we ll read from that new piece. so much different legal angles are percolating with the jan. 6 and other issues with the election. good morning. welcome to morning joe. it is friday, july 8th. with us, the host of way too early and politico s jonathan lemire. associate editor of the washington post, eugene robinson. and we begin with the breaking news. former japanese prime minister shinzo abe is dead after being shot twice this morning. officials is say abe was campaigning for a candidate ahead of japan s upcoming house of counselors elections, where he was shot from behind, once in the back and the other in the neck, with what appeared to be a homemade gun. this happened in the city of nara, about 20 miles southeast of osaka. the chaos from the shooting and the subsequent takedown of the man police say carried out the attack was all caught on camera. and we warn you, some of this video may be incredibly disturbing. [ speaking foreign language ] abe was immediately