've been consistent the entire time, that they have mostly been asking for one thing, that still is the same rupture that we're seeing between the israelis and hamas, the same for the past several months, which is that they want to see a permanent cease fire and a permanent recall of israeli troops from the gaza strip. the israelis are not willing to countenance that at all. they want to see the destruction of hamas. that's something that hamas is never going to agree to, particularly not in some sort of peace treaty. as you heard from secretary blinken this deal, these negotiations are not dead. in in ways we are closer now than we've been before. it was just a couple of days ago that i think i was getting up here and saying i've never seen these two groups further apart. this was after israel's successful operation to free those four hostages and killing more than 270 palestinians in the gaza strip as they did it, that looked like that was going to drive a massive wedge between these two parties that are already so far apart. but just in the past couple of days, we've seen them both, the israelis and hamas making some positive signals about this. that might be because we've seen more international pressure coming to bear. the u.n. security council passed these negotiations as part of a resolution that passed almost unanimously, 14 out of 15, only russia abstained from that vote. it looks as though that and other pressure might have worked, so it's a question of time right now, and while this whole thing has been shrouded in pessimism from the get-go, we haven't seen a deal since the last one in october, or excuse me, november, that paused the fighting for a week and freed more than half of those israeli hostages, we could still see some optimism coming up. but again, this has been a long and tireless process. antony blinken has been on the front of it the entire time trying to bring these two parties together. it hasn't worked yet. but it still could. jose. >> yeah, and i mean, the question that the secretary of state was asking about sinwar and what pressures he could feel when really he seems to believe that many palestinian lives are expendable. let's see what happens. matt bradley, thank you so very much. good to see you. a week after president biden's executive action on the southern border, illegal crossings have dropped 25%, but an internal memo obtained by nbc news reveals that officials are still releasing migrants who cross illegally back into the united states allowing them to stay and pursue asylum claims. on the legal front, the aclu and migrant rights groups just sued the administration for violating u.s. law calling the policy legally indistinguishable from a recently blocked trump era ban. nbc's julia ainsley joins us with more. executive action aid officials would deport anyone who crossed illegally into the country, after 2,500 crossings per day went on for a week. what's the reality? >> well, look, the language that the white house used on this was so stark. they said suspending the entry of anyone who crosses the border illegally saying that they would not be able to claim asylum. but what the reality is on the ground, especially in places like san diego where they have migrants coming in from all over the world, especially from the eastern hemisphere is that they're not able to get those people deported quickly enough. mexico won't take them back. they're still releasing them with what they call a notice to appear. that's a notice to appear before an immigration judge, which is where you would try to finalize your request for making asylum, and so even though at that point but when an immigrant does go in front of a judge, the judge could say, well, under this order you don't qualify, st still allows them to live in the united states for years before that hearing date, and it doesn't comply with that language from the white house that their entry would be suspended. now, overall, though, the numbers have dropped on the southern border. there are about 4,000 a day last week, and then when the action went into effect, they've come down to around just under 3,000 a day. so in some ways, the biden administration can claim that as success. i will say, jose, when you and i were at the border just a little over a year ago when those new asylum restrictions went boo effect just after title 42 we saw a decrease then too. oftentimes cartels migrants hold back a little bit. if they hear they've gotten friends and family across, more start to come. what dhs is saying now, without congress we can't increase manpower. we don't have more deportation planes or bed space. we are going to have to release some migrants, but they're hoping they're at least enough deterred to get the numbers back to a manageable place, jose. >> and julia, once again the real winner in all of this are the cartels. they continue to control the ebb and flow exploiting human beings, men, women, and children. julia ainsley, thank you so very much. appreciate it. any minute now, we expect to see president biden speak alongside ukrainian president zelenskyy in italy. we'll take you there when that begins. but first, ivf protections go before congress, what we're expecting when that vote gets underway on capitol hill next. former president trump just spoke in d.c. after meeting with republican senators. we are monitoring that for you as we see some applause being held in that room right outside the capitol. outside the capitol. complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. so rich. so indulgent. it's indulgent moisture body wash for soft, smooth skin. bye-bye dry. hello glow! in just 14 days. indulge with olay body wash. 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