hello, i m ana cabrera reporting from new york. i want to get right to the breaking news we re following this morning. donald trump arriving just moments ago at a manhattan courthouse for the closing arguments in his multimillion dollar civil fraud trial, and he spoke just before going into the courtroom. there is high tension this morning because trump has suggested he could challenge the judge who has barred him from speaking during closing arguments. another big development, a threat we re following, law enforcement responding to a reported bomb threat at the judge s house this morning. a source with direct knowledge tells nbc news. i want to get right to our yasmin vossoughian joining us from outside the courthouse in lower manhattan. and also with us, former u.s. attorney barbara mcquade and criminal defense attorney danny cevallos. we just saw trump speaking before heading into the courtroom saying, you know, it s not fair that the judge won t let him speak at closing a
on a singular message that this election will decide whether american democracies survives. will those words move voters? plus, the u.s. scrambling today to find partners for peace in the middle east, even as the israel-hamas war threatens to spin out of control. will secretary of state antony blinken s fourth trip overseas break new ground. and a new front in the war of transgender rights. the stakes are high whether trans americans can run for office using the names they choose. i ll talk to vanessa joy who says she was kis disqualified from her race in ohio because of a law she believes could put other trans candidates at risk. we start with the president s massive political gamble, betting that voters will rally around him as the defender of democracy and reject donald trump s dystopian vision of america. that message is at the heart of a big speech he ll give near valley forge this afternoon and is expected to be the framework for his campaign going forward. they d
all right. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i m christine romans. this is early start. we begin with ukrainian forces struggling to hold on in the eastern city of bakhmut, as russian troops close in from three sides. ukrainian officials say the situation in bakhmut has grown much tougher. they say their forces may need to retreat to avoid being trapped by encircling russians. cnn s scott mclean is tracking this story for us from london. and, scott, what are the chances the ukrainians will be able to turn this around? and if they can t, does that mean russia is back on the offensive. so, christine, good morning. it really depends on who you ask. because last week there were plenty of indications that the ukrainians may in fact be forced to withdraw from that area. a drone reconnaissance university has been ordered to retreat from the area. you also had a key bridge by the russians kiting off the ukrainians final supply routes in and out. a
Roger and capitol hill. This is sienna closed captioning is brought to you by Skechers Massage fit sandals check these out. Skechers massage that sandals. They give you what massage with every step is is skechers patented a Wave Technology that gently massage is your foot with every step Skechers Massage that sandals we paid a lawyer a Legal Expense however, Legal Expense is elite, which its marked out in the book they go expense is perfectly marked down. Except Michael Cohen said its not actually so perfect. The prosecutions star witness in trumps Hush Money Trial. He finally took the stand today. Welcome to a Special Edition of lauren the codes live alongside abby phillip right here in new york, anal for years, Michael Cohen, he was Donald Trumps attack dog, but today, the person who made it a point to keep track those enemies in line. Tourney against his former boss in court. And of course, under oath, trump himself, realizing the importance of the moment, shut up with a huge entour