we're live in tel aviv to bring you the latest. but we begin at the border, where today pulitzer prize winning journalist and immigrant activist jose antonio vargas who outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in a "new york times" article back in 2011 has been detained by border agents while trying to board a plane in mcallen, texas. vargas had traveled to the border to highlight the stories of the refugee children who are coming by the thousands from central america. before attempting to leave today, vargas tweeted this picture, showing his philippine passport and pocket-book size copy of the u.s. constitution. the award-winning writer and writer of the documentary "documented" came to the united states from the philippines. he didn't realize he was in the u.s. illegally until he was 16 and tried to apply for a driver's license. vargas was featured on the cover of "time" magazine after outing himself as an undocumented immigrant, and he's written and even testified in front of

congress advocating immigration reform. now he's become a part of the story. igor has been reporting on vargas from near the border. and christina jimenez. igor, you have been doing the reporting on this. i want to show you the tweet that jose antonio vargas sent out before he attempted to go to it the airport. he sent out a tweet saying he was about to go through security at mcallen airport. i don't know what's going to happen, he says, but for update, he gives you a couple of people you can follow to watch his whereabouts. did jose antonio vargas go down to the border with the purpose of getting arrested in order to further his advocacy on immigration reform? >> i can't speak to the fact whether he went down there to get arrested. what i can say and what he told me this weekend is that he felt motivated to go down there and really lend his voice to these undocumented minors who he felt

were being inaccurately portrayed by the media. these weren't just regular waves of immigrants passing through the country. these were unaccompanied minors, 12 to 17 years old, who really have not gotten the right treatment, in his words, in their struggle to come across the border. what he found was sort of an occupied military zone. 45 miles around mcallen, texas, of just interior border check points of which he would have to pass through to be able to leave mcallen. so in order to leave mcallen, he went to the airport this morning, presented his philippines-issued passport, and cleared tsa. but as soon as he did that, a border patrol agent asked him for his visa, and he was arrested on the spot. >> and christina, i'm going to through a similar question to you. lots of people have come to know jose.

we've come to know him here on this show and in the media as a fierce advocate for immigration reform. and he himself was an unaccompanied minor that came to this country undocumented. so he's really the face of these children in more ways than one. the fact that, for instance, he's not from mexico and none of these kids are as well. so he puts a distinct face on the issue of unaccompanied minors and the need for immigration reform. so, you know, i don't know if you've spoke within jose, but it does seem like what better way to put a human face on this crisis and to be able to report from inside the crisis than to go right down to the belly of the beast to mcallen, texas, knowing that the likelihood is that he would get caught up in one of these immigration traps. >> well, you know, i work with united we dream. we're the largest immigrant youth network, which is a different organization. it's not the organization that jose helped found. and we have young immigrants that have been volunteering at the shelters in mcallen, texas, serving all of the children that

are fleeing violence from central america. and united we dream went down there to mcallen, texas, to stand in solidarity with the children, and i, myself, called jose antonio on the weekend of july 5th and i asked him, will you join us? would you share your story, and will you join united we dream and our affiliate in mcallen, texas, to stand in solidarity with these children and to humanize this conversation that both the white house and republicans have really exploited to, you know, talk about border security and attack immigrant communities. we saw republicans using the humanitarian crisis as a way to attack the deferred action program. so that's the reason we went down. we did not know that jose antonio was going to face the challenge of not being able to leave until we were there and one of the leaders in texas

asked me and him, how is he going to get out of here? and it wasn't until then that it dawned on us that he won't be able to leave. >> and you know, igor, i'll come back to you. number one, if nothing else, this crisis at the border has proved that not only is border security operating, it's extremely effective. border security is, as you said, a ring around not just mcallen, texas, but we have a larger map that shows around the country. you have this 100-mile buffer zone where you cannot get past border security. that's been proven. what do you think that the detention of this most high-profile immigration reform activist, what will that do to the debate, or what is your reporting on what this might do to the debate in washington? >> well, i really think it puts the administration in a dilemma. do they deport this high-profile immigration activist and make a martyr out of him? do they want to do that for their cause, for immigration reform, to tout him as an

example of one undocumented immigrant out of thousands who would stand to benefit from comprehensive immigration reform passing congress? or do they allow him to stay there and sit in this detention facility and keep up this drum beat for this immigration reform? so it'll be interesting. white house press secretary josh earnest was asked today what the reaction was from the administration to jose's detention, and they didn't offer a comment. so it'll be interesting to see what happens. >> and last question to you, christina, do you anticipate this new wrinkle in this story will actually change the debate because of the fact that jose can articulate for himself the case for his own release but also the case for these kids? >> well, i think that there's two things here. one, that the experience that jose antonio's going through just shows that we have to get beyond the politics, and when we're talking about this refugee

crisis, we really need to leave up to the values of this country. we are a welcoming country. we have been a leader in approaching refugee crises, and this is no different. the second point here is the fact that jose antonio did not qualify for the deferred action arrives program. like him, many people across the country, young people and immigrant families who are undocumented, are facing this fear of being deported and put in deportation proceedings. and this is why it is critical for the president to take action and administrative relief, which he's announced he will. but stories like jose and millions of others just show the critical need that our community has for the president to step up and cover families and protect them from deportation. >> i want to go back to you, igor. the issue is you do have immigration activists saying what you just heard christina say, which is the white house

needs to expand the opportunities for young people, for undocumented immigrants to be allowed to stay or get hearings. this is a congressional problem. the president can't really do that. he's already being sued by the republicans claiming that perfectly normal executive orders are somehow beyond the scope of what he should be allowed to do. to what extent in terms of your reporting are members of congress focused on the fact that they are the ones who would have to act? these are laws in place that allow for different treatment of children who are not from contiguous countries, for instance, that this really is something that is in congress' lap? >> well, you know, so far congress has just butt tput the on the president to really enforce the border. even some have called on him to send in national guard troops as if they would have some kind of effect in being able to deport these children. but we have seen today a pair of lawmakers, senator john cornyn from texas, a republican, introduce a bill that would speed deportation of these

unaccompanied minors somewhere between countless months to nearly a week. so whether that gets passed by congress, whether speaker john boehner will act in some way to address this issue is a matter of debate. >> very quickly, we're running out of time, is that something you would want to see? would you want to see the process for deporting these young people sped up? >> no. that's our concern. under domestic and international law, these children ought to be treated like refugees. unfortunately, republicans are using this as an excuse to attack these children and basically turn their back on children who are fleeing violence and are asking this country to protect them. >> all right. and we got to wrap it up here. igor, very quickly, tell us if you've spoken with jose, does he have an attorney? what is his status? >> i have not spoken to him since he's been placed in detention. he has reached out to "the washington post." he issued a text saying he felt very stupid, quote/unquote, to find himself in this situation.

>> all right. igor and christina, thank you very much. >> thanks. coming up, we're following fast-moving developments out of gaza, where we're getting reports of continued israeli air strikes, despite news of a cease-fire deal on the table. we'll have reports from tel aviv and gaza. but first, as the u.s. starts deporting families back to honduras, i will talk to the congressman representing people trying to keep undocumented immigrant children out of their michigan town. >> these people are from the middle east, central, and south america to name a few areas. many having terrorist ties, gang affiliation, and many sick with illness and disease. >> it's an invasion. nothing less than an invasion. want to know how hard it can be... ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled... ...copd maintenance treatment... ...that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier.

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after weeks of the nation's attention being focused on the

southern border and the human wave coming into the united states on the heels of a humanitarian crisis in central america, we're now seeing the first deportations back to their home countries. these pictures are what we believe are the first would-be immigrants getting off planes in honduras. according to the department for homeland security, more women, children, and families are expected to be returned to honduras, kwaut ma la, and el salvador in the coming weeks. expedited processing of these immigrants is included in the president's proposal that he's asked congress to fund with nearly $4 billion. today the white house urged congress to act on that emergency request. >> it has been out there in the public now for more than ten days. this detailed proposal. a week before that, we announced our intention to submit this proposal. so there's already been ample opportunity for congress to take action. >> meanwhile, texas democratic congressman henry cuellar has

teamed up with republican senator john cornyn on a proposal to treat all immigrant children the same as kids from contiguous countries, like mexico. the pair made the case this morning that drug cartels are abusing a legal loophole. >> they've cracked the code. and they figured out this gap in this 2008 law which allows children to basically be released to family members in the united states and be served with a notice to appear. it won't surprise you that most of them don't show back up. >> on monday, pope francis weighed in on the crisis in a statement saying, quote, this humanitarian emergency requires as a first urgent measure these children be welcomed and protected. so the question is, what kind of life are we sending these kids back to? and is that something americans should care about? it's a question that continues to divide the country. for example, in arizona today, demonstrators staged a protest similar to the one in murita, california, earlier this month,

pushing back against the obama administration's plan to temporarily house immigrants fleeing violence and poverty in central america. and in michigan last night, some protesters even showed up strapped with handguns and ar-15 rifles. others held up tea party flags to express their opposition to housing immigrant kids. at an informational meeting arranged by the concerned citizens committee last week, angry citizens directed their frustration at their member of congress. >> we have a fifth direct congressman who just yesterday came out in the press and said there was no intention of sending any of these children to this area. how can he be that misinformed, or is he intentionally lying? >> this is america. vasser is any-town usa. nobody has been informed. on the congressman's website,

they put a statement out that totally contradicts what we heard here tonight. >> that congressman joins me now from washington. congressman, thank you for being here, first of all. and i want to give you an opportunity to respond to those members of your constituency who said that you told your constituents that there would be no immigrant kids sent to their community and that, in fact, was not true. how do you respond to that? >> that was the information that we had been provided by the department of health and human services. they later corrected that. what happened was that it the organization in vassar had been negotiating a subcontract with a chicago-based entity. when we found out that information, we simply put that information out. so, you know, this is one of those situations where everybody needs to dial down the hyperbole and put away their conspiracy theories and understand that what we have here is a true humanitarian crisis that we're trying to work through. and we need to think about it in those terms.

unfortunately, many of those voices back home and many of the people at those protests are from outside my district, but many of the protests are mimicking or parodying speech from, i think, irresponsible members of congress who have taken upon this opportunity to create political theater that they think helps them in the november elections. unfortunately, many of those republicans have no intention of trying to solve this problem. they think they benefit from this problem, which is a really pathetic and cynical approach to take. they should leave these kids out of their political theater. >> yeah, indeed. i sat and watched the whole video of that meeting where people came up and spoke. you had people saying everything from that these kids were from the middle east, that they were bringing in diseases. there was a woman who had a conspiracy theory that the kids would be put into the schools in vassar. just every range of sort of

conspiracy. it was called an invasion. we're talking about 12 to 14-year-olds. are those kids still going to be coming to vassar? >> we still don't know. this goes back to some of the early confusion. there has been no decision made. i want to make sure i'm clear. if that is the case, that it's determined that this facility could provide shelter and safety for children who are at risk of great harm, at risk of being put into sex trafficking, for example, or being subjected to violence by drug lords, we should accept them. i agree with pope francis. this is at first a humanitarian crisis. they may not be american citizens, but they are human beings, and it's a long-standing part of our history that when there are children at risk, no matter who they are, no matter what they are, we are willing to do even this small part that we could play in making sure they're safe. that's really what we're talking about. and then the larger issues of immigration, sure, we need to deal with those, but we need to deal with those through the normal legislative process.

unfortunately, it's the republican leadership that refuses to take up immigration reform. i agree with some of my colleagues. cancel the recess. let's stay in washington. we'll have a whole month. we can have a hearing every day, and let's get this done. it would make a huge difference if we were able to deal with immigration reform and include this problem in it. >> all right. and, sir, what do you think when you see people showing up to protest these children coming to your district with guns, with ar-15s strapped on? what kind of message is that supposed to send? >> well, i hate to think of the message they're trying to send. i suspect that they're trying to show their bravado, that they're willing to stand up to this, what they call an invasion. these are children who are the victims of crime in their home countries, who are fleeing out of fear. they are not something we need to defend ourselves against. they're part of the human race, and we ought to embrace them.

deal with their cases in a way that's consistent with law, but let's not forget that just because they might not look like those folks, they come from a different part of this western hemisphere, they're human beings. and they need to be treated with compassion. do we want to be -- i would ask them, do you want to be responsible? even though you might not be immediately accountable for it, do you want to be responsible for what happens to those children if we send them back? who knows what could happen to them. i don't want that on my conscience. i think i ask everybody who's involved in this debate to examine their conscience before they use these, i think, hateful words and language to describe children who are simply fleeing a dangerous situation in order to protect themselves. >> well, congressman, here's hoping your body, the u.s. house of representatives, can do something, anything. it's been a long time since we've seen a lot come out of that body. here's hoping you can convince

your colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do, i don't know, something. >> we have to keep pushing. >> all right, sir. thank you very much. coming up, no cease-fire, no peace. hamas rejects an egyptian-brokered deal with israel, even as the palestinian death toll continues to climb. we'll have reports from gaza and tel aviv coming up. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns... that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain...

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so use it for the shortest time based on goals and risks. estrogen should not be used to prevent heart disease, heart attack, stroke or dementia. ask your doctor about premarin vaginal cream. and go to premarinvaginalcream.com this is worth talking about. it's time for we the tweeple. today you're having fun with tweets from 16-year-old actor jaden smith. he sent this recently. and if you ask me, they have about five more years until that entire industry is a graveyard. okay. so now you're playing the tweet with jaden game, capturing his teen angst perfectly in quotes like this one. quote, birds aren't singing, they're screaming because they're afraid of heights. listen with your soul. and quote, why do we bake cookies but cook bacon? real eyes, realize, real lies.

yeah, that's deep. you're also making viral memes out of actor jared leto hugging things. this was liked almost 200,000 times. you've taken the love further, making jared canoodle with president obama's head all through a little photoshop magic. and this act of affection from virginia dad jeremiah heaton. it has some of you heated. he made his daughter emily an african princess, literally. after planting this flag on a disputed region on the egyptian border, heaton crowned himself king of what he calls the kingdom of north sudan. thus, fulfilling his daughter's wish by making her his pretty, pretty princess. while that's sweet, some of you are screaming colonialism, anyone? and you're questioning this well-meaning father's relationship with reality. let's see if the neighboring countries recognize king heaton's land grab and his

sovereignty. you can join the conversation with this and more on twitter, facebook, instagram and msnbc.com. now this news, a second investigation reveals numerous security lapses at the centers for disease control. here's details on what the investigators found.

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take them on the way you always have. live healthy and take one a day men's 50+. a complete multivitamin with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. age? who cares. the latest round of violence in israel and gaza finds israel suffering its first casualty. after about 200 palestinian dead. with prospects seemingly dim for an egyptian-brokered cease-fire. it was announced minutes ago after benjamin netanyahu said israel will use, quote, great

force against hah hmas for rejecting a potential cease-fire to which israel had agreed. hamas militants instead launched missiles into israel this morning, to which the israelis quickly responded. in a statement, hamas military wing said, our battle with the enemy is continuing and will grow even more intense. the cease-fire deal brokered by egypt would have included the end of attacks by both parties to the conflict and the opening into gaza of border crossings controlled variously by israel and egypt. earlier, john kerry rebuked hamas. >> i cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in multiple numbers in the face of a goodwill effort to offer a cease-fire. >> we now bring you two reports from inside gaza and inside israel. first, let's go to nbc's ayman mohyeldin in gaza city. ayman? >> reporter: good afternoon,

joy. the egyptian initiative that tried to bring an end to the violence between israel and hamas was categorically rejected by the palestinian factions earlier today. pretty much as soon as the initiative was announced for that matter. the palestinian sides including hamas and islamic jihad, the two main palestinian factions, say they rejected the initiative for a cease-fire because it fell short of addressing the larger political issues they wanted to deal with. they don't want just a cessation of hostilitiehostilities, a cal, as it's sometimes referred. they wanted to address the lifting of the israeli siege on gaza that's been in place from about 2007 as well as the relief of hundreds of palestinian prisoners that were rounded up in the west bank by the israeli military after the killing of three israeli jewish teenagers. the palestinian factions say they've gone through this process in the past several times. the war in 2008 and the war in

2012. both of those cease-fires were supposed to result in the easing of the siege on gaza. they say both times that failed to happen, and this time around they will not participate in a cease-fire they think is a sham. so as a result of that, they've rejected the cease-fire, and as a result, they're now still engaged in firing rockets against israel. for the people of gaza, who thought maybe they were going to have a turn of events and a chance at calm, many of them today found out that, in fact, the palestinian factions rejected the cease-fire and, again, conflict is returning to the gaza strip. israel has resumed air strikes, and it could be another long night for the people here in gaza. joy? >> all right. thank you so much, ayman mohyeldin. joining me from tel aviv is nbc news correspondent martin fletcher. martin, we just learned prime minister netanyahu has fired his deputy foreign minister for opposing his attempts to even broker that cease-fire. it does feel like both sides are extremely dug in.

>> reporter: well, yeah, that's right. there is serious resistance in the israeli cabinet to benjamin netanyahu's refusal at this stage to order a ground invasion. there's great division among the israeli people at what the best way forward is. when israel accepted egypt's proposal for a cease-fire in the same way ayman was pointing out they didn't give everything to hamas they wanted, it didn't give israel everything they wanted either. and israel did agree to stop fighting, hoping the loss of life on both sides, hoping that the violence would cease. then they could start talking about the other conditions they have. that didn't work because hamas rejected the cease-fire. hamas then continued to fire rockets at israel, about 50 or 60. only after about six hours of receiving those rockets, israel was still hoping maybe that was just a last gasp before hamas would accept a cease-fire. only after about six rockets,

then israel began to respond very forcefully indeed. the prime minister netanyahu ordered the army to respond with great force. that's what they've been doing the rest of the day, bombarding targets in gaza. so there was a moment of hope, i believe, a moment of potential relief for the citizens of gaza. unfortunately, the egyptian cease-fire seems to be now a thing of the past. but there do appear to be very low-level talks at the moment aimed at ending the fighting, but we're still still at much more of a fighting stage now than a talking stage. >> let's talk about very quickly, if we could, about kind of the forces that are pulling at both ends of this conflict. on the israeli side, you had the foreign minister state that the protective edge operation must end with the idf controlling all of the gaza strip. and he urged a stop to the neverending hesitation and asking of questions, saying israel must go all the way.

that was at a press conference in which he said a cease-fire is a tacit agreement. so you have some voices on the far right in israel saying that this should be a reason to go back and reoccupy gaza. do you hear much of that talk happening on the israeli side? >> reporter: well, there's a sense of desperation on the israeli side. they want to stop the rockets. there's a consensus among the people of israel they're going to do whatever it takes to do that. but there's a great fear of the consequences of a ground invasion. nobody really wants that. but there is a strong element within the cabinet. the foreign minister and other members of the security cabinet very strongly saying the only way to stop the rockets is to go into gaza and stay there until they've destroyed the hamas infrastructure, destroyed the rocket system, and only then can they guarantee many years of peace and quiet from gaza. it actually, according to many

analysts here in israel, does not make sense. an israeli occupation of gaza is probably the last thing that anybody apart from the extreme right wing here wants because they know from past experience it does not really bring peace and quiet. it just means the israeli army would be a sitting target in gaza and would not necessarily end the conflict. more violence won't end the conflict. ultimately, a cease-fire and real talks are the only way forward for them. >> and very briefly, on the other side of this, you did have a cease-fire potentially on the table brokered by the egyptians. where does that leave mahmoud abbas, the palestinian leader on the other end in the west bank? where does that leave him? >> reporter: well, it leaves him out in the cold in one sense. he has very little influence, maybe no influence, with hamas in gaza, even though he is the president of all the palestinians. that means the west bank and gaza. hamas is the political leadership in gaza and also the military leadership in gaza.

so mahmoud abbas is in an interesting, difficult position. he's a leader of the palestinians but has no voice in this critical moment. on the other hand, he's still for nonviolence. there's talk he'll go to the egyptian leadership about a way to end the fighting. it isn't clear whether he has influence at all on the palestinians in gaza. it's a major challenge to mahmoud abbas, who is strongly against violence and has termed the not only hamas and israel as makers of war. so he's actually gone out on a limb criticizing hamas at this difficult time for the palestinian people. >> indeed. all right. well, thank you very much. appreciate your reporting, martin fletcher. appreciate it. and coming up, thousands of people in detroit have had their water cut off because they didn't pay the bill. i'll talk to two people working hard to get the water turned back on.

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water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. and while you may remember that the ancient mariner in the english poem was surrounded by undrinkable salt water, some residents of detroit are finding they can personally relate to that century's old line, considering the city is literally surrounded by great lakes filled with fresh water. and yet, water has been shut off for thousands of detroit residents, leaving people unable to drink a glass of water or bathe or cook. not on a remote desert island or on a developing country, but here in the united states of america in 2014. the city's battle with more than 100,000 residents who have unpaid water bills has captured the nation's attention. and now after shutting off water to more than 15,000 detroit residents, the associated press reports detroit's water system cited 79 customers for illegal water use in one recent three-day period and levied

fines of $21,750 in fees. a spokesman told the detroit free press it's another example of money that we're not getting that's due to us. these people should be put on notice. if you're flat-out stealing, we're coming after you as well. the city says it has funds available to help people who can't afford their bills, and in a statement given directly to "the reid report" said in part, that it urges residents to reach out to make payment arrangements and avoid shut off. but with thousands of people losing access to running water, the question is, are we witnessing a humanitarian crisis right here in our own country? and joining me now, david alexander bullock, a detroit pastor and national spokesman for the change agent consortium, a citizens organization that improves access to food, job skills, and economic development. joining me by phone is maude barlow of the council of canadians. maude, i'm going to start with you. i'm told you plan to lead a

convoy of canadians to bring water to detroit on july 24th. tell us what you're planning to do and why. >> well, i sure am. delighted to speak to you, joy. we're going to bring a convoy of many, many people now. it looks like it's going to be quite big. across the detroit border. we're going to bring many, many liters, gallons you call them, of water as a symbolic statement that we canadians are in sympathy and solidarity with the people whose water has been turned off. we consider it a form of social crime. we consider it very seriously a violence of their human right to water and sanitation. and we're going to show cross-border solidarity. i think it's very, very important, some boymbolic state for us to make. >> you've also appealed to the white house and the united nations. you said, there are potentially 500,000 people who are going to spend a good part of the summer in the heat, in the summer without water. is that okay with you? you've also toured detroit,

documenting your findings in addition to appealing to the u.n. what do you suppose that the american president can do about this situation? >> we want president obama to declare a state of emergency in detroit and to see this as as much of an emergency as situations in the global south where the united states gives aid for exactly this kind of thing. we want the water turned back on while they set up a system which was agreed to, by the way, a few years ago, an affordability system where those who truly cannot pay will not have their water turned off and they start going after the $30 million owing by golf courses and the stadium and the commercial and industrial users. and where they come up with a plan to stop having those rates rise. they've gone up close to 130% in a decade. you're talking about some of the poorest people in the united states. they simply cannot afford their water and sewage rates. they're almost double the national average. they simply cannot pay.

so we feel very strongly that if president obama knew that in his country on his watch people were getting the kind of treatment that happens in third-world countries, that he would step in, and that's what we're asking him to do, and we have appealed to the united nations that has said in a preliminary statement that, yes, they're deeply concerned this situation is a violation of the human rights to water. >> yes, indeed. i want to go to the pastor. this is -- detroit has a poverty rate of an astounding 38.1%, an unemployment rate of 14.5%. you're talking about peopling paying an average of $65 a month, which is onerous for a lot of people. i saw you on with melissa harris-perry over the weekend, sir. you mentioned something i found stunning. i want to back that up with a piece from michigan public radio. this fight is also about who owes money to the water department but hasn't had their water shut off. you can put both gm and chrysler on that list, though chrysler has since paid $2.9 million and

gm is disputing its bill. even the city of detroit itself owes more than $20 million for its municipal buildings. it recently paid almost $4 million, and the rest of the bill is, quote, under review. is there a double standard in the way detroit is treating people who owe it money? >> yes, there's a double standard in the city of detroit. thanks for having me on the program. watch the show all the time. i appreciate the opportunity. you know, during the civil rights movement, they turned the water on to shut people down. but now in the class rights movement, they're shutting water off to shut people down. there's a double standard in detroit. commercial customers receive no notice, are not being shut off, are not being tagged as stealing water, as being delinquent. but somehow, mom and pop, folks on the east side and west side of the detroit living in poverty, high water rates, high insurance costs, high unemployment, are being tagged as folks who are somehow

delinquent and depraved, and something has got to give in this narrative about the city of detroit. if they wanted to stabilize the system, go after the people with the big bills first. >> right. and sir, very quickly, what does privatization have to do with this whole mix? as we know, the state of michigan is no longer being operated under normal democracy. we have this weird manager system. what does that have to do with this? >> well, you've got an appointed, unelected emergency manager. reports only to the governor. runs the entire city of detroit. at the end of the day, what this collection process is about is about showing that the water department is sustainable financially so that it can be sold. it will no longer be a city asset, but it will be bought by a private company. we've seen in the city of detroit since the emergency manager has come many of the city-owned assets liquidated.

this has happened in flint, michigan. it's happening in detroit, michigan. this isn't about 90,000 or 100,000 customers who owe $150 paying their bills. this is about trying to stabilize the water department on the backs of the most vulnerable so that you can sell it and make a profit, but that profit won't even benefit the citizens in the long run. >> wow. well, this is a story i know we're going to continue to cover. i know there are protests planned on friday. national action network is there. maude, when is your group going to be in detroit? >> we're going to be there on the 24th, and we're going to march across into detroit to meet a march that's already planned. it's going to be very powerful and moving. i just want to say, if i have one second, that i see detroit as the city on the hill, you know. the canary in the coal mine. this is the future of a lot of our municipalities and cities if we don't get our act together and question the larger economic

and political choices and models we have chosen. the wealth moved out of detroit. it left the poorest behind, and now they are having to take the burden of the destruction of something they didn't have a piece in making, and i just really want to say i don't think detroit's going to be the last city going through this. >> indeed. well, we hope it will be. and we hope this gets resolved soon. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. rd... he thought it was the end of the conversation. she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit, he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now he checks his credit report and score at experian.com, allowing him to keep track of his credit and take a break of his own. experian. live credit confident.

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two new polls in colorado and michigan show that voters in those states still don't like the affordable care act. fair enough. and yet, in both those state, the same polls show the democratic senate candidate is ahead of the republican. nationally, obamacare remains under water as well. however, that sound you hear, that's the sound of republicans no longer making hating on obamacare the centerpiece of their campaigns. in much the same way that republicans no longer harp on

deficits, which happen to be shrinking and fast. the idea of obamacare as the central organizing principle of the midterm elections has faded. in fact, the highest profile current fight against the affordable care act is the bizarre lawsuit that john boehner says he's filing against the president essentially for not implementing the small businessman date under obamacare fast enough. and as much time as we in the media spent harping on the website not working, obamacare itself is really working. this chart from gallop shows the direction america's uninsured rate has been going, straight down. same goes for the national cost of medicare. last week, a poll from the commonwealth fund found that overall, 73% of people who bought health plans and 87% of those who signed up for medicaid say they are somewhat or very satisfied with their new health insurance. 74% of newly insured republicans like their plans. even 77% of people who had insurance before, including

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refusal to participate. and that decision has consequences, including the closing of rural hospitals. here's the mayor of belle haven, north carolina, explaining on "the last word" last night why he's embarked on a march to washington in protest. >> more rural hospitals have closed in the last year than the last 15. republicans and democrats have got to get together and fix this problem. we can't have these hospitals closing. it's an epidemic and a real epidemic that's killing people. >> in other words, the biggest problem with obamacare now is that a small number of governors are refusing to allow fellow americans to access it. and that wraps things up for "the reid report." i'll see you back here tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern. "the cycle" comes up next. up ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years.

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passengers. the first deadly train accident in decades. right now in washington, republicans are putting final touches on their response to the border crisis, and it's said to include national guard troops, speedier returns of unaccompanied children, and a major reduction to president obama's $3.7 billion emergency request. and a plan to divide california into six separate states has got enough signatures to make it on the november 2016 ballot. it's backed by a venture chalist who argues the residents would be better served by smaller government. democracy at work. i'm krystal ball. you are in "the cycle." and powerful summer storms are bearing down on capitol hill at this hour. and the forecast come fall could be just as severe, specifically fo