included in the promise of the country today. i still believe that. i'm still optimistic, but i need you. so my question for you is simple, a simple one. are you with me? talk to your family. >> that was president biden receiving chants of four more years from a crowd in philadelphia yesterday where he and the vice president made a pitch to black voters. we'll have more from their campaign stop in just a moment. meanwhile, the former president was stuck in a courthouse holding room as a jury deliberated his fate in the criminal hush money case. we'll recap everything and bring you expert legal analysis. also ahead we'll go through new reporting on senator rick scott's latest bid to replace mitch mcconnell as the next republican leader in the upper chamber. all right, good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, may 30th. still may. i'm sam stein in for jonathan lemire. we are on a verdict watch this morning. in just hours the jury in the donald trump hush money criminal trial is set to resume deliberating for a second straight day in a new york city courthouse, but first the jury will start the day by reviewing testimony from two key witnesses and getting a refresher on the judge's instructions. that's because just hours into their first day of deliberations yesterday the jurors had questions for the judge and sent two notes back to the courtroom. in the first note the jury made four requests regarding portions of of testimony they wanted review, specifically they asked to rehear testimony from ex-national enquirer publisher david pecker and former trump attorney and fixer michael cohen. in a second note they asked that the jury instructions be reread to them. there's no word yet on whether they requested a reread on a specific portion of the instructions or if they want all 55 pages repeated. following that second request and after a total of about 4 1/2 hours of deliberating, jauj juan merchan adjourned the court for the day. this morning the jury will return at 9:30. the judge said the jurors can decide to work later today if needed but not past 6:00 p.m. the jury must decide on 34 felony counts that trump falsified business records with the intent to defraud and he concealed the conspiracy to promote his election through unlawful means, and they must agree unanimously for guilt or for acquittal. as the jury was deliberating yesterday former president trump spent time in a courthouse holding room complaining and firing off misinformation on his social media platform. in one post he claimed no crime was committed, in another he attacked the judge and claimed the jury instructions were biased and unfair. he also spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. >> mother theresa could not read these charges. these charges are rigged. mother theresa could not defeat these charges, but we'll see. we'll see how we do. >> all right, let's bring in msnbc justice and legal affairs analyst anthony coley to talk about it all. anthony, let's start with jury notes. what do we make of the fact that they requested those specific things? and does it give us any insight into what we can expect from an ultimate decision from the jury? >> right, so none of us know what's in the minds of none of these jurors. if you're in the prosecution you take some comfort and solace in knowing four questions have to do with that very first meeting at trump tower. that happened in august 2015 with michael cohen, with david pecker, the head of the national enquirer, and donald trump. our friend katie phang describes this as the original and she's right because this is where the catch and kill scheme was initially developed. it's where david pecker promised to be the eyes and ears for the trump campaign, where he would suppress stories unfavorable to trump. this ming put donald trump in the room where it happened, and this is important because throughout the trial we saw the defense really try to put distance between this entire scheme. but this meeting, this is where everything else flowed. >> if you're the prosecution why do you take solace? is it because a clear acquittal you would even need that? >> this is where it started, right? and you want to connect donald trump to the entire scheme, and that's what this does in real ways the jury can understand. the fact they started there, the jury started with this, you get some comfort from that if you're the prosecution. >> why does the jury need to get reread the instructions? why can't they have a physical copy with them? >> you know, that is a question in the federal system you are allowed to have copies. this is a unique quirk of new york law. and i've said some lawyers who have practiced in new york say it is designed so that individual jurors can just focus on the nuance of the law and perhaps get tricked up by it. that's what some legal practitioners in new york are saying. i don't like it but, you know, we'll see. >> if you can bring us into that room. like, are they sitting around a table? are they going over evidence? is it usually they have one or two jurors who take command and sift through the questions they have to solve? >> so the jury foreman is the one who sent out those notes. in this case the jury foreman was the very first person selected. i'm not sure you've ever served on a jury or not. >> i've never had the luxury. >> abut you can see everything from styrofoam cup tuesday just candid conversations that happens. what we don't know is a lot of people are saying, yes, this is good for the prosecution that they started with these documents. but if you play the flip side of this, you know, one could reasonably assume that perhaps there is a jury that -- a juror that has questions about these testimony, and the other jurors want to, you know, show with both of the testimony from both pecker and michael cohen side by side why the juror perhaps isn't seeing it the right way. this is why i'm saying we really cannot get into the mind of these jurors. >> lastly, quickly, are we going to get a decision this week or not? >> i think so. the general rule of thumb in circles is that a jury will deliberate one day for every week of service. and in this case it's generally five or so days. now, listen, those could be my famous last words. i hope you don't replay this tape, but i'm not expecting a verdict this week. >> nbc justice legal affairs analyst anthony coley, thank you so much. >> and we'll turn to the supreme court where justice alito will not recuse himself from two pending cases related to former president trump and the january 6th attack on the capitol. justice alito wrote letters to democratic members of congress who called for his recusal over two flags flown outside his homes connected to trump supporters in the stop the steal movement. justice alito said he had nothing to do with either incident writing, quote, my wife is fond of flying flags, i'm not. she was solely responsible for having flagpoles put up at our residence and vacation home and have flown a wide variety of flags over the years. "the new york times" was first to report on an upside down american flag that flew at the alito's home in vurnl less tha weeks after the insurrection. the justice had said his wife put the flag up after a vulgar exchange with a narron. however the neighbor has since told the paper the exchange happened weeks after the flag was displayed. "the times" then reported last week on the appeal to heaven flag flown at the alito's home on long island beach last summer. several of those flags were with trump supporters during the capitol attack. the flag dates back to the revolutionary war, it has become a symbol for the original stop the steal movement and a push for more christian minded government. >> still ahead we'll get the latest from the middle east and what secretary blinken is saying about israel's lack of a post war plan for gaza. that plus a check on sports and weather when we come right back. weather when we come right back. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. welcome back to "way too early." the israeli military says it has seized control of a border that separates gaza and egypt. an area known as the corridor and getting control of the boundary will, quote, cut off the terrorist's access to supplies. the move however could complicate the relationship wejipt as the corridor is considered a key buffer zone. israel, however, is signaling the war with gaza could continue through at least the end of year. the country's national security advisor made the comment yesterday saying he expects to see another seven months of combat in order to, quote, shore up our achievement. u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken was asked about that while in moldova and expressed his frustration with israel's lack of a post-war plan. >> it has to ask whether and especially in the absence of a plan for the day after in gaza further incremental gains against hamas but gains that may not be durable in terms of hamas' defeat in the absence of a plan, how that stacks up against some of the again unintended but horrific consequences of military action in a place where the people you're going after are so closely embedded with civilians. >> talk about diplomatic speak. secretary blinken also suggested that the biden administration could be open to tolerating strikes by the ukrainian military inside russia using american made weapons saying the u.s. adapt and adjust its stance based on changing conditions on the battlefield some of president biden's advisers tells "the new york times" if the president does change his view, it will most likely come with severe restrictions how the ukrainians could use american approved arms limiting them to military targets just inside russia's borders that are involved in attacks in ukraine. it comes as some of america's allies have intensified calls to allow ukraine to use western weapons inside of russia. last week in an interview with the economist nato's secretary-general said ukraine's recent losses in kharkiv could be countered if ukraine had the ability to take out russia's weapons setup across the border. i'd watch this space. and still ahead we'll turn to sports with a significant update on the controversial arrest of the world's number one golfer. we'll have the highlights from last night's action on the ice and the stanley cup playoffs. all that and a check on the forecast when we come right back. heck on the forecast when we come right back centrum! it's scientifically formulated to help you take charge of your health. centrum gives every body a healthy foundation. supporting your - oops - energy, immunity and metabolism. and yours too! you did it! plus try centrum silver, now clinically proven to support memory in older adults. 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get in the know. learn how to get a free ldl-c test at attackheartdisease.com. no, my denture's uncomfortable! dracula, let's fight back against discomfort. with new poligrip power max hold & comfort. it has superior hold plus keeps us comfy all day with it's pressure absording layer. time for a bite! if your mouth could talk it would ask for... poligrip. this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. here's charmin ultra strong. ahhh! my bottom's been saved! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. louisville officials have dropped all charges against world number one golfer scotty scheffler. during a hearing yesterday mike o'connell said prosecutors would not pursue the case and asked for it charges to be dismissed telling the court, quote, mr. scheffler's characterization that this was a big misunderstanding is corroborated by the evidence. quote, they do satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses. scheffler was arrested earlier this month while trying to drive around traffic outside the valhalla golf club during the pga championship. he was accused of failing to follow orders from the police who were investigating a fatal accident outside the club earlier that morning. police alleged he had dragged detective bryan gillis who was trying to stop scheffler's car. in a statement posted on social media yesterday, scheffler wrote, quote, as i stated previously this was an unfortunate misunderstanding. i hold no ill will towards officer gillis. i wish to put this incident behind me and move on and hope he will do the same. gillis later responded with a statement of his own saying in part mr. scheffler and i both agree there will be no ill will going forward. he maintained he was dralged by the car to the ground and sustained visible injuries to his knees and wrists and added, quote, i'm going to recover from it and it will be okay. both men also turned attention back to the men who had been working for a tournament vendor when he was struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside the club earlier that morning. scheffler was booked and released less than two hours before his second round tee time. he had faced four charges including felony assault of a police officer, truly one of the wilder sports stories of the year. turning now to the stanley cup playoffs and game four of the western conference final, the edmonton oilers dominated the stars at home last night coming back from an early two goal deficit to tie the games at two apiece. game five is tomorrow night in dallas. and tonight the new york rangers host the florida panthers. that series is also tied. now to the court at the french open tennis tournament in paris, and yesterday's second round showdown between the top raced the former number one naomi osaka. surging down the stretch saved a match point and took the last five games to come away with a three set victory extending her winning streak at roland garros to three straight matches. turning now to major league baseball and another dominant performance on the mound for the pittsburgh pirates rookie. to detroit the starter rallied the tigers to help with a 10-2 win yesterday on his 22nd birthday, ending his fourth major league start a game of just two runs and three hits and six innings of work to earn his second career victory. we've talked ability him on "morning joe" before. he's the most exciting pitcher in the big league. just got to hope his elbow holds up. to city field in queens los angeles dodgers superstar shohei ohtani hit his 14th home run of the season and three runs as the dodgers completed a three game sweep of the slumping new york mets 10-4 win yesterday. shohei is just a beast. the majority of l.a.'s runs came courtesy of later late game by the mets which included reliever jorge lopez throwing his glove into the stand after being ejected as the third base umpire over his ruling. lopez untucked his jersey and threw his glove over the netting into the crowd as he walked off the field. quite the scene. in the post game interview lopez expressed mow remorse for his actions and labeled the mets as the worst team in the league. the team later announced the reliever was being cut from the roster. i wonder why. honestly, you shouldn't reward that behavior, right? time now for the weather and for that let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. angie, what's going on out there? >> you know what, sam, what's going on is more severe weather. we're going to ramp things up again this afternoon for more where the that came from. we've got the satellite and radar showing you some of the thunderstorms stretched across parts of the plains. no surprise. we do have a slight risk for a good chunk of that region but also an enhanced risk. we're going to see clusters of thunderstorms popping up and impacting folks even into the evening hours tonight. notice where we're most concerned amarillo to lubbock but dallas included in the metro and oklahoma city with baseball sized hail as well as potential for strong wind gusts. tornado risk is low, but again that hail will be quite large with 10 million people at risk through the day today. by tomorrow more of the same. more severe weather. we've got the risk including dallas, austin, houston, and alexandria as we get into the day tomorrow. on top of that really heavy rain will be possible, so localized flash flooding will be something we watch for along with all the other impacts. looks mainly to be the severe wind gusts we'll watch out for. by saturday the heavy rain moves farther to the east so parts of the great lakes and ohio valley we'll watch for that as well as parts of the gulf coast. strong storms from colorado to tennessee. now, weekend looks pretty good on the book ends of the country. we've got your friday looking great really from the north east to the southeast, maybe some showers across florida but that's about it. there's those storms i mentioned across the middle of the country, and the west coast looks great, too. even from the rockies to the coast we've got really warm temperatures especially interest the southwest, so triple digits will be on tap for folks there, but otherwise sunshine on top. it's those storms we'll watch for saturday stretching up into the great lakes so it'll be unsettled for folks there, and still humid and stormy across parts of the gulf coast rather here as we get into your sunday, but still sunshine on the east coast. sam, i know folks are excited about that because let me tell you they sure complain in the north east when it rains every weekend. this weekend not so much. >> i prefer the rain, just my demeanor. i did see the graphic that says east coast great day. that's all we need to hear. still ahead inside republican senator rick scott's bid to replace minority leader mitch mcconnell. what he's doing to set himself apart from the other two candidates hoping to fill the leadership spot. we're back in just a moment. e leadership spot. we're back in just a moment. and stabbing pain in my hands, so i use nervive. nervive's clinical dose of ala reduces nerve discomfort in as little as seven days. now i can help again feel the difference with nervive. it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's f