very good sunday to you. i'm richard lui in new york city. welcome to "pulse of america" where your voice can be heard in realtime. here are the stories we want to get your pulse on today. down and dirty two days until the special election in georgia. a conservative pac uses the shooting of republican congressman steve scalise in an attack ad. president trump tweets say he's being invested in the -- investigated in the russia probe and now one of the lawyers say that's not true.

serious condition -- the health care bill could affect millions of people. and leader mitch mcconnell has not held a single hearing. the options opponents of the plan have left. drug overdoses they're the leading cause of death for people under the age of 50. president trump launched a commission to deal with that crisis, but are lawmakers doing enough? to voice your opinions on these pulse questions, just grab your phone or your laptop, digital device, go to pulse.msnbc.com/america and ere u can put in your responses, your votes. you can vote as many times as you like throughout the show. of course, we'll give you the results as we go. we'll start this hour now though with some breaking news just in to us here at msnbc. there are some reports of a terror attack on the capital of mali. a u.n. official says people have been kill and wounded but no word yet on the usual in of casualties. the associated press is also reporting that hostages have been taken. we'll keep an eye on top of this

story right here. stay with us throughout this hour as we get more details on this terror attack that we believe has happened in mali. we begin now with a new and controversial ad in the special election for a vacated u.s. house seat in georgia. well, the race it's pitting newcomer jon ossoff against republican veteran karen handel. they're both vying for the post that most recently was held by tom price. and this contest is one of the most expensive congressional elections in u.s. history and now it is being seen as a bellwether for the political temperature of the united states. today a shocking new ad was released by a political action committee not affiliated with either of the campaigns and it makes use of this week's congressional baseball shooting in alexandria as a campaign tool. here's a little bit. >> the unhinged left is applauding shooting republicans. when will it stop? it won't if jon ossoff wins on

tuesday. >> well, ossoff immediately denounced the ad and its message. handel's spokeswoman said it was disturbing and disgusting. the first pulse question -- agree or disagree, politicians should disavow violent behavior regardless of the offender's political rt affiliion. we have more on the race for us, and alex, both counts at the moment as i mentioned denouncing this ad. how is it being played out there on the ground though with voters? >> well, it's difficult to tell. i mean, this group and this ad is a kind of a minor group. not a ton of money behind it, but a larger republican group did increase their spending on a related ad that features kathy griffin the comedian who got in trouble for posing with a photo of a severed trump head. and this is a theme going on in this race before this new ad dropped.

karen handel is trying to portray jon ossoff as too liberal, too had radical and not up on the national security. and she has been talking around some of the themes. take a look at what she said recently. >> this election is close right now. but i told you my money is on you and here's why. the people of the sixth district they are not about to let nancy pelosi or the people of california and new york and massachusetts tell us who our next congressman is going to be. we're going to show up on tuesday and we are going to rock nancy pelosi's world. >> basically from what i heard from sources in both parties is that ossoff has to kind of shoot the moon here. this is a district that's voted republican for the past 40 years. it was newt gingrich's district.

republicans outnumber democrats by as much as two to one according to some estimates. so anything in the news that connects him to democrats or even that gives the voters pause could be a danger to him. because he needs to pick up some republicans or democrats to get where he needs to be. there aren't enough democrats on their own. >> it's a close one there, alex, with polls showing oneo percentage points difference. thank you for that. encouraging news for congressman steve scalise who was one of the five people shot when a gunman opened fire outside d.c. wednesday. according to hospital staffers the house majority whip is now showing signs of improvement and he cease speaking with loved -- and he's speaking with loved ones. let's go now to mike vicara at the hospital. that's the good headline here. you have been following his condition for us. >> right. and certainly the best news we

have heard in the five days since that assailant with a rifle and pistols attacked the republicans on wednesday morning in alexandria, shooting scalise and four others. some good news late yesterday from the hospital here at the washington hospital center. on the condition of steve scalise. he did in fact undergo another surgery. they said in a written statement he is, however, upgraded from critical to serious condition. the hospital says that scalise has shown more signs of improvement. he's more responsive. he is speaking now with loved ones and as perhaps an indication of his improved spirits and improved physical condition he's also following the college world series. he most famously in that congressional baseball game every year wears the uniform of his beloved lsu tigers from baton rouge, louisiana. he's watching the college world series where lsu is competing.

good news all around as far as scalise is concerned. remember we learned that he was in grave condition when he arrived here according to the director of trauma surgery here, dr. jack sabah. he was as critical as a person can be. so good news on this father's day in terms of the condition and improvement of steve scalise here at the washington hospital center, richard. >> thank you so much. the very latest, i appreciate that in washington, d.c. calls from both sides of the aisle for an end to the political rhetoric as well, which some say incites acts of violence like those carried out by suspected gunman james hodgkinson. he had a list of potential targets in his possession at the time of the shooting. hodgkinson who was unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election worked as a volunteer on the presidential campaign of vermont senator bernie sanders. sanders addressed the incident this morning. >> freedom of speech, the right

to dissent, the right to protest, that's what america is about. and politically, every leader in this country and every american has got to stand up against any form of violence. what is unacceptable and i certainly hope and pray that representative scalise has a full recovery from the tragedy that took place this week. >> joining us now is the republican congressman from tennessee, chuck fleischmann, on the field at the time of the shooting. representative, thanks for being here with us. and i know it was a tough time for you. have you spoken with representative scalise and how are you doing now that those -- these days have passed since that incident? >> richard, thank you. i have not had an opportunity to speak with my dear friend, steve scalise, but i want to wish my friend steve scalise a very happy father's day. along with all the other dads in the united states of america. i am doing much better, it was a

very horrific day. i never experienced anything like that, but i wish steve, mr. mika, all those shot and injured a full and speedy recovery. >> representative, i'm so glad to hear that you're doing better and that you heard the good news about steve scalise doing better too from mike vicar a. we have that ad that came out in georgia and both sides -- both parties are saying not good stuff, this ad that is attacking ossoff in that runoff. your reaction to that ad. >> well, i have not seen the ad, but i have heard a lot of the complaints about it. let's face it, we are in a world right now, a political world in america, where the rhetoric unfortunately has been heightened. some estimates are that both parties are going to spend around $50 million on that georgia race. i hope the republican candidate wins. sure, i'm a conservative

republican, i want her to win that race. but i think we have to realize that there are 435 members in the united states house of representatives, 100 senators. politics is a very competitive sport. it really is. this is how we elect our leaders. but there needs to be i think in america a tone of civility. when i practiced law for 24 years, i think i was a very successful lawyer because i was always civil. very adversarial system, i was very civil. i try on the house floor and in my job as an appropriator, representing the people of the third district of tennessee to be civil with republicans, to be civil with democrats, to be civil with the media, to be civil with everyone. my constituents. let's just hope that we have a rebirth of civility in this country because the american people -- the people who we're there to represent are kind people. we owe it to the american people to get it right. i have said it many, many times.

america is is better when we love than when we hate. >> congressman, remember what was said after the shooting. we'll have perhaps a day or two where the into is different. how long do you think this collegial tone will be in the house after the shooting? how long do you think it will last? >> richard, i think it depends on the issue. there have been collegial tones up until this point on a lot of different issues. obviously when we face crisis we come together as americans. but a few weeks ago, i had a sit down with republican and democratic members of the house to discuss the situation in north korea. when i left the table, i was amazed at the tremendous intellectual power, willpower, when we can come together with a common goal to defeat a common enemy or to work towards something we can get behind. i think there's a lot of issues in america that we can do that with. education, hopefully health care.

i know infrastructure. there's going to be differences. let's face it, i'm a conservative republican. i view the world very differently from liberal democrats. but i represent the people who elected me. i realize there are parts of the country that elect people who think differently from me. that's okay. america's strength is its diversity. and i'm going to say this. i want to see republicans and crats come together as americans first and work to represent the great american people who sent us there. >> representative, thank you so much for joining us and again, so glad to hear that you're doing better after the shooting this past week. i appreciate it -- your time. thank you, sir. now, to our first pulse question. we have asking, politicians should disavow violent behavior regardless of the party affiliation? 86% agreeing that politicians should disavow violent behavior and 14% disagreeing.

breaking it down by age, all age groups agree. those 18 to 24 agree a bit less so along with 23 to 34. breaking it down, independents at this moment disagreeing a little bit more and the final scoreboard for you. 92% agreelging, 8% disagreeing. next, more confusion from the white house as a trump lawyer now says the president is not under investigation by the special counsel. this despite the president saying that he is under investigation. we're asking you agree or disagree, president trump's tweets have weakened his case on the russia probe. pulse.msnbc.com/america. ♪ everything your family touches sticks with them. make sure the germs they bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. because no one kills germs better than clorox.

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a surprising response from president trump's legal team after the president seemingly confirmed he is under investigation by the special counsel. mr. trump on friday tweeted this, quote, i am being investigated. he used the phrase -- this declaration to chuck todd on "meet the press." >> when did the president become aware that he was officially under investigation by the special counsel? >> the president is not under investigation by the special counsel. the tweet from the president was in response to the five anonymous sources that were purportedly leaking information to "the washington post" about a potential investigation of the president. but the president as james comey said in his testimony and we know as of today, the president has not and is not under

investigation. >> now in the same "meet the press" interview today, trump lawyer jay sekulow appeared to contradict himself. >> we have no knowledge of an investigation, but if those leaks were correct, here's what the legal theory would have to be. >> if the president is innocent why is he afraid of this investigation? >> he's not afraid of the investigation. there is no investigation. i want to be clear here. >> and that brings us to our second pulse question this afternoon. agree or disagree, president trump's tweets have weakened his case in the russia probe. pulse.msnbc.com/america. let us know what you think there. let's now go to nbc's kelly o'donnell with the latest on this. she's at the white house where the president is expected back from camp david this hour. kelly, any explanation, you have heard these sound bites so far today. have we heard anything from the white house about these conflicts responses? >> no, the whi house i staying out of this. but as you and i were talking

yesterday, i was reporting this was the position of the president's personal legal team and we saw that come to life with the tv appearances of jaysojay sekulow. the attorneys would be required to be truthful about such a thing in the department of justice has or has not notified the legal team. that's separate from whether or not the special counsel is beginning -- is under way with an investigation. that's the piece we don't know. the fact that they haven't been notified doesn't mean it does not exist. the special counsel is still hiring lawyers and ramping up and settling into office space. so it might be a time line issue. or the president's team may be correct he's not personally under investigation. we know that there are so many other silos of the russia probe that include everything from the hacking and the attempted interference in the election and the contacts with russian operatives and people in the

universe of the satellite, if you will, of trump organization before he became president. so many different things but the issue of the -- is the president being investigated for his own personal conduct or potential obstruction of justice. that his team says isn't something they're aware of. and that's the big question mark is that something that robert mueller the special counsel has begun to look at, will look at. that's the big question. so the discrepancy may just be more of the timing than two very different things. now, richard, you know, how do they explain the president's tweet that he says i'm being investigated, their answer is that he was reflecting the news reports that talk about him being investigated. "the washington post," "the new york times," our colleagues here at nbc news. learning from sources that the president is under investigation, that he was responding to that. so it's a lot to follow,ut that is how they lay it out on this sunday afternoo >> all right, thank you so much for clarifying that for us, kelly o'donnell at the white

house. thank you. now let's bring in ned price, a former special assistant to president obama and a spokesperson and legal analyst karen desoto. karen, you were listening to the reporting coming from kelly o'donnell. you're aware of the back and forth when you look at this, does it appear that the president and the legal team -- they're not on the same page and normally you are on the same page. >> yeah, usually attorneys are on the same page. that's part of your attorney job. i think the information here is so conflicting and part of that is because there are two different things under what the obstruction of justice issue is. is it for him saying michael flynn saying to comey, oh, i hope you drop this or after the comey investigation are we talking about obstruction of justice because he was trying to delay it and that was his reasoning for firing comey? so oftentimes it appears that his legal team is getting the two obstructions confused because there's two different legal theories with both of

those. >> interesting part about this, ned, we have the president's personal lawyer being put out on the sunday shows. nobody from the administration if you will officially. and he's trying to clarify at least it appears he's trying to clarify what is happening from the president and his tweets. yet, it seems like there's less clarity based on what is being said. >> well, you're exactly right. the president's personal attorney certainly didn't clarify this situation today. and i think kelly o'donnell is exactly right. the president and his attorneys may not have been notified they're under investigation, but "the washington post" indicated that dni coats, admiral rogers and his former deputy ledgett would be interviewed on the basis of obstruction of justice charges. then two other compelling data points last week when this story

came out, marc kasowitz, he did not deny this story. he berated the leaks. and he said leaks were the problem. and then of course there is a very interesting statement that the nsa, the national security agency put out in which the nsa said that the director would cooperate with the special counsel, bob mueller. they did not deny this story. they seem to suggest that admiral rogers would be part of the interview. all of this paints a suggestive picture that the president is under investigation even if the administration itself hasn't been officially notified by doj. >> karen, there's the question here, the president's personal lawyer again today saying constitutionally, the fbi cannot investigate the president. >> well, that is the theory. i mean, alan dershowitz said that the president has the right to basically obstruction justice the way it's been defined, meaning he can fire comey, he can stop an investigation if he

wanted. similar to what bush did with caspar weinberger and pardoned somebody. under the constitution he has the ability to do that. at reasoning is argued, whether that is or n't, we don't have a lot of case law on that particular issue but one point i want to make clear, the fbi doesn't have the obligation to say that the president is under the investigation. the question that was not being asked or answered was whether the attorney his personal attorneys have done a target letter or have they done a formal request saying whether the president was under -- >> requesting whether yes or no. >> correct. that was not answered by his personal team. >> and on top of this, the president suggested he has tapes from james comey and the house intelligence committee wants to know by friday if these actually exist. here's a reflection from adam schiff. take a listen. >> i would certainly hope by the

date that we set in our bipartisan letter the white house will respond, yes, they have tapes, yes, they will preserve them and yes they'll turn them over or that no, in fact, there are no tapes. it was an idle threat, but one way or another we need to get an answer. if we can't get an answer, then i think we need to -- we'll ultimately need to subpoena those potential documents to make sure that we have them. >> so the question might be here, ned, who will absolutely know whether these tapes exist other than the president potentially and what's your thought? if there are tapes, will they be provided by the white house or some other party? >> well, richard, we have heard from the secret service that they are not aware of any tapes. that in itself is not dispositive. certainly the president and his oval office staff may have installed a system. look, to quote james comey, lordy, i hope there are tapes. that would be the most compelling evidence that could be produced in this case and the

president as has been his wont has played a game here. i think it was last week that very soon he would make an announcement as to whether tapes exist. if they do exist, these tapes need to be preserved. i think we're hearing from congressional investigators and surely the administrion is hearing from special counsel bob muelleif these tapes exist that they would be considered evidence. they would need to be preserved and handed over to the appropriate investigators. >> karen, friday june 23rd could come and go and nothing is heard from the white house even though they're asking for these tapes. what would happen? >> well, the easiest way to get the tapes is do a subpoena. you have so many days to hand them over. if you can't, you have to explain why. so just do the subpoena. and this can all be over with instead of speculating whether it was some type of strategy or whether they exist. >> which has been mentioned but they are not doing that. karen desoto, ned price, thank you. for our second pulse question today, it's been -- agree or disagree president trump's tweets have weakened the

case in the russian probe. 95% agreeing, 5% disagreeing. both men and women agreeing but men somewhat disagreeing more. breaking it down by political party, democrats, independents agree. and republicans disagreeing slightly more. final scoreboard for you on this -- it is 93% agreeing, 7% disagreeing. thanks for participating in that. we'll of course have more questions for you. we're continuing to follow as well this hour some breaking news coming out of the west african country of mali. that's where a terror attack happening now has left multiple people dead. we are watching this active situation. they're also believed to be hostages taken in this case. we'll bring you more on this breaking story as we get it. a short break.

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you didn't know we had over 26,000 local activities listed on our app. or that you could book them right from your phone. a few weeks ago, you still didn't know if you were gonna go. now the only thing you don't know, is why it took you so long to come here. expedia. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. if you're just joining us here on msnbc we are following breaking news happening right now of a deadly terror attack.

this in the west african country of mali. a security official says suspected jihadists in mali's capital at the moment right now are attacking a resort hotel. it's about 7:30 p.m. on a sunday there. and an official with the u.n. mission says people had been killed and wounded. there are believed to be hostages in the luxury resort, a u.s. embassy saying he has not heard of any americans at the resort. of course, reports are early. let's go to lucy cavanaugh. she's in london. lucy? >> richard, it's still a very rapidly developing moving story. not a lot confirmed at this stage. we do understand that shots were fired at this luxury resort near mali's capital city and at least two people killed in the attack. this is according to the security ministry spokesman. he said that the first victim was a french gab anese citizen

and they're working to confirm the other one. this resort came under attack by gunmen we're not sure how many. there was smoke seen rising from the location. we also understand that both french and malian troops are on location. this attack is still under way. now, this violence does come about a week after the u.s. state department actually issued a warning about possible future attacks on western diplomatic missions and other places that westerns frequent. this is one such location. this was located on the outskirts of the capital. about 30 minutes from downtown bamako and this resort is popular with western tourists, other ex pats who like to enjoy the facilities to host business meetings or team building exercises. the grounds have a big hotel. there's bars, restaurants. spa. even a swimming pool. there's a live entertainment. so this is something that would

have been likely quite busy on a sunday evening in that location, richard, but again we can't confirm the total number of casualties beyond what we have heard from the spokesman, at least two people so far killed. >> thank you so much, lucy. nbc's lucy cavanaugh covering that breaking story for us coming out of the west african country of mali. population about 16, 17 million people. thank you so much. we'll stay on top of this story and get back to lucy when we get more details. now to this. the search for the seven missing navy sailors has come to the tragic end. crews were called off the search when several bodies were discovered inside the "uss fitzgerald's" flooded compartments. a container ship collided off the coast of japan. next the republicans veil of secrecy over the health care bill in the senate, leader mitch mcconnell has yet to hold a

hearing on it. agree or disagree all senate business should be halted until that's a -- there's a hearing held on the health care bill. go to pulse.msnbc.com/america. what do you have there? p3 it's meat, cheese and nuts. i keep my protein interesting. oh yea, me too. i have cheese and uh these herbs. p3 snacks. the more interesting way to get your protein.

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republicans don't even have the guts to allow it to go to a committee where we can have an open hearing, where questions could be asked. it seems to me that what they want to do, because this legislation is so bad, keep it secret and hidden and in the last possible second rush it before the senate and get a vote within a few hours. that is beyond belief. >> senator bernie sanders there admonishing senate republicans for crafting a health care bill behind closed doors. mitch mcconnell saying he wants a vote in the next two weeks but the process has been done in

secret with just 13 working members, both democrats and some republicans are complaining about that. >> i think it's being written by someone, somewhere but i'm not aware of who or where. if you get a copy of it, will you send me a copy? >> tongue in cheek there for senator rand paul. this week, 15 patient advocate groups sought to meet with mitch mcconnell, but were reportedly told he was too busy. republicans may have a good reason to keep the bill to replace obamacare under wraps. a recent poll suggesting only 17% of americans approve of the house republican plan and if the hints are correct, the senate one will be like that one. agree or disagree, all senate business should be halted until that's a public hearing on the proposed health care bill. as you weigh in i want to bring in our panel. nbc news.com white house correspondentant ali vitali. and a reporter from bloomberg

news. and niles stan itch. ollie, do we know what's in this? there was a new article on nbc news.com that tried to get into the details. it sounds like it's pretty much like the house version. at least the framework. >> well, look, if it is that's very interesting considering a lot of senators said that when the house version passed back in may it was dead on arrival once it hit the senate. we have no clue what's in it whic is what our article on nbc.com says. you saw this in kasie hunt's interview with rand paul, a lot of top senators say if you see the bill before me, let me know. a lot of them don't have a clue of what's going into it. it's hard then to see where the consensus points where. where the debate might be going. what senators might be voting for or against it when you don't have a sense of what the actual tangible specifics are. >> kevin, what do you know about the bill? what's in it. a lot of people want to see the

details because as you know the house version, the cbo saying 23 million folks will lose coverage. >> yes. richard, i think ali hit the nail on the head. i spoke with mark meadows the ultraconservative leader in the house of representatives the other day and i asked him, mr. chairman, are you frustrated at the lack of transparency in the senate? he backed off a little bit, but privately i can tell you that at least in the house of representatives there's a frustration that the senate is not being as transparent about where this is going. there's a small group of republican lawmakers in the senate working to craft some type of health care policy, people like senator marco rubio, senator bill cassidy, who are working to do this but they're not holding hearings and that of course is causing some frustration not just amongst voters but also amongst folks in the halls of congress. quickly i would make the point, look, voters are looking at this. voters in michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, states

that went for donald trump and they're looking at this and they're saying, we largely delivered the white house to you, president trump, as a result of these high premiums. they're going to need at some time score -- pass this through or coming up in midterms this is a huge headache for moderate republicans and conservatives who have to answer to their base. >> well, kevin was talking about the white house and the president called the house version as you know this past week quote/unquote mean. so what might he be fine with here? there's some key issues here, medicate, pre-existing conditions and tax credits for those who buy private insurance. where's the give and take here? >> there's give and take in the face of medicaid for example, but the president has taken a somewhat populist view often about health care. he has suggested certainly did during the campaign that he could provide health care for everyone while being very

opposed to the affordable care act or obamacare. so his position on the specifics is not at all clear. and that comment he made about the bill being mean i think that complicates the position of congress and it means that lawmakers aren't overly enthusiastic about going out on a limb. >> one of the questions are as the back and forth happens not only from the hill to the white house, there's also within the hill itself the senate and with these closed door meetings, is mcconnell risking pushing away his own support? you heard rand paul there. >> right. i think this is also the same dance that they did when the house was pushing this bill through or at least trying to. right? but we continually asked sean spicer, how do you add more people without losing the ones that you already have. and i think that that's the dance they're trying to do although they're doing it behind closed doors. you have on the conservative side of this the spectrum in the

senate. you have people like senator mike lee or rand paul who said they have problems with what could be in this bill. then more on the moderate side you have people like lisa murkowski and susan collins who said they have issues with what's going on in this. i think that's where the devil is going to really be in the details. of course you want to look at what they did in the house too. they passed this largely in a similarly shrouded way. they did this behind closed doors. came out, they voted against it or for it less than 24 hours later. you did that without a cbo score. what you see in the senate is pretty similar. it seems like rushed legislating without much public debate. >> what about the democrats? schumer, as he deals with this bill, are they ready to play? are they going to try to score political points or get a compromise through here? >> no. i mean, they're never going to work with republicans on this. democrats are united in their opposition against this. but to ali's point, look, behind the scenes i think what you're

starting to see is an acceptance of sorts that perhaps this health care reform is not going to be able to make it through by august as the white house has pushed for, before the august recess. i can also tell you there's some grumblings in the halls of congress as well that perhaps tax reform might have to come before any type of major health care legislation is passed through. there was some talk that of course health care would have to come first before tax reform. but again we're hearing that tax reform might actually be a -- might be more realistic route. you know, i can remember back on the campaign trail when ali and i were at all the rallies. hearing republican after republican say they need to repeal and replace obamacare. they have to do this otherwise they're going to dramatically upset their base heading into midterms but democrats to your point, richard, are very much united in not letting that happen. >> without a cbo score, do you think that's the possibility of the strategy as both ali and kevin were saying here for the senate version.

>> well, the problem is that the cbo score of the house version was so devastating. that's why they voted so fast to avoid that coming out. 23 million people perhaps losing their health insurance. it's difficult to make any political success out of that. so they're in an awkward position. they're trying to conduct these negotiations in secret. but the secrecy itself then makes people suspicious of what's going on. so it becomes this rather vicious circle that they can't get out of. just quickly, richard, i would certainly take your point, kevin's point about the fact that republicans have a unified government so-called here. they have got the white house. they have got the house, they've got the senate. the political price to be paid if they don't get this done with their own supporters i think is severe. >> we should put at the bottom of the screen, rock and a hard place. that might be a good chyron as we call them. thank you all.

>> thanks. >> for our third pulse question we're asking you this. all senate business should be halted until there's a public hearing on the proposed health care bill coming out of the senate. first the overall numbers, 96% agreeing. breaking it down by political cal party, democrats and republicans and independents alagreeing. the viewers 35 and over agreeing, viewers between 18 and 34 a little bit more neutral. 18 to 25 more neutral there. 96% agree that there should be public hearings. thank you all for that. next for you, two people who lost a loved one to drug addiction join me to talk about the heavy toll the opioid crisis is taking on america's families. they're fighting this crisis. we're asking you, agree or disagree -- elected leaders are not doing enough to combat the

opioid abuse, the leading cause of death in america. log on to pulse.msnbc.com/america. dentures are very different

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visit booking.com now to find out why we're booking.yeah! welcome back. we're asking you agree or disagree -- elected leaders are not doing enough to combat opioid drug abuse, the leading cause of death for americans under 50. just last year, drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely excited 59,000. data from "the new york times" showing that's the largest annual jump ever recorded in this country. and in march president trump signed an executive order launching a commission tasked with outlining resources to tackle this drug addiction problem, but some are tired of waiting for federal help. on thursday the los angeles department will have the deputies take along the drug to

combat deaths. maxwell baker died of an overdose. and joining me is judy gerhart and her daughter judy payne. thank you for both joining us on this day. commander, let's start with you on this. can you talk about your nephew and what happened with him and now maybe one of the key recommendations you would like to see implemented. >> certainly. my nephew, maxwell, we called him mackey, he was 23 years old. he had been struggling with addiction since he was 15. in recent years he was in recovery, he was doing well. he had a job, was going to school. he hood a girlfriend and he was looking forward to being doct like his father. he had an accident and following that he had surgery. and despite the awareness of the addiction the doctors prescribed

him opioids. a month later he was found dead from a heroin overdose. it was a catalyst for us to become more aware of what was happening in our own communities with opioid epidemic, it was our call to action if we could do something we needed to do something. we wanted to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. >> michelle, also very sorry for your loss. to your relative. as you look at how solutions might be good going forward, there's this idea that you're very familiar with, it's stigma, right? and does the stigma of drug addiction, does it make it harder for folks like mackey to ask for help? >> it absolutely does. the stigma is something that we really need to work on going forward. one of the last conversations that my uncle mackey's dad had

with mackey before he died, what can we do going forward to help people suffering from addiction like mackey was and the number one thing he said, we need to remove that stigma because when addicts feel safe to come out of the shadows they will seek help. >> what normally does work here, commander, to -- for those who are addicted to come out of the shadows as michelle is describing? what works? >> well, i don't know that the answer is quite that simple. i think it's a very complex solution moving forward. but i think first and foremost we need to care about those people who are suffering from this. we need to look at addiction differently. and rather than seeing it as a character flaw we need to see it as an illness. we need to help those people, support those people that are struggling with this so that they have an opportunity to choose treatment. to seek treatment in every day life so their lives can get better. we want to instill hope that those who are suffering from addiction can recover and go on

to lead productive lives. >> well, one of the reasons -- one of the solutions that i was describing here were the 5,000 kits that -- at the top of this segment that will be issued to deputies across the county in the next few months. first to you commander on this, who's paying for this and what -- is it working well? it sounds like it is. >> we're very excited about this project. i have to compliment my sheriff jim mcdonald for having the foresight to recognize this epidemic was facing our country particularly on the east coast. but coming west and we wanted to be proactive in our solution to that. so the sheriff committed the first funding for 1,300 doses of narcan to be deployed in the field. in addition to that, we fartherer inned -- partnered with a coalition of county departments here in los angeles county and we are the recipient of a grant for an additional 5,000 doses that we'll be

deploying in the coming months. so although naloxone or narcan is a solution to the problem, it's one step that needs to happen in order to address this epidemic, but we can save those lives and give the addict an opportunity to search for treat. >> that's one great step forward. who would you say, michelle, is the group, the person, the organization that you think can really make a big difference going forward that you would like to get more help from? >> well, we can always use more help right now. we have a pretty strong partnership with save med l.a. there's several action committees like our pharmacies and our doctors. we like to continue that partnership in the future. i think that in l.a. county specifically we can work in the specific communities to address this problem from all sides. >> all right. thank you both.

judy gerhart and michelle payne for the help you're doing and the thinking you're putting behind this with some practical ideas. don't miss "one nation overdosed" jacob soboroff will speak to ohio residents and what is being done to manage the epidemic. that's 10:00 a.m. stern. we have been asking you about this, agree or disagree ected leaders are not doing enough to combat opioid abuse. overall, 82% agreeing with that statement. and then breaking it down by education, all education levels agree those with the high school education a little bit less so. bachelor's as well. breaking it down by political party, democrats and independents agree. the final numbers for you. 84% agreeing that elected leaders are not doing enough to combat opioid abuse.

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the volvo xc90. the most awarded luxury suv of the century. visit your volvo dealer to take advantage of our midsommar sales event offer. each richard lui. thanks for joining us again. at the top of the hour, we're following breaking news of the deadly terror attack in mali. a security official saying the suspected jihadists are attacking a resort hotel. the ministry of security and civil protection says special anti-terror forces arrived at the scene a few minutes after that attack and surrounded the area. the security operation is still under way at this hour. it is 8:00 p.m. on a sunday and an official with the u.n.