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tv   Americas News HQ  FOX News  September 14, 2017 11:00am-12:00pm PDT

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>> lelend: been a great day. lot of news. i say we do it again tomorrow. >> melissa: maybe. we'll see. "american news mq" starts right now. >> sandra: president trump is on his way back to washington after meeting with some of the victims of hurricane irma. hello, everyone. i'm sandra smith. president trump and vice president pence toured areas in ft. myers and naples after he was asking whether there was a deal with democrats on daca. >> there was no deal. they didn't say they had a deal. they just put out a statement. they didn't say that at all. >> if republicans are not able to get something in six months -- >> we won't talk about that. >> sandra: the uss abraham lincoln is bringing food and water to the key, who still lack even basic service. >> the rain came and then the tide came up.
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and the tide probably was up that high. >> we had no water. >> no water? >> well, i had some. i had about two bottles left. >> no water. no electric. >> sandra: we have fox news coverage for you. brian yenis is stan ding by. >> reporter: the president and first ladidy not go to the wealthy part of town. rather, they stopped at one of the many trailer parks ripped apart by the fury of this storm n this case the naples estates. they handed out food the president bought himself and assured these poor people that they have not been abandoned. >> we are there for you 100%. i'll be back here numerous times. this is a state that i know very well, as you understand. these are special special people
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and we love them. thank you. >> reporter: in naples, ft. myers, marco island, primarily what we see is wind damage. the roads have largely been cleared. debris is off to the side. knocked down power lines. the only standing water we see is in the trailer park. at one particular impoverished trailer park here in east tphaeuple, the people say they feel abandoned. the only aid they have received came from local furniture store and church. sandra. >> sandra: how are things improving for the residents of naples? >> reporter: the number one issue is still power. you see behind me, those are power poles set to go on the ground as soon as the debris is cleared. florida power and light says that 2.5 million people are still without power in the state of florida. that's roughly 25% of the state's population. 21,000 crews are working to turn the lights on. fpl boasts the power recovery is faster than the recovery
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following hurricane wilma, but that is little comfort to you if you're sleeping with the doors and windows open. the other big issue out here is gasoline. at the crack of dawn the lines form at the different gas stations. they'll stretch a quarter mile or more. you see people walking down the street carrying gas tanks. already six people in the state have died due to carbon monoxide poisoning because they're using the generators wrong and not ventilating them properly. sandra? >> sandra: thank you for the uptkaeurbt live from naples, florida. our next guest is traveling with the president. fransy rooney represents florida's 19th district running along the gulf coast from ft. myers through naples and on down to marco island. he joins us by phone from naples. congressman, thank you for your time. you've had a busy day traveling with the president as we just saw. some images. the president, first lady, vice president. the president and first lady's own dime handing out supplies to
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victims. how has your day gone with the president so far? >> reporter: it's been an exceptional experience to see the leadership, vice president are bringing to our country. these guys came down here to work, to show support and show the country that they're leading in a good direction and that we're going to get this together. vice president pence just gave some very moving remarks to a group of pastors and people who are going to take food and trucks out to one of the poorest and hardest hit areas. he's fired those people up. they are tkpwoeing to continue to do good for our community. he inspired them. >> sandra: the words of the president, we are behind you 100%. he assured those residents that he will visit the region numerous times in coming day, weeks and months. how was his visit received by the residents there? >> this is the biggest thing that hit this county since sliced bread. everybody is so excited that he's here and the vice president is here.
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people are lining up in the streets. we've had huge crowds. it's the confidence and the vice president are giving to our community that we can get through this. so when he said that, the crowd erupted. everybody is so thankful and excited to have his commitment. >> sandra: and he's coming off of that dinner last night meeting with leaders of the democrat party, congressman. he was asked from the tarmac when he landed down there in florida about daca and whether a deal was made last night. what are your thoughts? were you able to talk to the president about that today? >> no. we pretty well focused on the hurricane recovery. we focused on the everglades which is a subject that is dear to the president's heart, too. and that we need massive funding of the everglades, restoration projects to complete. i was giving out food last night to people who lost their homes so i didn't pay much attention to what trouble senator schumer tried to give the president. >> sandra: i don't know.
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we don't know if it was trouble or not. daca is certainly on the table, as well as tax reform, congressman. these are two big conversations being had right now. i want to get to the president and what he said upon landing there in florida. talking about tax reform. really showing he's not so concerned about wealthy americans. watch this. >> can you clarify what you said yesterday when you said that the wealthiest americans will stay the same, maybe pay a little more. some people interpreted that to say you may actually raise rates. >> wealthy americans are not my priority. my priority are people in the middle class. that's where we're giving the big tax reduction to. it's about the middle class. it's about jobs. it's about bringing jobs back to the country. bringing the companies back. >> sandra: wealthy americans are not my priority, he led by answering that question, congressman. >> well, i think the president's right. he's spot on to focus on the
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middle class, who suffered real purchasing power declines in the last 20 years. through globalization and automation, as well as some of the trade issues that where plants have been exported to asia and mexico. we have to have a healthy middle class or we don't have the united states that we've all come to love and believe in. >> sandra: can you help the average american understand where the president is going here. he's talking about tax cuts. do you interpret him talking about a tax healthy for the wealthy? >> i didn't necessarily hear a tax hike. he may not support cutting taxes on the wealthy. the key to wealth creation is business and job creation is business. the wealthiest people -- if we can cut taxes and get rid of some government -- [ inaudible ] >> sandra: we appear to be losing congressman francis rooney as you can seeing images
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of the president and first lady and vice president just moments ago handing out food and water to victims of irma to rez dents of a trailer park that was badly damaged. we thank congressman rooney for jumping on the phone. well, eight senior citizens are dead and dozens more in the hospital after hurricane irma knocked out power, including air conditioning in a florida nursing home. police confirming a criminal investigation is now under way. a woman whose mother was in the rehab center said the man in charge of the building should have ordered evacuation sooner. >> it should be. it could have been prevented. it could have been prevented. i'd like to thank god that my mom is okay. i hope god gives people peace. and remorse for this man. i don't even know what to say. remorse is not enough. >> this man?
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>> the man, the owner. the person who was there in charge that could have said, let's evacuate. >> sandra: brian yenis is live in hollywood, florida. brian, what is the nursing home saying at this point? >> reporter: hi, sandra. look, these are people's parents. eight people dead age 71 to 99. this is now a crime scene. the nursing home said their building did not lose power, but they lost power to a transformer that powers their ac unit. so they decided to put up some mobile cooling units around the facility as well as fans to keep it cool. they said they had a generator. question is why they did not use that generator to power the ac unit. spokesman said they alerted authorities saying the center immediately contacted florida power and light and continued to follow up with them for status updates on when repairs would be made. outreach was also made to first responders.
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florida power and light said they're sorry but said the nursing home still had power and that hospitals in 911 centers get higher priority to restore power, particularly after a storm like hurricane irma. now, on wednesday morning at 3 a.m. the first responders came here after a call. they found three people dead on the second floor. it was sweltering on that floor according to first responders. they then decided to evacuate 145 people. five others later died. now, the center has been cited for numerous safety and health violations, including generator maintenance issues. investigators have been inside all day. >> walking into the temperature inside the facility. the staffing inside the facility, and all of the conditions inside the facility in the hours leading up to this situation. >> reporter: authorities now investigating because they believe this obviously could have been prevented. just to make this even more
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tragic there's a hospital literally right next door to this facility. >> sandra: that's the question going forward. so many are still without power. what is the state doing about other facilities like this that could be in danger? >> reporter: welsh those who are evacuated from this facility were put in other nursing home facilities. really, the governor of florida is saying that he is demanding answers, recommending local officials and police go and at least check on these facilities that may have lost power because of the storm. in fact, just this morning williamsburg landing just ten miles away from here, had to e evacuate. the owners there say they did it out of comfort. they lost power and were on generators and they evacuated this morning. in a tweet, senator bill nelson of florida said, quote, spoke with the head of va. he has given me authority to move anyone in the nursing home without power into a va hospital, if necessary. the state reemphasizes that any of these facilities, if they
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have any concern that any of their patients could die, they should have called 911. again, another question in all of this. sandra? >> sandra: brian, thank you very much for that report. we'll keep following that story for everyone. a new batch of missing e-mails from hillary clinton. now coming to light. a conservative watch dog said there's evidence of, quote, pay to play at the clinton state department. those details next. pressure mounting on fired fbi director james comey. will he be forced to come back to capitol hill to testify? >> leaking fbi memos on a sensitive case, regardless of classification, violates federal laws including the privacy fact, standard fbi employment agreement and nondisclosure agreement all personnel must sign. that's pretty clean and clear that that would be a violation. tech: when you schedule with safelite autoglass,
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>> sandra: a brand new batch of hillary clinton e-mail comes to light. revealing addition at mishandling of classified information. >> reporter: the e-mails from clinton's aide's account were among 1500 documents turned over by the state department in connection with the freedom of facts lawsuit. they reveal clinton foundation friends requesting and receiving favors from the state department among her teen aour. among the allegations, such as obtaining visas for business and entertainment firms who heavily donated to the clinton foundation. one in excess of $10 million. another request sought state department financial health for a russian american foundation which did receive $250,000 for something described as public diplomacy.
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no charges, it's important, to know were ever brought on pay to play allegation though agents did look into the matter at least on a very preliminary basis, season tkra. >> sandra: speaking of clinton e-mails, sounds like momentum is building to bring the former fbi director back to testify on capitol hill? >> reporter: that's right. on america's news room this morning, sandra, lindsey graham threatened to subpoena james comey to deconflict statements he made to congress about his handling of the clinton e-mail case in 2016 and why he recommended against charges in july of that year. >> there is so much to be determined here, comey needs to come back. what was his real reason for clearing hillary clinton? had he made up his mind before he even talked to her? >> sandra: okay. we're out of time. if he won't come, will you is up him? >> i would, yes. >> sandra: that's a major development and shows how comey is under increasing congressional pressure after
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those details emerged of interviews from fbi staffers suggesting that the former bureau director drafted an exoneration statement for clinton week, in fact two months, before her fbi interview over the fully 4th weekend last year. those transcripts are part of what's called a hatch act investigation that was launched by the justice department into whether comey used his influence and position as fbi director to interfere in the election last year. the records were provided after a request from senator graham and the republican chairman of the senate judiciary committee chuck grassley. that hatch act investigation is closed because comey was fired, but there is an on going inspector general investigation, also by the justice department into comey's actions on the e-mail case as well as his boss then attorney general loretta lynch. sandra? >> sandra: a lot changing there. thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> sandra: we're getting florida back on its feet. truckloads of food, water and medicine crucial to the recovery
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effort. a live report from a distribution center in key west, florida. and deal or no deal on daca? can the president get what he wants by crossing party lines? we'll talk to a truly bipartisan panel of congress men who met with the president yesterday next. >> we are looking for extreme border security and surveillance. we also have to get the wall. it doesn't have to be here, but they can't obstruct the wall, whether it's in a budget or something else when we're ready. i count on my dell small business advisor
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on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. >> sandra: president trump standing by his decision to undo obama era protection for so called dreamers saying he's confident a bipartisan deal can be reached but not at the
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expense of national security. >> why did democrats say there was a deal at dinner? >> there was no deal. they didn't say there was a deal. they just put out statement. they didn't say that. >> if republicans are not able to get something in six months will you continue the daca program? >> we'll talk about that. i think a deal will be made before six months. >> no relief unless you get the wall? >> at some point they can not obstruct the wall. >> sandra: texas democratic congressman henry quar co-chairs the blue dog coalition and republican congressman tom reed shares the problem solvers caucus. congressman reed, i'll start with you. start solving some problems for us. is there a deal or not a deal on daca? you both met with the deal yesterday? >> i think the president showed leadership to get to a deal. we're gonna get a deal. it's right for border security and taking care of those young men and women who represent the land of the free, land of
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opportunity that we can do for them. to me, there's a deal to be had here. we're working across the aisle. we can get it done. >> sandra: looks like you're getting along just fine. congressman, where do things stand? >> that is correct. no, no, we are. i think what the president did and i think it's the right strategy is to start looking at bipartisan issues. the last time we had tax reform was 1986. it was in a bipartisan way. the last time we had immigration reform was 1986. bipartisan. so i think, let's give bipartisanship a shot. i think, folks, attend of the day the legislations will be written in congress and folks like tom reed and myself are gonna do everything we can to put the best interest of the country and get this job done as soon as we can. >> sandra: congressman reed, what do you make of the criticism coming from some of your conservative colleagues on this potential compromise? >> you know, i understand that. but at the end of the day we have to make sure we're not home of the extremes, both on the
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left and right. i understand the concerns they bring to the table. that's why i'm committed to border security. making sure we fix this problem once and for all for generations so that we have a border that works and keeps us secure. at the end of the day, there's grounds for compromise. that's not a dirty word anymore in washington, d.c. that's what we should all embrace. 80% does not defeat victory. >> sandra: will the law be tied to daca legislation? >> no. that's an issue the president wants to address. we don't need to tie this to the daca. i think what we need to do is look at daca and strong border security. i don't visit there for five mints and leave. i understand the border. we need technology. we need personnel. we can secure the border. but remember, not everything is at the border. keep in mind that 40% of the people we have here in the united states without documents came here through a legal visa or permit.
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we have to look at that. >> sandra: congressman reed, where do things stand on tax reform? on the tarmac a few moments ago the president was asked about his focus on tax reform and potential tax hikes for the wealthiest americans. he said his focus is on the middle class. where are things going there? >> being on the committee that writes the tax policy for america in dc and being in the room yesterday, we spent a lot of time on tax reform. that is a priority issue. we need to fix the american broken tax bill. we need to unleash the economic power of america. we can do that by doing tax reform. we are doing that as we speak. what the president's done is reached across the aisle and said, do you know what? this is good for america. let's come together and get it done. >> sandra: congressman, are you hearing the same thing? there's concern about who's actually going to see tax cuts and what's gonna happen as far as the wealthiest americans? the president obviously hit the campaign trail, saying one thing. where is it going now?
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>> well, we have to make sure we focus on the middle class. any country, any strong country needs a strong middle class, number one. keep in mind who creates phoeflt of the jobs. those are small and medium size companies. when we talk about the corporate rate, we have to limit the liability of corporations, the small mom and pop companies are the ones that create jobs. the only thing i want to say as the co-chair of the blue dog, i don't want to go to the credit card. we have to make sure we don't add to credit cards. >> sandra: it looks like you both are in agreement. you're happy to see this president reaching across the aisle. you both look confident and optimistic. is that a fair assessment? >> i am very optimistic. do you know who wins at the end of the day? not henry or i. the people we represent back home who are working hard day in day out. now that we have the focus in the right direction, i applaud the president for what he's
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doing. >> sandra: congressman, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you so much. >> sandra: all right. they hug it out. they shook it out. all right. interesting to see what's happening. putting the pieces back together in what was a spot known forest and relaxation. >> now we're in the process of cutting trees. we're throwing everything we lost out. >> sandra: that is just a glimpse. the cleanup beginning in the badly hit florida keys. we have drone video showing the ex-tented of the video there. we are live in the keys. spicy. what sean spicer said to jimmy kimmell about anthony scaramucci. >> you can look at a set of, an argument or set of facts and come out with one opinion. someone can say, while the facts are the same, i come out with a different conclusion.
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trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. >> sandra: folks returning home to the florida keys beginning to clear away the destruction left behind after hurricane irma ravaged the region. the extent of the damage remains an unanswered question for many. some of the worst hit areas are still unreachable. phil keating is live at a food and water distribution center in key west. phil? >> reporter: sandra, to survive the seering and scorching september heat in key west you need a few things. a hat, lot of sun screen and
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tons of water. that's what we have happening here four days after category 4 hurricane raked the florida keys. we've got the marines, the navy, the army national guard all distributing case loads of water, as well as meals ready to eat and bags of ice. about 1,000 at least. maybe even more came out today. to grab that florida keys residents, the estimated 8,000 who did not evacuate but remain stuck here because there's no way in, no way out from mile marker 74. now, it's not just the essentials for life that are need. medical supplies are also needed. a nonprofit called direct relief. we rode with them as they came down to the lower keys medical center delivering blood product, prescriptions, medicines, antibiotics. this one hospital serves all of the miles from key west. take a listen. >> they said they were desperate for antibiotics.
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there's a lot of cuts and scrapes from debris, nails. we have tetnus and things. this is good for about 200 patients for 72 hours. this keeps them good and we can resupply as needed. >> how much do you appreciate this effort by the military to hand out this stuff? >> they did a great job. >> reporter: life savers huh? very nice. i have never seen so many people so happy today. everyone is just full of gratitude. publix just opened today. they dominate grocery scene. typically lot of hectic tension inside. today grocery store open. feeling back to normal. everybody's happy. back to you. >> sandra: at least happier for now. phil keating, thank you for the update. by the way, sorry about that. you drove down, i'm hearing, from key largo.
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how bad are the lower keys? >> we drove from key largo. >> reporter: the lower keys got the worst. where the eye of the storm smacked into florida. i have got to tell you, a lot of homes and trailers are totally ripped apart. others, especially on stilts seemed to do much better. 65% of all the homes in the keys did suffer some degree of damage. big pine key suffered a lot of flat neighborhoods. the sheriff described it as a nuclear bomb going off. if you are a returning resident, you can't get back home. not until they get the infrastructure rebuilt, power back on. key west alone, 90% of the island still without electricity. residents are only allowed to use water for a shower three hours per day. and you are urged to boil your water before you drink it.
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still coming back to life. lot of damage on key west. like duval street, famous duval street, lot of damage from trees on the side of the road. lot of businesses just not open. there's no power. >> sandra: unbelievable to see those images. phil keating, thank you for the update. president trump is facing backlash from conservatives as he talks to democrats about a possible deal that would protect dreamers from deportation. steve king calls it nothing short of amnesty. >> they won't be able to defend him any more. i'm talking about my constituents in iowa who say you need to be behind trump. i am. i support his entire agenda. i support the agenda he had when he was sworn into office. i support almost every piece of the rest of his agenda except this amnesty piece. that's so destruckive to a first world country. >> sandra: another iowan stater
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said morning news said you made a deal on daca. have your staff brief me. that prompted this response from the president this morning. >> what do you say to those who say your promises can be believed? what do you say to senator charles grassley who said he under cut what he's doing in the judiciary kpheultty by talking to pelosi and schumer? >> we're doing it in conjunction with the republicans. we have a very good relationship with a lot of people. lot of people want this to happen. we'll see if it happens. but we'll only do fit we tkpwebgts traoepl security, if we get not only surveillance, but everything that goes along with surveillance. ultimately, we have to have the wall. if we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing. >> sandra: joining me now for more, a staff writer at the federalist and richard fowler, a radio talk show host and fox news contributor.
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brie, your take first on steve king saying this is nothing short of amnesty? >> he's not wrong. this is something donald trump has promised and been very clear about. i think in donald trump's response in an earlier portion of the interview when he was talking about republican allies, he named paul ryan specifically, right? a member of the gop hated establishment. notice he didn't mention a member of the freedom caucus. he mentioned a number of the republican establishment which has failed to deliver on all of its promises. i think the allies that donald trump supposedly has in the republican party, the fact that he is naming paul ryan is very telling in all of this. >> sandra: richard, steve king went a step further than that, threatening trump over this daca deal, saying your base will leave you. >> here's the thing. i think what steve king is going to a small group of american, himself, ann coutier.
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a lot of people believe these dreamers should stay here. what he did last night when meeting with pelosi and schumer, hey, if you want the dreamers to stay, let's figure out how to do it. you are willing to give me border security, i'll give you a path way for these dreamers. this is bipartisanship at work. the president realized he can work with his caucus to get deals done so he's saying i'm going to work with democrats to get deals done. what pelosi and schumer did, they went out before the president last night and released their staple first. so now the white house is trying to play defense. and the far far far extreme right, 2%, 3%, they're over here. i guess their pants are on fire. they don't know what to do with themselves because donald trump is saying i'm trying to get a deal done. >> sandra: there's a lot going on with daca and tax reform. sean spicer has returned. we saw him on jimmy kimmell. he was talking anthony
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scaramucci. watch this. >> i don't think it's right to relish in somebody else's problems. so just as a person i don't think that's right. but again, i think it proved my point that to do this job is one in which you have to have the proper background. >> i imagine you high fiving everyone there. >> sandra: bre? >> yeah. i thought it was nice of him to say he's not gonna revel in someone else's misery. you don't kick a man while he's down, right? but i do think he does have a point when he is talking about some of the character issues that were clearly apparent in anthony scaramucci's apparent inability to understand when someone is on the record and when someone is off the record. that's a big problem for someone who is going to be working in the white house f you don't understand that kind of basic thing. >> sandra: you reached out and talked about a lot of things. it was interesting to see him in that format, richard. >> it was definitely interesting to see sean spicer in that
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format. we'll see what the future holds for mr. spicer. it clearly seems as though this white house is slowly but surely, they seem to be finding their footing. with kelly at the helm. hiring mercedes schlapp as a contributor to this network. they are bringing in hands that know how to run the white house. not putting their foot in their mouth every week. >> sandra: lot of women. >> lot of women. but for once, this is the first time in a very long time on this show that we're not talking about the white house making gaffs or blunders. >> sandra: richard fowler, bre peyton, wonderful to see you. >> thank you. >> sandra: when it comes to hurricane irma the road to recovery will be difficult especially in the caribbean where the landscape has changed significantly. look at these satellite images before and after the storm. dangerous bacteria could be
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looming inside the waters. it's already been found in texas after harvey. our expert is here to weigh in next. >> the most terrifying storm i have ever been through. then i went to a friend's house and stayed there. she has a small well protected place. that was not damaged much. fact is, that's the end of st. maarten. you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on!
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>> there's word jim jong-un's north korea could be setting up another missile test. this after state media threatened to nuke the united states and reduce it to ashes. we'll go live to south korea coming up when i anchor shepherd smith reporting. >> sandra: with irma gone, could dangerous bacteria be looming in florida waters? these aerial images similar to what harvey left behind in texas.
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researchers at texas a&m tested some waters in houston and found e-coli and hazardous materials. >> you get your hands in contact with the water and then you're handling food, it could transfer to your mouth that way as well. so there's other ways besides directly injesting the water. >> sandra: joining us is phil brennan managing partner at griffin ventures llc and a trustee with the waterkeeper alliance. bill, thanks for coming on with us. >> thanks. >> sandra: according to this "new york times" report, they tested the water themselves. they found it was contaminated with bacteria, lead, as well as other toxins. that sounds like a huge problem they face now and may face for sometime to come. >> it is. and the thing is, besides what you mention, things like arsenic coming up from the wells, there's a whole plethora of different passages they have to deal with. this will go on into the future for at least the next several weeks if not months.
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people have to be prepared and cautious with the way that they handle water, how they take showers. phil keating said that. they're limited there. this water still could be contaminated to a large degree. >> sandra: can you give us an idea of what those residents have to do to limit their risk and danger with this water? >> the first thing is, the municipalities and the public works, they're telling people boil the water. that's the first step that they have against that. but, you know, ideally, if they can get their hands on any fresh water, bottled water, from a trusted source, that would be the best and most efficient way to avoid these pathogens. >> sandra: the testing texas a&m and the new york times, they were testing the water after harvey in the state of texas. will and does florida face similar problems? >> everyone that was in the path of irma faces those problems.
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the keys, the island, the state of florida, some parts of south carolina may even face the same kind of thing, where there was flooding in charleston and north of charleston. that's something people have to be aware of. making sure they take the proper precautions. >> sandra: lot of the problem is the infrastructure in these states, particularly texas, it's old and in disrepair. so a double whammy when you get a natural disaster like this. it's not built and suited to handle much, let alone something of this magnitude. >> absolutely. the thing is, right after the storm, when you take a look at the number of water systems that were shut down, i think that number was north of 200. as of tuesday, you still had 20 drinking water plants and 31 waste water plants that were nonoperational in the state. that's three weeks almost after the storm. >> sandra: you look at some aoeulsd. u.s. virgin islands governor saying the recovery will take years. food and water is scarce.
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buildings have been heavily destroyed especially in the hard hit st. john island. what is it going to be like to get clean water to these residents? >> people are going to think outside the box. there are alternatives to get fresh water to island nations. technology really solves the problem versus what the land based infrastructure used to be prior to the storm. now it doesn't exist. if you could take a barge with bottled water plant and marry that up with ships south, you could immediately start to get fresh water into those areas that are in dire need. >> sandra: thank you for lending your expertise to that matter. something that we'll surely be covering for quite some time. new details emerging about a string of mysterious acoustic attacks on u.s. diplomats who became sick at our embassy in cuba. now officials say a hotel where
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the americans were staying was also a target. what we're learning about the attack and the target.
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>> sandra: fox news alert, as the state department briefing gets under way. the plot thickens in a string of mysterious health attacks on u.s. diplomats in cuba. officials now say americans were targeted in at least one hotel in addition to their homes. this as contradicting details continue to baffle investigators. rich edson is live at the state department with this thickening plot. what more are we learning, rich? >> reporter: good afternoon, sandra. these are bizarre frightening attacks happening to americans and canadians in cuba. we expect the state department could bring this up today in a briefing that has just started today at the state department.
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what we're learning is that two more people are victims of this attack, bringing the total to 21, with the most recent attack happening last month. the diplomats union is saying that these folks are suffering mild traumatic brain injury, permanent hearing loss, severe headaches, cognitive disruption, brain swelling. all the results of what's being described as sonic attacks. associated press is reporting some of the victims of the attack knew while it was happening that the attack was going on. others say the attacks were confined to specific rooms or even parts of rooms in buildings with laser-like specificity. one, according to the associated press, occurred on an upper floor of the recently renovated hotel capri. the state department said the u.s. government is still investigating and trying to figure this all out. back in may, the state department expelled two cuban diplomats from the united states over this, but did so for a failure to protect american diplomats in cuba.
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so the united states isn't specifically blaming cuba for this. it's trying to figure out in an on going investigation, according to state department officials, what exactly is happening. but it's clear that the u.s. and officials now aren't quite sure what the source of this is, who is to blame. the on blame they've given to cuba is for a failure to protect american diplomats. it's still on going. 21 confirmed cases with the last attack last month. we expect to learn more in that briefing. >> sandra: we'll let you get there, rich edson. thanks for the update. treasury department said it has concerns over secure communications that prompted steve mnuchin about using a government jet for his european honeymoon last month. the request was withdrawn before it could be approved. the inspector general at the treasury department is investigating this, as well as another trip the treasury secretary took with his wife that include a stop to view the
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solar eclipse. the federal trade commission announcing an investigation into equifax massive data breach. where thieves stole a treasure trove from up to 183 million people. this as the credit reporting company said a vulnerable web server led to the tack. equifax's ceo is set to testify before a house panel on october 3rd. we will be right back. prudential asked these couples: how much money do you think you'll need in retirement? then we found out how many years that money would last them. how long do you think we'll keep -- oooooohhh! you stopped! you're gonna leave me back here at year 9? how did this happen? it turned out, a lot of people fell short, of even the average length of retirement. we have to think about not when we expect to live to, but when we could live to. let's plan for income that lasts all our years in retirement. prudential. bring your challenges.
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>> a once in a lifetime moment gone terribly wrong. watch this. oh, this man getting down on a knee to propose to his girlfriend. tumbled with the ring. watch. such a happy moment gone so
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wrong. he said he could hear the ring go through the crack and splash in the water. they did not find the ring. all the best to them. here's trace gallagher in for shep. >> president trump headed home to washington after visiting florida for an update on hurricane relief and recovery. millions of people there still living without power days after irma devastated parts of the state. we'll show you the progress crews are making and what they still need to do. plus, the president talking about cutting a possible deal with democrats to stop dreamers from getting deported. >> we're talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and not brought her of their own volition. >> but some republicans clearly upset with his latest moves and tough new talks from north korea. threatening to

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