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>> john: chaos on a college campus in virginia where activists ambushed a students for life meeting reportedly throwing punches. it got violent and aggressive quickly. pro life students say somehow despite the threats against them, they are the ones who got shut down. welcome back as "america reports" rolls into a second hour, i'm john roberts in washington. sandra, it's friday. feels like a monday. >> sandra: so much news to get to. sandra smith in new york. the latest example of a certain type of speech getting shut down in this country and even attacked. right here on our college campuses, students at another university are mounting a revolt against their commencement speaker. they say he is harmful, that speaker, the republican governor, glenn youngkin, who earned 1.6 million votes. that's all new at 2:00. reaction from his lieutenant

governor winsome sears in a bit. but first, breaking news on the former president. >> john: at this time on tuesday we expect to see former president donald trump in court in new york city to be arraigned after his indictment for an alleged role in hush money payments to an adult film star. here is where things stand. >> sandra: sources telling fox news the 76-year-old will walk into the court without handcuffs after trump's lawyers struck a deal with the manhattan d.a., and right now law enforcement agencies are meeting to finalize the logistics and security of his arrest. >> john: this is a historic indictment. marking the very first time a former president has ever faced criminal charges. it's not sitting well with his party's base and even his 2024 political rivals. >> sandra: nikki haley tweeting this is more about revenge than actual justice. >> john: and last hour vivek

ram -- >> i'm speaking as an american when i say this is a national disaster. >> john: how will all of this play out ahead of 2024? bret baier in moments, but first chad pergram on capitol hill. what's the latest response from lawmakers at this hour? >> good afternoon, house republicans are tapping the brakes on their investigation into alvin bragg until the expected arraignment on tuesday. most republicans are standing behind mr. trump but democrats support bragg. >> prosecutor, get them to prosecutor a ham sandwich if you want to before a grand jury. i'm not that cynical, but i am realistic and i think we ought to let the process go forward and trust the jury system in our form of government which has been reliable in the past to be reliable again.

>> gop alabama representative barry moore seized on the saying about ham sandwiches so his office handed out ham sandwiches today. he says it's about much more than donald trump. >> i think we have no choice. i mean, at some point we've got to unite behind him because of liberty. i think our job as members of the house is to actually stand for your liberty. whether you agree with us or not, we have no choice but to come to his rescue at this point, not because it may be politically expedient for the president but for the country. >> on thursday, approved an energy bill, the plan speeds up reviews for drilling. republicans touted the bill as the hallmark of their agenda, but mr. trauma's gravitational pull consumes everything in politics, so not talking about gas prices, they are talking about trump. >> in politics, it's so important to stay on message, but when that message is hijacked by something that's not very successful, it really ruins

it for the rest of the republican party. >> in a letter to house committees, bragg's office accused lawmakers of interference in their criminal probe. bragg's office called the house investigation illegitimate incursion. john. >> john: chad, thank you. let's bring in bret baier, anchor and executive editor of special report. you heard the congressman saying at some point we need to unite behind former president trump because of liberty. gives you a sense the indictment may help him as opposed to hurt him. >> good afternoon. i think it's interesting to see that the party is probably going to unify behind the former president right away. i think that in the gop primary this could really see numbers en an increase from what he was. he's up 30 points in our latest polls. because people are upset, they believe he's been targeted, they believe this adds to other

things that they see, they believe the former president has been under attack for many years. the russia investigation and others. you know, you had former house speaker nancy pelosi on twitter saying the grand jury has acted upon the facts in the law, no one is above the law, and everyone has the right of a trial to prove innocence. well, that had social media buzzing because it's innocent until proven guilty and a lot of people were weighing in on that tweet. i think there is a lot of people who are politically going to say this is wrong even though we haven't seen the details yet. and if there are 34 counts as reported, we need to see what's inside them. but politically it's going t fire up his base. >> john: yeah, nancy pelosi seemed to get that premise completely backwards. when you take a look at the last time that a former president was indicted, you have to go all the way back to 1872 when grant was arrested for speeding in his

horse and buggy. those charges were dropped and they had him dead to rights. there were so many criticisms of alvin bragg for setting this precedent on what people like constitutional scholar jonathan turley say is the weakest of premises. >> yeah, as we know it now, as it's reported going in. again, we don't have all the details, john, of what alvin bragg and his prosecutors are bringing forward in these 34 counts. we do know that the defense is going to be a couple of things. one, is that it hinges on the former fixer lawyer michael cohen and the trump folks are going to point out he lied under oath and convicted felon and disbarred and say legal advice led to this decision. that didn't work for steve bannon and his case. that particular defense. the other one is that this wasn't campaign funds, that this was -- he would have paid this

anyway to fight false allegations in their words, and they are going to go at that. but i think the biggest thing in the trial is the pretrial motions, the motion to dismiss, take it out of the venue of manhattan, prosecutorial misconduct, it's going to take some time. >> john: the poll president trump had increased the standing with republican voters, 54%. desantis dropped down to 24, and the rest still back where they were. what do you expect poll numbers will look like the next time that question is asked based on what bragg is doing? >> yeah, i think it depends on how this transpires, and if the former president goes as the attorneys say in tuesday and there is this, you know, maybe a photo, it's not a perp walk,s and they are fighting the battle. i think it does energize the

base. it is a tough position to be a candidate running against that, because all the statements you have to put out are to say we support the former president who we are running against. in the long run, an indictment or conviction, doesn't really play well long-term but in the short-term it definitely fires people up. >> john: there's going to be a mug shot afternoon it was positted on fox and friends they will plaster that mug shot on every item, from t-shirts to mugs to posters and sell it to garner support for the president, i'm sure they will likely get. >> the cherry blossoms have fin finally gotten me, apologize. >> john: sounding pretty sexy there, bret. >> sandra: i sent bret a box of

clariten. the president and first lady are at rolling fork, the tornadoes destroyed homes and businesses. the president expected to speak on supporting the victims. mark, a week after the storm, how is that recovery going now? >> sandra, it still feels rough out here, apocalyptic, giving you a sense of what it's like out here. as we know from this storm that there is so much damage that was spread out that federal officials estimate the recovery could take a period of years, and they believe the structures that either were damaged or destroyed in multiple counties could number in the thousands. the president and the first lady seeing firsthand how strong this storm was. white house says some 300 federal disaster personnel are already on the ground trying to help get things back to a new normal, of course they won't be able to restore things overnight. today fema also -- disaster recovery center -- residents and

businesses are going to need help in so many different ways. the president himself weighed in on what he heard so far from the disaster recovery standpoint. what he had to say on the ground in mississippi a few minutes ago. >> this is the stuff -- tough stuff and the thing that really has always amazed me the tornadoes i've been to is that you have one house standing and one house from here to the wall totally destroyed. it's -- but through the grace of god. >> federal officials say they have been working and the clock to restore basic infrastructure, including power and water service. the good news, the power appears to either be close to being restored or fully restored today. mississippi's republican governor also out here with the president welcoming him. of course, governor tate reeves has been a vocal critic, but today politics put aside and show you live why the

devastation was so bad, this was a tree that was completely ripped to shreds, you can see the shrapnel in the air is now in the tree. and if you think that's bad, this was a shipping container tossed like a tin can and you see a recycling bin thrown into it, opened it right up. this is just a small portion of the damage spread across the mississippi delta, and you imagine the people have lost their homes, their businesses, you cannot just start over tomorrow. it going to take a long time. the president is going to talk about what the next few months and years look like later this hour. >> just really something what they continue to go through and look at them proudly flying that american flag behind you, even though they are going through such a mess right now, mark. it shows you the spirit is alive. thank you so much, mark, appreciate that. fox corporation is proud to be a member of the red cross annual disaster relief program. you can join us by donating at

redcross.org/fox forward. >> john: sandra, a major warning for banks thinking about pursuing woke policies. nearly two dozen attorneys general say they are rallying together to protect your life savings. larry kudlow tells us what you need to know coming up. >> sandra: a university's pro life event spiralled into chaos, seen there, after protestors stormed in just the latest controversy on virginia college campuses. a response from the state's lieutenant governor, winsome sears joins us next. next on behind the series... that run with the champ was magical. i mean the tender chicken, the peppercorn ranch... i love my rings but i'll cherish that lunch... forever. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time. your wyndham is waiting... because after crushing yesterday's meeting...

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lady on the ground in rolling fork, mississippi, a town ravaged by deadly tornadoes. 300 homes, businesses in rolling fork completely destroyed as well as the nearby town of silver city, as you've been seeing mark meredith on the ground there reporting, heaps, mounds of wreckage, lumber, bricks, twisted metal, still a mess, and those tornadoes left a path of destruction. the president and first lady on the ground meeting with some of those who have lost their homes, the president and the first lady there. this is obviously, john, a moment where the presidency shows obvious sympathy for those going through all of this as we all try to chip in and help what is going to be a huge, huge recovery effort for those communities. >> john: having been based in our atlanta bureau five years, i had more than my fair share of opportunities to go cover these tornadoes, including one that

ripped through tuscaloosa, and this storm, as big as that one was, this storm was unbelievable. raged for more than 20 miles and when you take a look at the extent of the damage and think of the poor towns folk in rolling fork and other cities along the path of the tornadoes and look at the extent of the damage and debris, where do you even start. when you pick up a shovel, where's the first place you dig it in to put it back together. it's like humpty dumpty times a million. but they say at least we came out of it with our lives, these are material things we lost, homes can be rebuilt. though a number of lives were lost tragically in the storm, one put in front of the other

and they move forward. tenacity and the stoicism they show here. >> tate reeves meeting with the president and the first lady. the president pledging in a statement after the tornado that the federal government would "do everything we can do to help. we will be there as long as it takes. we will work together to deliver the support you need to recover". so as presidents have often done he is on the ground there with jill biden touring the damage and speaking to those who have gone through so much at this point, john. >> john: we see the damage from hurricanes so over because we cover them so many times. but the damage from a tornado almost makes a hurricane look like it is much, much less powerful storm. hurricanes are bigger in scope, tornadoes are more concentrated. but take a look at tree damage, let's say, from a hurricane, you'll see some tree branches

have been knocked down and broken, hurricane hugo, when i was in charleston, big pine trees were snapped in half. when a tornado ripped through town, the trees are turned into stubs. not just the leaves ripped off, but the smaller branches as well. mark meredith was showing us debris embedded in the trees as it becomes flying shrapnel from the winds, 180, 200 miles per hour, and for people to survive when we see dumpsters knocked around, it's amazing. mark, we expect the president t speak, for now, taking in the pictures of the president and first lady meeting with folks

who are going through so much there after these storms. >> sandra, they sure are. this visit will be brief, the message the white house is trying to send, they are going to be in it for the long haul. it's not something you can move on from in a week, it's a process that will take several years. this part of the mississippi delta has to deal with so much when it comes to poverty, older infrastructure, so you imagine how tough it's already going to be for the folks that live here. we have seen the american red cross, christian aid groups, volunteer groups on the ground, i was speaking with somebody building a new shelter, basically new so they know something that is steady, that they will hold up, given that there is still a lot of chances of more storms in the weeks ahead, and tonight the forecast is not looking great. so many millions of americans worried about what the storm

will be like. i was amazed how many pallets of bottled water, and people want to help, and they need immediate help from the federal government. >> sandra: we'll continue to monitor the president's trip there and anticipate he will speak a short time from now as well. all right, a coalition of 21 state attorneys general meanwhile are sending a stark warning to dozens of u.s. banks. in a letter obtained by fox news digital, a.g.s threaten to take legal action if banks pursue woke policy. they worry they are putting social initiatives ahead of the interests of their clients. larry kudlow host of kudlow on fox business. i don't know, i mean, on the surface it looks like this is really, really bad business. if these companies, these banks go woke and decisions not in the best interest of investors,

shareholder -- >> silicon valley bank was a rogue bank and so much of their lending was done so-called woke, meaning climate change, diversity, equity, inclusion. we have not carved out the damage and the loan asset. most of the problems we looked at were on the bond side for the portfolios, not hedged properly. >> sandra: by rogue, no other banks are suffering from similar positions? >> that's an interesting question, sandra. from what i gather first republic was more commercial real estate problem. but the governors, or the attorneys general, i'm glad they are monitoring this, but the people who should directly monitor this are the federal reserve supervisors and bank examiners. the fed has jurisdiction over holding companies and that's what they did not do out there

on the west coast, did they, and turns out fed presidents, mary daley of san francisco was willing to look the other way or lenient view of the goings on in silicon valley bank. look, you can't legislate banking, you can legislate regulations, yeah, yeah, yeah, but i don't think this was a regulatory problem. you have to go and make sure that the supervisors supervise, the examiners examine and that if the c.e.o. and the board are not doing what they are supposed to do, you have come in and they regulate and have the authority and fire them. you take them out, ok. san francisco should have done that with the banks out there, and these attorneys general should think about that. it's not so much passing a law. look, you can't -- you can't legislate stupidity, ok. you can't. there's no law against being

stupid. but there is a law about playing fast and loose with the public's money and with the depositors money. i started my career well past the last century in bank supervision and regulation at the federal reserve bank of new york, i was there. >> sandra: i know that very well, larry kudlow. >> excuse me. >> sandra: could we scroll on the list of banks, i think 50 on the list or so, that they are being warned over pursuing their "woke policies" so you can have a look at the list. have a little -- it's a long list. >> some are investment managements, and that's a different game. investment manager stuff, what is esg, ok. what is it? it's a moving target. it could be climate, you can't use fossils, you have to use, only invest in renewables.

>> sandra: i think that's fair. that could be have very broad definition, a very narrow one. >> some dei, diversity, equity and inclusion, an investor can go into these things and say i want a woke fund but nobody knows what that is exactly. >> sandra: one last question to you, everybody wants to hear, hold on. attorneys general say you are not the same as political or social activists and allowing the vast savings entrusted to you to be taken by activists to advance nonfinancial goals. i agree. >> that is true. >> sandra: i'll end with this question to you, everybody is worried about their bank and saw money out of the local banks and the big banks, too big to fail banks. money market funds, thank you. these are americans concerned about this, ok. this is dorian from washington, i definitely am concerned my retirement savings is never going to grow. and cindy williams in phoenix, i

have no objection to saving the planet, what do you tell somebody on the street says larry kudlow, should i worry about my money in my bank? >> yes, people should do some homework and what's the bank track record, the investment fund track record. >> sandra: whose on the board? >> not a bad place to start. admonished by the supervisors, but look, you can do good profitably, ok. there's no reason why you can't work for a highest possible rate of return, you know why, because all those savings go into the economy and create economic growth and prosperity and you know what, the cleanest air and water comes from the growthiest countries on the planet. >> sandra: good point. >> growth equals clean air and

water. how is that? >> sandra: more from you 4:00 on your show. john. >> john: looking forward to that. free speech on college campuses under threat once again. watch this. [bleep]. >> you won't let me answer the question. would you like me to answer the question? >> john: playing out at virginia commonwealth university, organized by the student for life organization. police shut down, and pro life says they got kicked out. two people have been arrested, both outsiders, one of them 30 years old, not students. comes amid an ongoing fight at george mason university, some students protesting the university's decision to select

governor glenn youngkin saying his policies are dangerous for transgender students. bring in the virginia lieutenant governor, winsome sears. thank you for being with us this afternoon. let's start with the situation at vcu, it seems on college campuses, conservative students can't even hold a forum without the left igniting some sort of confrontation. >> yes, and that's the travesty because you know, we go to college, at least the parents pay for their children to go to college to get a good education, to hear a wealth of ideas, to make decisions on their own and not for indoctrination. and unfortunately some voices are more important than others, not what we send them to school for. and some voices turn our children against us and the child you sent to college just six months ago you don't recognize because you -- they were taught that you, parent, you are part of the problem. >> john: george mason university invited glenn youngkin,

republican, to be the commencement speaker on may 18. a lot of students freaked out saying his moves to do everything from prohibit transgender students from using the bathroom that doesn't conform to their biological sex, and a woman named elena wrote i and my peers do not want the memories of our graduation day to be tainted by an individual who has harmed and continues to harm the people he serves. he's the duly elected governor of the commonwealth, received 1.6 million votes. >> yes, imagine that, the tyranny of a small group of people who will make a decision for everyone. who is i, i and my peers, who are you? when you look at the people who are saying that they don't want the governor, it is exactly a small minority and half of them don't even live in virginia,

don't even go to the university. so, we have to understand who are these voices that want to speak for us, they don't speak for us, we here in virginia will make these decisions and this is about life. you are gonna find yourself in situations soon to be college graduate that you don't like and you know what we have to do, we tolerate everyone. this is america, we tolerate those views we don't like. you live your life and you let everybody else live theirs. >> john: so the worth of college seems to be called into question more and more. the wall street journal did a poll where it asked, is a four year degree program worth the cost. 42% said yes, 56% said no, compare it to 2017, when the plurality of people said yes, it was, and the majority of people back in 2013 said it was worth the cost. what has changed in those ten years to make people look at college now and saying you know,

it's probably just not worth it for me. >> well, here's the thing. life was not always about going to college. some people don't want to go to college, you can get on-the-job training and you can make a good, a good salary. you can be a welder, carpenter, you can do all these things. you can get a certificate in cybersecurity, you don't need a four year college degree for that, programming and get a good salary, and you know, i think what parents have to do is to remember that you are the ones paying the bill. are you getting ultimately what you pay for. you are sending your child to go get a good education so that they can get a good launch on life and be successful. if that's not what you are getting then you have to do something differently and for those of us like me who were returning students to college, we were a nontraditional students, we have to investigate are we getting what we are paying for and if not, we've got to up and out, find somewhere else.

>> i wanted to ask you about, you are a unique individual, you went to a community college and university. i assume community college you studied to be an electrician when you went into the marine corps and then college after. which was more valuable to you? >> well, they were equally valuable. i became an electrician in the marine corps because my grandfather said get a trade and later on i wanted to be a lawyer and that's where i was headed, law school. so you've got to go the college route. i started at the community college level because it was cheaper and i realized the same professors who taught at the four year university were also teaching at the two year, why should i pay more for the same education, and that's what i did. we've got so many opportunities available to us, we don't have to pigeon hole our children and we don't want our children turned against us, that's not what we pay for. we want them to get a good education no matter where they go. >> john: every time we have you on we learn more about your

amazing story. lieutenant governor winsome sears, appreciate it. >> thank you. >> sandra: fox news alert, a live look, screen left at rolling fork, mississippi, one of the hardest hit areas there from those tornadoes where president biden is expected to now speak any moment now, he's on the ground touring the area, speaking to those who have lost so much there. he's expected to reaffirm his commitnent to the support of the people there in mississippi. we will get to the president live. in the meantime, forecasters are warning more wild weather to come, possibly tornadoes on the way for parts of the midwest and south. joining us is kelly from fox weather. extreme threat, severe weather in two locations. what are the cities located in that? >> memphis, tennessee metro area and the other spot we are

concerned with, davenport, iowa, quad cities. this is a level 5 out of 5. folks, i'm sorry to say, this is a worst case scenario. you need to make sure you are getting to your storm shelter now. get there before the storms get there. so these are where we have the highest risk for not only what we consider strong tornadoes, ef ef ef-2 or longer, and lock track on the ground for a long period and do damage. even the brighter fuscia pink color, severe wind gust when they top 60 miles per hour. we are talking potential 70 to 75 plus miles per hour wind gusts in iowa, illinois, indiana, western kentucky, northern mississippi and arkansas and missouri. keep in mind those severe

thunderstorm warnings are not going to be tornado warning, you may not to think i need to take shelter. but any severe warnings in this area of the country, we have a plethora of, get inside and away from the windows. i know you may be thinking it's overkill, i promise you it is not. and i don't want you also only focusing on the pink. we already have some tornado warnings popping off in the little rock area, downtown is not included in that, but 2 or 3 warnings around little rock, that's a level 3 out of 5, and we will see it ramp up, and this threat does continue to the nighttime hours as well. everyone needs to be on high alert, illinois, indiana, tennessee, kentucky, it's not everyday we see an extreme risk. it is incredibly rare. the storm prediction center issued a particularly dangerous

situation tornado watch which is even rarer. >> sandra: so you are going to continue to monitor those developments. meanwhile, we are watching on the ground in mississippi where the president and the first lady are gathering there. john, we expect the president to speak there soon. the governor, tate reeves, is also walking the area with the president and you see just absolute destruction there where he is visiting. these people have been through so much and a long road ahead. >> john: always important moments for an american president to come down there, and comfort folks and hope for a better tomorrow. when an tornado roars through the neighborhood the thoughts of will there be a tomorrow calls into question. and the idea where you begin when you have this destruction and debris all over your neighborhood. you can't even recognize the neighborhoods anymore because everything has been so torn up

and turned upside down and pushed arounds. i remember going back into miami where you used to live after hurricane andrew, i didn't know where i was because the landmarks were torn down. >> sandra: associated press noting this is one of the poorest areas, obviously mississippi one of the poorest states, but one of the poorest areas in the state. so economically that makes everything more difficult for these folks. many people there live paycheck to paycheck, often the jobs connected to agriculture, they have lost so much, john, and it's going to be a huge thing that they get some of that financial support so they can clean up, recover and begin to rebuild. >> this the mayor of rolling fork speaking right now. and you know, in cases like this, fema does a terrific job of getting there on the ground right away, and checks into the hands of people to be again the

rebuilding process, but mentioned before in terms of days, weeks or even months, this is a years' long process and if you go to rolling fork a decade from now, wow, this place looks terrific, thanks to the rebuilding efforts but it's going to take so long to get back to where it was and of course in cases like this, sometimes what happens people say you know what, we can't do this, we've got to go somewhere else, and the community itself really suffers because it never comes back together again. let's hope that's not the case. >> sandra: also joining him on the ground, the governor, the mississippi senator cindy hyde-smith, and surveying the damage and also first responders, a huge part of all this, and operational brief from federal and state officials on how things will proceed from here. mark meredith have been on the grounds, getting the updates.

we'll dip in when the president begins speaking. jump on in here, as these folks, wow they've got a long road ahead. >> they sure do, and you imagine what it was like a week ago, but when the sun is back up and see what was left behind, that's what's so telling. as we were driving in, you can imagine they tried t keep the roads as clear as possible, but everywhere is just piled up with debris and does not matter if it's an old dollar general, a mexican restaurant was standing a week ago today, it is now completely gone but the people operating it that owned it, they are now simply cooking food out of a tent to give something back to the people that have been out here. so a sense this community knows they are going to have to try to help each other out. we were speaking with a volunteer that said they came from a few hours away in mississippi but knew obviously this area growing up, coming

through here in this back yard that they know what the neighbors are going to need. in terms of what the president has had a chance to see so far, he landed in jackson, mississippi the capital, an hour or so away from here, and choppered to a nearby city, and a briefing with official, and then met with the red cross, and families out here. the president likely to talk about what the visit has meant to him and also what the federal government can do in the weeks, months and years ahead. one thing coming up today is the disaster recovery zones or centers, i should say, and they are set up throughout these different counties. it's not just a one stop shop. the idea is that for the people that may need help with agriculture facilities, those back up and running, home loans, fema disaster loans, rebuilding, insurance help, they'll be able to go to these different places, not just here in rolling fork but throughout the delta to try to get some assistance. i've seen this after a number of

different tornadoes i've covered, the moore, oklahoma tornadoes and felt similar to this in the sense the destruction was so wide. the path of the storm was 60 miles and 21 people lost their lives. the families that may not ever want to come back to this, may not want to call this home. and sandra, you mentioned the economic reality and that is the truth, this is a very poor community based off of the median cost of living here, and they, a lot of the people were struggling to begin with. the president likely to talk about these are the americans that had the least and now they have to give so much more. sandra. >> sandra: yeah, two of the hardest hit counties in that state, they were just completely, sharkey and humphries where so much of the agriculture was wiped out. sharkey poverty rate, 35%, and humphries, 33%, 19% overall for the state.

this is going to be an economic, i mean, a huge mountain for these folks to climb and the federal government, the president is on the ground to follow through on the commitment from the federal government to help. that is why he is there. >> john: sandra, we happen to have lucas tomlinson with us, he was going to speak about covid vaccines for kids but turns out lucas's late mother is from rolling fork and you spent a lot of time there. what kind of community was this, and is this the sort of thing that people can rebuild from? >> well, john, that's right, one of the poorest communities in the country, a fifth of the people live below the poverty line. it was a cultural experience for a young kid from new york who would go down for christmas and roll and the mississippi delta, cotton fields, soybean fields, my grandfather owned some land down there and i always returned wide eyed with the stories shooting shotguns out of the back of cars, throwing firecrackers, things, life is

just different down there. it's incredible. it's just so different than what anybody can imagine, but certainly -- it's so tragic seeing the devastation. over 75% of the city has been wiped out. some of these places that i would go as a kid to play trucks, you know, the grocery, and just to see it's not there anymore, it's so tragic. >> john: right. and in terms of how tight knit a community was, because that's where you really learn about the strength of a community when disaster like this happens, tragedy strikes, and to pull back together and rebuild. >> the south, john, knows how to take care of its own, that has always blown me away as a young child and to today, and you see the businesses just destroyed yet they continue to feed others, to help others, when they themselves are probably the most in need. >> john: right. >> sandra: the governor there speaking, the president likely

will speak next. this is obviously such an important part for people who go through these horrific disasters to know the federal government is going to step in and help them. >> that's right, sandra. once again, the community is going to take care of each other. however, just the fact that the governor can come down and help will be a boost to the community, certainly when the president of the united states is it coming to your town after a disaster, that certainly will boost spirits. he certainly will have support down there in sharkey county, and rolling fork between greenville and vicksburg, they say it starts at the peabody hotel in memphis and goes down. and wonderful people, and some of the best athletes in the country. you remember from l.s.u., going down from, a kid from west

chester county to play pick-up basketball and have guys dunking your face and go whoa. something i had not seen before. i've always appreciated and just to come back and tell people how wonderful the people are there. >> john: take a listen to governor reeves. >> on the phone call we'll be there to help and stay to the end. and i believe him. and i appreciate him. i appreciate the call on saturday, and i appreciate the fact that the president of the united states is standing here in sharkey county, mississippi, to deliver remarks today to hear from the people most affected and most importantly as he and dr. biden have done throughout the day, show compassion for those who have been most affected. so without further ado, a warm mississippi welcome to the president of the united states. >> thank you, mr. president, for being here.

>> governor, thank you very much. you know, when i heard about the devastation here in rolling fork the first thing that came to mind was i got to get ahold of benny thompson. it's his district. he treats it like his home. he's been a steadfast leader in every crisis i've worked with him on and he's always there for his constituents, and he's been a great partner of mine. and the governor is right. the governor and i, i tried him earlier but he was on the road, i could not get him right away, and to let him know that made it clear we'll do everything, everything that's legally in my power to do to be of assistance to the people in this community. and mayor walker, i know it's been especially hard for you since you are not only the mayor but you are also, and i mean it

sincerely, the funeral director. it's been tough. you've had to prepare people to be buried who you were with, know well, and thanks to sharkey county officials and local officials and first responders, and community members, who have worked around the clock, rescue survivors, they get people to safety and sort through the wreckage. but, jill and i are here to show our support. unfortunately i've been to too many sites like this over the last two years around the country. i've probably with the fema director better part of 12 to 15. and i always see the same thing in america. the when the neighborhood is in trouble, a whole neighborhood comes to help. walking down the street here, being told by people the reason

we are able to get through it, one family told me, when finally the roof came off the house, we were under the bed, we came back down, all of a sudden it was quiet, before i knew it, the red cross was out front. before i knew it and went on to talk about the neighbors that helped. and folks, i know there's a lot of pain and it's hard to believe a moment like this this community is going to be rebuilt and rebuilt and built back better than it was before. resilience of this community has been remarkable. and i just want you to know as you fight through this you are not alone. the american people will be with you. they'll help you through it and so will i. multiple tornadoes tore through mississippi and alabama and tennessee last friday night. the most powerful came through rolling fork. it stayed here just a little

over three minutes, just imagine, look at, i mean -- i know those of you who have been through it know, three minutes, three minutes this neighborhood was basically gone. stores, everything, gone. and the most powerful part of the tornado came through rolling fork. it stayed here and had the effect, it was so devastating unless you physically saw it, it's hard to believe. 13 lives lost, i met a number of the families earlier today, jill and i, my wife and i. 300 homes and businesses are nothing more than piles of twisted materials, mixed up with personal items that mattered so much. teddy bears, family albums, clothes, dishes, basics of life all gone. people still going through the rubble, the same thing to fine the picture of grandma or the wedding ring on the bureau or

the special momento that meant so much to them. they get lost, too. some of this dysfunction and destruction that you are seeing here is gonna take years to recover and rebuild. but we are starting now. when i spoke to the governor he said what he needed most was a federal disaster declaration so that the earliest hours of sunday morning i signed that expedited major disaster declaration which gave you more access to more federal resources. with that declaration, overtime for emergency responders, cover the cost removing all debris, 100% of that cost. we are also authorizing cash grants for people who lost their homes, whether they owned or rent. to pay for things that may not be covered by insurance, temporary housing, home repairs for those who have homes still standing, or to replace lost

personal property like furniture and appliances and vehicles. you know, after talking to benny and your governor, today i authorized the federal government to cover 100% of the cost for removing debris and emergency measured about keeping up here. by keeping shelters up and running and paying for overtime for every1, 100% of the cost, not for the state, but us for 30 days and then after that we are not leaving either. in the midst of all you are dealing with, i know that it's overwhelming, you figure out, got to figure out how we can help what you need. that's why right now we have 300 federal personnel on the ground, including fema disaster survivor assistance teams to ensure a well-coordinated response to get you the assistance you need. walking through damaged neighborhoods to find people in need and help them and they are walking through now.

going on if there are doors to knock on or people standing there just to find out where everyone in that house was or is. we are trying to make it as easy as possible, so on monday the fema disaster recovery center will be opening in four counties, including this one, so be able to walk in to a situation, explain your circumstance, let people know what you need, and learn more about how you can get the help as quickly as possible. can't hear me? oh, you talking to somebody else, i'm sorry. look, you know, you can also apply for assistance from fema online. online is disasterassistance.gov, or call 1-800-621-3362.

1-800-621-3362. already 1700 people, 1,700 people have signed up for help. in addition, the department of agriculture has made sure families qualifying for supplemental nutrition assistance programs, so-called snap program, can use these benefits for meals and grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores, the dollar store, and other vehicles. use the snap money and the snap material to get meals you need. secretary of housing and urban development marsha fudd -- fudge is here, and fema administrator is here. because we are bringing every element of the federal government together to help with immediate needs and long-term reabout building. for example, the department of agriculture is identifying temporary housing, reimbursing farmers and livestock owners for lost crops and lost livestock. the small business

administration is here, helping business get low interest loans to recover and to rebuild. and if you don't have insurance, or you are underinsured, fema can help you get started bying your home repairs, replacing lost or damaged property like cars or refrigerators. i know how important it is for the post offices all to many of you, in every community, most people get their prescriptions these days. well, we are working to make sure you can still have access to them. what we are doing is the national postal service is going to set up temporary post office, you have already seen, on the grounds of the present post office that's not usable. i also want to note some of these communities are facing the threat of severe weather and just one week later if you looked at the weather forecast. fema personnel are on the ground

and ready to respond to state and local officials if they amount to major storms. i want to urge everyone to listen to local officials and be prepared to take shelter and we'll -- go through this together again if it happens. and let me close with this message to the people of rolling fork and silver city and carrollton and winona, and other communities that have been hit. we are not just here for today. i'm determined that we are going to leave nothing behind, we are going to get it done for you. that's why i'm here, why your congress is here, why the governor is here, we are focussed on now i'm making sure you have a place to sleep, food to eat, helping you rebuild your lives in rolling stone but long time i know this is your community, where you built your lives, and we are going to make sure you can stay right here. there's nothing we can do to heal the hole in your hearts left by the 13 people who passed, many of whom i met their

families. melissa price, lonny price, mary bush, doris harris, david moore, phyllis maxy, darryl pervis, linda herman, erica moore, brenda odoms, april johnson, yvette herman. and i told some survivors, the sudden experience you lost someone is devastating, absolutelily devastating and wep kind of understand it. incredible stories about the spirit of the families and resilience and your bravery. the town of rolling stone will be back and we'll be with you ever step of the way, did i -- what did i say? i -- >> john: we are going to leave it there, the town of rolling

fork, not rolling stone. the president paying tribute to the nine people who died there in the horrible tornado as he tries to bring some comfort to the community. he did not go to east palestine, ohio, though, when that community was so devastated. >> sandra: that does it for us here. hand off to martha. john, thank you so much for joining us throughout the week. see you soon. i'm sandra smith. >> john: have a great spring break next week. >> martha: thanks. good afternoon. i'm martha maccallum. breaking right now on "the story," the secret service, the nypd, the fbi and the manhattan da's office have all been meeting this afternoon to hammer out the details around logistics and security and it will be complicated as they prepare for this on tuesday afternoon when we expect around 2:15 p.m., the arraignment of former president trump here in new york. sources tellin