i m stephanie ruhle. and while this is the eve of yet another crucial set of primaries, which just 99 days to go to the midterm elections, we begin this evening broadcast with major news and the still ongoing war on terror. president biden made it official just a few hours ago. on saturday, under my direction, the united states successfully concluded an airstrike in kabul, afghanistan that killed and amir of al qaeda, ayman al-zawahiri. after carefully considering, and clearly convincing evidence of his location, i authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all. this person, this mission was carefully planned, rigorously, to minimize the risk. we make it clear, again, tonight, that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. > of 2000, and was believed to be one of the main architects of the attacks on september 11th. he became the lea
plus, the latest on house speaker nancy pelosi and taiwan. the uncertain visit is straining an already tense relationship between the united states and china. and a texas man gets the longest prison sentence to date tied to the capitol attack, but his daughters want someone else locked up, too. good morning, and welcome to way too early, on this tuesday, august 2nd. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. after decades on the run, the top leader of al qaeda has finally been taken off the battlefield. ayman al zawahiri was killed this last weekend by a cia drone while standing on a balcony in downtown kabul, second in command to osama bin laden during the september 11th attacks, and became the top leader when the united states killed bin laden in 2011. a senior administration official tells nbc news that the strike was so precise, none of his family inside the home were killed. in a rare evening address last night, president biden still isolating from covid said j
morn morning. in kentucky, rescues are under way. the state is reeling from flooding that claimed 28 lives including at least four children. rescue teams are desperately searching for victims in areas that have been hard to reach. the scenes in kentucky are horrific. floodwaters lifting homes off foundations. more than 50 bridges washed away. with the level of water, we re going to be looking at weeks. many houses swept quarter mile plus from where they were lost. water, a big problem with some of these areas. power. when we get over the rain, it s going to be really hot in the next week. so we re still in an emergency phase. let s go now to evan mcmorris santoro. he is live in hazard, kentucky. heartbreaking what we learned over the weekend out of kentucky, evan. tell us what you re seeing there now. i m standing on the side of highway 28 in perry county, kentucky, one of more than a dozen counties severely affected by these flash floods. as you can see, there is rain
good morning to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. it is monday, august 1st. john berman is off and john avalon is here with us this morning. good morning. great to you have. we begin with major news just n cnn reporting that nancy pelosi will be visiting taiwan after all despite china s stern warnings for her not to go. this comes from u.s. and taiwanese sources. it s not clear which day pelosi will be visiting as her asia trip gets under way here. we previously reported that the biden administration privately tried to convince pelosi not to go to taiwan. more exclusive cnn reporting. sparking an international response, protests erupting in sudan after a cnn investigation revealed russia is plundering sue began s goal to help finance putt putt putin s war in ukraine. tell us more. we have known for some time about russia s project to buttress itself against the u.s. sanctions regime ptbut what we haven t been able to pin down is the mechanisms of the invasio
china claims taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it and repeatedly warned against pelosi visiting the island, vowing to take resolute and forceful measures if the visit goes forward. john kirby addressed the trip on cnn last hour. there s no reason for the chinese rhetoric, there s no reason for any actions to be taken. it is not uncommon for congressional leaders to travel to taiwan. it is very much in keeping with our policy and consistent with our support to taiwan under the taiwan relations act. we shouldn t be as a country, we shouldn t be intimidated by that rhetoric or those potential actions. this is an important trip for the speaker to be on. we re going to do whatever we can to support her. cnn is on capitol hill, but we begin with will ripley in taipei, taiwan. will, what can you tell us the latest about this announcement of the speaker s trip? reporter: well, for one thing, this is not going to be, you know, a fueling brief stop