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tv   Alex Witt Reports  MSNBC  June 8, 2024 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT

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right now officials in the florida panhandle are warning beachgoers pick a 45-year-old woman is in critical condition. she had to have her lower left arm amputated. and two other teenagers suffered injuries. but they are expected to survive. >> the final pieces were removed from record blocking
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the shipping canal this week. nasa astronauts butch wilmore and williams gave a special look inside the star liner couple. docked at the international space station on thursday. the veteran is a board that station for 80 days before returning back to earth. and the parachute an assisted landing. this will be first for a nasa mission. and what we know about the rescue of four israelis during daylight hours in central gaza. a very good day to all of you. from msnbc world headquarters in new york. this is breaking news from israel. a first look at these emotional moments. four were reunited with family after being rescued during a daytime rate in central gaza. this video provided by the
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israeli defense forces. they include noa argamani. she became the face of the hostage crisis with harrowing video circulated after her abduction on october 7th. they were all held captive for 250 days. our reporter is life in tel aviv. meanwhile, president joe biden is in paris, france. and he is refighting that there is more work to do. >> before i began my remarks. i want to echo the former president donald trump comments. the safe return of families. for all the hostages can come home and a cease-fire will be reached. it is essential to have an. >> with several reporters. and we are going to begin with matt riley joining us from london. and what else do we know about this incredible rescue? >> reporter: yes. this was a daring raid. even the pastoralist indians and according that the 210
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people that have been killed in this refugee camp area. along with the four hostages. what we understand this took signoff from the highest levels of this is really government. and weeks of planning to determine the location and how to do this raid. but it was a very bloody raid. but it comes as a very critical moment for israeli politics. just today, weeks before today, one of the members of the war cabinet and the rivals of benjamin netanyahu to say that he would resign today, june 8th. he could not have known what was going to happen. unless the government led by benjamin netanyahu for the day after governing the gaza strip. to end the roar. we have not seen that come yet. this was almost as good. as the benjamin netanyahu and his allies how can make this
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argument after today. that he is able to achieve the two goals we set out trying to achieve in the gaza strip. one is to free the hostages and there are 80 that are still live and caught underground. in the gaza strip. the other is to totally defeat and dismember hamas took those two i deas - imperative ideas of those are becoming seen as totally at odds with each other. now it looks as is benjamin netanyahu might make an argument that he is getting what he wants. delaying the announcement that was supposed to just a few hours ago in israel. that just goes to show it is not just because this is a good day for the israeli military. it is also goes to show that the israelis might be leaning more behind benjamin netanyahu and his war efforts inside the gaza strip. the united states and others that it is taking a massive toll on palestinian casualties.
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with 36,000 that have been killed. and most of them are civilians. it is a high price to pay for those war goals of benjamin netanyahu and what he has laid out. this conflict will gain can you even as we see senior american officials going to the middle east. and antony blinken is going to be traveling to the middle east to secure some type of hostage negotiation deal. but now, with benjamin netanyahu and his position of this morning, it looks as though that is really camp might find they have more to gain from continuing the fighting. and hamas has continued that they will not sign any agreement to release the hostages. including a permanent cease- fire and permanent control from the gaza strip. they already said that demand is too much to ask. but it sounds as if this is a
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fight that is going to have massive political implications. both inside israel and the relationship to the united states and its allies for weeks and months to come. >> thank you for that. let me ask sean, our director. can you put up that video. where noa argamani is getting into the helicopter . that is extraordinary, everybody. she had been kept by herself. matt can you confirm that she was kept separate from the other three men? between 21 and 40. she got out and were there another helicopter for the three men to get those out? >> reporter: i do not know. but i do know that she was kept separate and there was a separate rate. this was all part of the days long is really raid on the camp. >> it is very tragic day for the palestinians. the and is one that have been
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killed. think of the joy of noa argamani getting on to that with a level of disbelief after 250 days. there she is. getting taken away from her imprisonment and rescued by soldiers and taken back to israel. matt bradley, thank you for your reporting. and jay gray is in paris. it is been incredibly busy. he spoke about the hostages. but we also heard from him at the state dinner. what do you know? >> reporter: yes. and alex, let us start with this trip. he has made the most to france. first to honor the sacrifice of american troops during the day and world war ii. and he has been doing that at each stop. he is also been focusing on the importance of strong allies in the region and what that means to freedom and democracy. it is a theme he continues.
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let us listen to what he said at tonight's state dinner. >> you've heard me say it before. we stand at an inflection point in history. the decisions we make now will determine the course of our future for decades to come. we have a lot of opportunity and responsibility. it gives me hope to know that france and the united states stand together now and always. >> reporter: yes. a part of that has been he is discussion of the discussion in ukraine. both france and the u.s. have supported since the start of that war. and in fact during his visit in france. he announced another $225 million of ammunition and other supplies to ukraine troops. we know that he has had a working lunch with the french president today. not only discussing ukraine but other interests around the world. tomorrow he will visit the american cemetery here. just
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one last stop before going back to washington, d.c. but he will go back to europe next week. for italy for the start of the g7 summit. >> thank you for a very busy day for the president and for you, as well. thank you. for more on elvis we are joined by the former israeli ambassador. it is great to see you again. let us get your reaction from the four hostages getting rescued. >> it is great to be with you. all of israel is celebrating tonight. the light, the joy and literally crying with joy. certainly, noa argamani who was the poster child of the hostages. she is live. she is free. she is reunited with his family. our joy is mixed with sadness. three wounded and reminded that the price we continue to pay to defend the country and to achieve the release of all the hostages.
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as we heard from you your reporter, matt bradley. committed to meeting both of those goals which is defending our state, destroying hamas and also achieving freedom for our hostages. >> and master, the director is going to put up the extraordinary video where noa argamani is getting into the helicopter. what is extraordinary not just the fact that it exists and she has been released after nearly 250 days of captivity. but they could put a helicopter or maybe a second one was used to bring the three men that were rescued back into israel territory. the fact that this could happen in an environment successfully. and talk about the planning that would go into a mission like this. >> reporter: talk about the bravery of these soldiers we just talked about the 80th anniversary of d-day. my father landed on normandy beach to fight for freedom and a fascist enemy. these brave soldiers have been fighting for 8 months.
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the fastest enemy that opposes every value that is common to the united states and the people of israel. look at how they are risking their lives. this is a ferocious firefight. 200 palestinians were killed. but the does not distinguish between the military and civilian deaths. it was a ferocious firefight. a soldier was killed and three were seriously injured. under intense fire. this helicopter is landing on a beach. you can see the ocean. in order to get from inside this very densely built-up area. the commanders had to shoot their way out to get to that helicopter. >> that explains a little bit more. the logistics. it is difficult to conceptualize exactly what is happening here. but you made that with a sage observation. and they had to make their way. the distance from densely populated areas to get to the helicopter.
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and presumably the other three out by helicopter. so with regard to the hostages that are still in captivity. we are not sure about the exact number. i'm going to make a point. here on this broadcast we've been on for 2 hours. we have heard two different numbers. 120 remaining in gaza and another is 80. the 80 was described as being live . the 120. so can one presume that the 40 are believed to be dead? how do you get proof of life in a situation like this? >> reporter: well, we know that 19 are dead. and we have to deduct that from the 120. and deduct it down from there. we know the forensic evidence from people who have seen evidence. that people have seen the bodies or they collect evidence.
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for example, there was evidence last week, young woman that was killed. they found one of her bones at the festival. and the scientists concluded that they no longer could be live. in fact they found the remains about one week ago. >> when you look at all of this, and revealing what happened and revealing certainly the planning. but you see a level of execution. what does all this mean for the rescuing of future hostages. and also, the possibility of a cease-fire. does this at all play into encouraging cease-fire momentum on either side? >> reporter: i still think -- remember, i'm not a spokesperson or any office at the time. but i speak for the majority of israelis that would be willing to agree to a limited cease- fire. in order to achieve the freedom
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for a limited number of hostages. they have offered a six weeks he's - cease-fire in jake's exchange of those hostages. i think that would still be on the table. even the aftermath of this very joyous mood. but hamas rejects it. they will reject anything that will not end the war. that is real withdrawals from the gaza strip. to rearm and reconquer gaza and to stage the next murderous tactic. that is precisely what the leader said. they want to do it 10,000 times until israel is destroyed. so no government can it agree. and also the situation in the north that nobody is talking about. 80,000 israelis displaced by constant rocket fire. those are now going south and reaching to nazareth. nazareth is a lower galley. and much of the galley has been set on fire by these rockets. the government had to think
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about a two front war not just a one front war. america's media is focused on gaza. but they are also focused on a much larger threat. they have 10,000 amount of rockets. >> as you are well aware, there have been plenty of criticism on a global level of israel's conduct during this war. do you think seeing these hostages getting rescued by idf soldiers. does that do anything to mitigate the criticism? the criticism has been, of course that is really is really really, this could've been hamas members but we do not know yet. but a lot of civilians were killed. the heavy handedness of israel has been heavily criticized. >> reporter: it has, indeed. it will can can you unabated. there are certain numbers of policy numbers that we had to mean pain the military pressure on hamas. in order to get them where they
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will give up hostages. i think the argument will be strengthened. but for people to think that israel is acting over-the-top. this is not any way to diminish those claims. as long as you keep citing this number of 35,000, 36,000 from palestinians. that was the number that provided. those numbers are inflated. even the united nations in terms of the women and children killed is 50% inflated. also including the more than 15,000 hamas terrorists who been killed. including the people who have died from natural causes. such as 4000. if you deduct terrorists and natural causes, there is going to be one combated death to one civilian death. that is at least one quarter of what the ratio was one america fought in iraq and afghanistan. they are fighting a desperate war that is behind the civilians.
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it is going to do its utmost to minimize those civilian casualties. but the end of the day, hamas bears responsibility for their wounding and for their deaths. >> thank you so much for joining me, sir. i look forward to speaking with you again. a beach vacation closed after back-to-back shark attacks. we are back in 90 seconds.
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>> breaking news from outside the white house. thousands of pro-palestinian making their voices heard. happy of how biden has handled the war. and we are joint from the white house. and allie, well, to tell us about these protest. i assume that you could hear them and did not even see them. >> reporter: absolute, alex. president biden is in palace. not at the white house. that is not stopping thousands of demonstrators as you mentioned that you can hear behind me. they are here in washington, d.c. as well as at other than states. the message they want to deliver him loud and clear. they are demanding an immediate end to this now eight months old war. as well as american support for israel. we have several colleagues who have been out among the crowds outside of the white house. and beyond a very large
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perimeter of this anti-scale fencing. the secret service put up. they are nearly all dressed in red and wanting to simply surround the white house grounds with red fabric and this red banner. this is a bread line that they accuse the president of caving on when he suggested that he would reconsider future u.s. military into israel. israel launched a full-scale ground nation of rafah. and we know about one month ago, israel moved into rafah. the white house did not consider a full-scale offense, the prater says that one weapons shipment was paused. to prevent one from happening. they are saying today that they want much more to be done. here is one palestinian youth organizer speaking to the crowd earlier today. >> with eight months of
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bloodshed and we have heard red lines. and biden said rafah was a redline. as we shut down the streets in red, surrounding the white house. we exist as a historic reminder to the ruling class. they do not set the redline. we do. >> reporter: alex about one hour ago they started marching from the white house to the ellipse. organizers say a symbolic people's court of justice will be assembled to try israeli and u.s. war criminals for their atrocities in gaza. as far as the temperature of this crowd? secret service was particularly concerned about going into this weekend. especially after demonstrators vandalized the front gate of the white house with red paint. at one point they try to scale it during this massive pro- palestinian protest in november. the extra fencing this time prevented this from happening. the colleague say this is been a largely peaceful event. but there is graffiti and fake blood in lafayette park just across the street. we do know that they attempted
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the rescue of one individual who was climbing with the statues across the street. and that individual eventually got away. police deployed pepper spray. at this point, no other arrests have been made or attempted. >> thank you. and from the white house to let us go to florida. two shark attacks in one afternoon are putting beachgoers and officials on high alert on this sweltering hot day. we are there in walton county. and what happened here? >> reporter: hello, alex. let me set the scene for you. we are in the panama city beach area. this is the gulf of mexico in the panhandle. there were two separate search shark attack in instances that left three people injured. this first incident happened somewhere between 1:30 p.m. so there was a woman that was attacked by a shark. while she was getting attended
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and treated by paramedics, it was 90 minutes later. four miles away that the second attack happened. the two teenagers that were swimming in the area and shallow waters were also attacked. let me bring you to what we heard from officials first responders in those moments afterwards can i will explain on the other side. >> is extremely odd to have an this in the same afternoon. the sheriff mentioned we are reaching out to experts. as to what could be causing this. the water temperatures, the current, whatever it is. but this afternoon is to remind everybody to be vigilant out there. many people are keeping their eyes on the marine life to make sure that it is safe. we will continue to do that. >> reporter: so this is all coming at a time when we have heard of other shark attacks happening in other places on
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the same day. this was all yesterday on friday. it was yesterday that we are there was a shark attack from hawaii. we have heard of a shark attack for texas. and california. while there is a lot of attention given to the shark attacks. it is so important and let remind the audience of how rare this is statistically speaking. there is research showing how humans are in close proximity. when there is a shark attack statistically speaking it is extremely rare. given how often we are sharing the water so closely with them. we have no idea. it is part of that. but the beaches are open. people are behind me and on the other side that are in fact, back in the water. and i asked the officials yesterday the beaches were closed and double red flags. nobody was going into the water. what changed between yesterday and today? the sharks are still out there. but we wanted to make sure that nobody was in the water as we
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were attending to the people that needed help. but the sharks are still out. we ask people to be aware and to respect the gulf of mexico. so they are aware that there are sharks here, alex. maybe they're not going quite as deep. in terms of the victims, my understanding is everybody is okay. there was one person who the superficial wounds. the teenager who has since been released. the two others seem to be okay from the latest that we have right now. >> very quickly and i love to go swimming in the ocean. i know not to go in the early mornings or at the desk those are typically times do not do that. it is not necessarily safe because it is predator feeding time. these affect that these attacks happened in broad afternoon. are the officials speaking about that? >> reporter: they did happen in the middle of the afternoon. at the moment it is not as if we have many details. we do not even know what type of shark it was.
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we do not know if it was the same or a different shark. right now there is not much speculation being done publicly. in terms of the time of day but that is a good point. typically the time to tell you to avoid are in the morning and at dusk. those are things that we are to see what the laboratory the scientists say. also as soon as we know more, we will share it with you. >> thank you. you might have missed it. with the fbi director and said this week about a terrorist attack here in united states. and the connections highways truckers and murderers. blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. pill a d hourseartbu
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him a new insight into how far gop lawmakers are proving their loyalty to former president donald trump. trump allies all fell into line following the guilty verdict last month. now they are calling for extreme revenge. house inspector micah johnson is saying that he wants to use
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the house oversight powers to target jurisdictions prosecuting trump. joining us is the former assistant director for counterintelligence at the fbi. and the new extraordinary book, hunting the highway serial killers. frank, we are going to get to the book in a moment but this appears to be a warning from former president donald trump. he said it this week. take a listen here. >> nobody wanted to bring it until i decided to run. that i was beating everybody by a lot and beating biden by a lot in the polls. but you know, it is a terrible thing a terrible presence for our country. does that mean the next president will do it to them? that is the question. so you know, it is a terrible, terrible path of their leading us to and it is very possible that it's going to happen to them. >>, do you worry of for this type of revenge seeking affect an hour nation's system of justice? >> reporter: when former
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president donald trump and his people say that something is going to have to happen. it is going to happen. this is his intention. he is not going to be able to walk away from it. the question is that how will this play out? really if you dig into this. it is important to understand what he is not saying. he is not saying that he is been unfairly treated outside of the court system. he is been prosecuted with no facts or evidence, whatsoever. no grand jury or american people or nor trial jurors have ever looked at evidence and convicted him. what he is saying is because he has been treated within the judicial system. he is going to have to figure out something else to seek revenge. unless you have the evidence and the facts are not going to be able to do this. what would it look like? name your attorneys that are loyal to you, not the constitution.
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name your fbi executives that will carry out your function. regardless of law or evidence. doing away with all civil service protection of key government and key government agencies. like the fbi, doj so you can get rid of employees who fail to follow your lead. if you have the head of the field offices and all of the u.s. attorneys. on the side of trump and we could see extrajudicial activity it looks like handcuffing people on complaint arrest. versus grand jury indictments. that could be coming our way. >> let us add to that assessment. it seems like it also filtrate congress mentality. there are republican leaders that seem prepared to cut funding for prosecutors the gop do not like. a long time former president donald trump ally and jim jordan suggested taking funding from the fbi and federal state prosecutors. who they believe weaponize the
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rule of law. what goes through your mind when you hear that? >> i asked a question. what part of the fbi do you want to defund? is the part that you do not like or investing public corruption of republicans? which part is it. we heard from the fbi director christopher wray that he is gravely concerned about a coordinated terrorist attack on the united states that look like an ice is related . and in moscow. is that the part of the fbi that you want to defund? what about the reality is we are facing cyber attacks from china and domestic and international terrorism. the current fbi budget is 500 $500 million below what they say they need to get the job done. how much worse is this going to get? >> you know, we have what christopher wray was saying. let us play that right now here. >> just in the time that i've been to the fbi director. we
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have disrupted multiple attacks in the cities around the country. we need funding to continue protecting america from terrorism. i touched on this earlier. there was already at heightened risk of violence in the united states be before october 7th. since then, we've seen a rogues gallery of foreign terrorist organizations calling for attacks against americans and our allies. >> frank christopher wray also feared a coordinated attack similar to march in russia. is it realistic something of that magnitude? because that was huge. could hit the united states? >> reporter: yes. look, i am very concerned that the fbi stretched to the max right now. we already talked about the budget allocations. but they are stretched on chinese cyber security threats. they have the domestic terror threats with the ongoing investigations from january 6. it goes on and on. now the election is coming up.
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they need to worry about propaganda and disinformation from our adversaries. and threats against election workers. they cannot get it all done. while they are doing all of this, the adversary, like isis did in russia. they could sneak up on us. and coalesce around the various ideologies involved in the israeli gaza conflict right now. and to take action while the fbi is too stretched. >> okay now your new book. this explores the dark side of america's highways. the fbi hunt for the long-haul truckers behind an astonishing 850 murderers. the crimes had a special agency the high rate serial initiatives . what is this initiatives and where does it stand today? >> reporter: yes. despite 25 years as an agent in the fbi. and retired as a special
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assistant i did not grasp the details of the serial killings initiative. when i did, postretirement. the numbers were staggering. 850 murderers of women in the past few decades. 200 are considered active and unsolved. and 450 suspects in the long- haul trucking being looked at right now. despite the incredible lives of long-haul truckers and their contribution to the economy. there is a tiny fraction that continues to lash out and kill mostly trafficked women. this story, this book is the true account of that initiative. i wrote over 200,000 miles in a big rig. i put my investigator hat on to dig into three subcultures. trafficked victims, long-haul trucking and the crime analysts that try to connect the dots
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that stop the killing. >> it is extraordinary. what a great point. these killings he made the point. killing can happen in one jurisdiction. and a kidnapping an abduction. a killing in a second jurisdiction. and they body might be dumped and recovered in a third jurisdiction would explain all of the finger-pointing. we do not know this person but a lot of them are workers. it is extraordinary. and let me say that you pay all much to the trucking injury - - trucking industry. so it is not like you are just pointing fingers. it is also the your honor those people that do it the right way and do so much of the work that we did here in this country. >> reporter: yes. really quick, my book is
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dedicated to the american trucker. i was incredibly impressed. we were part of the american economy. delivering drywall, lumber, flooring. these people work hard and we should honor them. >> that is why we could not get you on the show. now, it all makes sense. thank you and the best of luck with the book. coming up next, what was behind the wildest courtroom moment of the week. of course a former president donald trump connection. trump .
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steve bannon has been ordered to report to prison to begin a four month sentence. he was in convicted on two counts of can tempt of congress after defying subpoenas. the federal judge handed out thursdays owner after the appeal was denied. former federal prosecutor legal analyst is here with us. and well, to tell us what it was like in a courtroom. it seems contentious. and the lawyer was chastised for yelling. >> reporter: yes. this was after the judge handed down his ruling. steve bannon would required to report to the federal bureau of prisons to begin serving his
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four month sentence. i was surprised to see one of steve bannon to two criminal defense attorneys make a beeline for the podium. i can tell you. from having been in that court practice for years. use the wait for a judge to invite you to the podium. he started yelling. he was angry that his client would now have to report to prison. the judge put him in his place sternly. >> i can imagine there is a chance for an appeal but it is certain that steve bannon will go to prison. and as we await the former president donald trump to be handed down, how long could it be before trump complies with it. given that steve bennett was sentenced two years ago? >> reporter: the day of reckoning for former president donald trump will be a giant 11th. he will be sentenced by the judge on his 34 felony convictions. the crimes that he committed to
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getting unfair advantage of an election. i have a an attorney, that the team will be asking for incarceration. because probation is actually no kind of punishment, at all. it will be up to the judge to decide if these 34 felony crimes motivated as they were. to edit as is still a presidential election from the american people. that deserves incarceration. and one of the most important principles in sentence eases general deterrence. deterring others who might choose donald trump's path. to commit crimes to cheat in an american election. if donald trump is a to present it will certainly deter others from committing the type of crimes that donald trump chose to commit to. >> you mentioned that it is likely he will send them to time in prison. but this was a guy that was really trying to promote reform. you have to wonder if it would be pushback. for people you're going to put a 77-year-old man and in prison
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and goodness knows for how long. does he really need to delicately find the right balance and in his sentencing here? >> reporter: you know this is an easy call it was a prosecutor for 30 years. reform likes treated more fairly. people that no funny no power and no connections and no money. that is what we need criminal justice reform more than the well to do criminals of advantaged life, like donald trump. and if he went through a lengthy investigation at the grand jury presentation of indictments. and a very difficult run up to try to where donald trump was in danger he people. donald trump garnered himself 10 counts of criminal contempt of court as a result. now 34, felony convictions. if there is no punishment associate with all of that it
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would be doing a disservice to the people of new york. >> thank you and great to see you. it is been a real estate for years. but why florida is looking a little bit purple. thank you to you know who. who. plus odor protection. try for under $5! let's get the rest of these plants in. organic soil from miracle-gro has grown me the best garden i have ever had. good soil, and you get good results. this soil will blow you away. it's the martha stewart of soil.
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florida is back in play after a new poll showing that donald trump leading his narrowing. after the felony conviction showing him ahead of joe biden. and among likely voters, 50% to 46%. it is within the margin with a third party candidates are and, the hypothetical gross to seven points. that was just outside the margin of error. in the floor but democratic chair commissioner of agriculture it is great to see you back. his florida back to being a battleground state? what is behind the lead of trump that is shrinking? and what is the poll tell you
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about third party candidates in november? >> reporter: first and foremost donald trump cannot win the presidency without the state of florida. and we have seen that support for and continue to diminish time and time again. including the primary ballot where he lost 19 percentage points. now you see this. so what is happened in the state of florida. it is the extremism. between ron desantis and trump have put us into a position where the most extreme abortion bands in the country. and property insurance continues to be the number one issue here in the state of florida. so what people in the state and across the country are doing. they are rejecting the extremism that is coming from the magna base. that is what we have seen in the state of florida. people are fed up and frustrated. they are ready to not vote for donald trump anymore. we are going to see a real
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opportunity. the work that is being done on the ground. people are energized and hungry in our state. we believe that donald trump is not going to be trump era in the state of florida. the democrats will continue to deliver a win for joe biden. >> what are the topics you mentioned. and the senate republicans blocked legislation establishing a federal right to contraception. they called it a showboat. contraception was not at risk. was that legislation necessary? or was it election year messaging i senate democrats? >> reporter: that piece of legislation was extremely necessary. look at what we have seen all of the entire country. not only the six week ban in the state of florida. and look at the alabama state supreme court is but they did not protect women's reproductive healthcare. rick scott and marco rubio voted no.
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that tells everybody exactly what we need to know. rick scott is not going to protect a woman's right to choose. he said that time and time again. he would have supported a six week abortion ban in the state. he has been supported by pro- life organizations receiving just recently an a+ rating from one of these groups. who is against contraception. it is necessary to show a signal to the rest of the country. it is going to be democrats are going to be standing up for a woman's right to choose. freedom for women to decide what is best for themselves. when and how they want to start families. this was a really important about. showcased exactly what the republicans want to do. if they are getting power back in washington, d.c. they're going to go all out. not just for contraception, and against access to reproductive healthcare. this was a necessary vote. republicans once again failed. and they're not learning lessons. >> you anticipated the question with the florida senator rick scott. so let me get to this question. i know that you are at an event?
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the upcoming eighth anniversary of the pulse nightclub massacre. what more can be done prevent a horrific attack from happening again? >> reporter: will a lot can be done. and in the state of florida right after pulse some of the worst mass shootings that we have seen in the country. florida continues to be number one when it comes to mass shootings in the nation. we came together after pulse to put together a comprehensive reform. but what we have seen in the republican party it went backwards. not only getting rid of the concealed weapons permit but threatening to reduce the age of purchasing a firearm from 21 to 18. we have seen president biden be a champion and a leader on this issue. creating the first ever gun safety community office. passing, for the first time in over 30 years gone sensible regulations and a movement on gun issues.
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at the same time donald trump is kissing the ring of a dismantled organization. there are a lot of things that we can do. universal background checks and making sure that we're pretty safe storage laws. making sure that our committees are safe. as a republicans do not care about our amenities. they continue to talk to the base and making sure they are supporting the nra not the community. we, as democrats have been in the forefront of this fight and will continue until every community in florida and across the country is safe. >> thank you so much a great to see you. the problems are not new. what is pride month feel different? for many americans, we have some answers, next. me answers,
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her uncle's unhappy. i'm sensing an underlying issue. it's t-mobile. it started when we tried to get him under a new plan. but they they unexpectedly unraveled their “price lock” guarantee. which has made him, a bit... unruly. you called yourself the “un-carrier”. you sing about “price lock” on those commercials. “the price lock, the price lock...” so, if you could change the price, change the name! it's not a lock, i know a lock. so how can we undo the damage? we could all unsubscribe and switch to xfinity. their connection is unreal. and we could all un-experience this whole session. okay, that's uncalled for.
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right now thousands of people are flooding into massachusetts to celebrate the second weekend of pride month.
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the festivities are kicking off with a massive parade in boston and a block party. it is just one of several pride events happening across the country today. and all month long. and let us bring in the room order. as i welcome you. june is supposed to be a big celebration time for lgbtq+ articles. but pride month is kicking off with bias fueled pushback. what type of incidences are using and how frequent are they? >> reporter: we are seeing the standard, isolated incidences of vandalism popping up across the country. like in washington, and residences woke up to all of the cities pride flags slashed. a church in mitchell, south dakota that is known for its to embrace the lgbtq+ the community. their decorations were spray- painted with graffiti. even in massachusetts. there were over 200 pride flag stolen from the town center. we are seeing these acts of vandalism popping up. >> who is behind this and why? >> reporter: the police have not named any sub - -
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suspects. we do not believe that these attacks are coordinated or being performed by one or more groups of extremists. so what that tells us is that there are all these lone wolf actors. there was a sizable portion of americans and of such hostility to the idea pride month. and perhaps the idea of the lgbtq+ community at large. the west to the east coast and the midwest. they have the same idea to attack these crimes. >> are these happening with more frequency? is there something about this particular june that it is been retched up for last year or the year before? >> reporter: last year we had about 145 threats of violence against pride related events during the month of june. however in my five years of reporting on these issues. i have not seen these type of acts crop up in the first few days this intensely.
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and i will also add that previously, the hostility was much more specific. last year a lot of people took issue with target selling pride merchandise to children. to the biden administration rising the pride flag at the white house and embassies across the country. where is this year the hostility is much broader. it is directed at the idea pride month. the idea of the lgbtq+ community celebrating. >> people organizing the celebrations, what are they being told about how they can combat it? >> reporter: the people i'm speaking to on the ground have been dealing with these threats. these acts of violence since they started creating these parades years and years ago.
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they are not afraid or deterred. they have long-standing relationships with the local however scary and threatening they may be, and say that we haven't made as much progress as we did 20 years ago. >> okay. let's end on a positive note. matthew, thank you so much for , joining me. that will do it for me. i will see you again tomorrow at 1:00 eastern. next, the beat weekend. welcome to the beat weekend. i'm ari melber. let's get to the headlines.

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