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tv   MSNBC Live  MSNBC  August 27, 2017 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT

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it's sunday, it's "meet the thanks for joining us here on msnbc. i'm richard lui. still lots of water and danger. we're of course watching harvey, the tropical storm as it moves through texas temperature . so far at least two people have died. and look at these pictures that they have to face live right now in houston. 6.5 million people at risk in that metropolitan area. torrential rainfall turning to deadly flood waters making the city's worst storm on record so far. hundreds of people are stranded. parts of houston have already
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received up to 17 inches and it could get worse. parts stiftd could see a historic 50 inches by the end of the week. city officials say the 911 system is at capacity after an overwell. ing number of emergency calls. so far more than 2,000. the extent of the damage just beginning to be resfleevealed i areas like rockport. massive amounts of flooding have left communities under water with more rain expected for the next few days. more than 45,000 people are without power still in houston as residents are being told to shelter in place and stay off the roads. so therefore this latest briefing that we will join live. governor abbott and the kacoast guard are holding a live update. let's listen in. >> thank you, admiral. we are in the situation where we
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have priorities. our top priority is to protect human life. and from the state of texas side, we are working with local officials to do everything we can to protect our fellow texans. secondly, we are involved in the rebuildi rebuilding. we will be verying a agrees suffer in the rebuilding process. one of the most important aspects of my conversation with the fema administrator earlier today with us to help people understand that that the rebuilding process will be a long process, but it's something that we will be able to get it done. we can get it done because we have a very effective federal partner working with the state of texas which will serve as a very strong partner for our local communities. with that, i'll be happy to take any questions. >> if you could speak
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specifically to houston, downtown people rescued off of rooftop, there were some conflicting reports. >> as far as the evacuation, now is not the time to second guess the decisions that were made. what is important that everybody worked together to ensure that we will first save lives and then second help people across the state rebuild. and because of the effort that we've been able to put together, i think and believe we will be very successful at both. >> we're getting word that they are running out of boats and high water vehicles in houston and they need assistance getting the resources there. you c can you comment on that? >> sure. every vehicle, boat or air, we provided to houston every asset they asked for.
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in fact we had already had in the air something like 20 helicopters involved in rescue missions, we have boat, i think about 60 boats over there and countless high water vehicles. and so everything that they have asked for has been provided. and we stand ready to provide even more. and on top of that, we have both dps as well as national guard in full operation mode. >> is it difficult gets more vehicles in there? >> not at all. >> governor abbott updating there. and you have some of the numbers at the bottom of the screen. 316,000 still without power one of the numbers that the governor brought up. i want to bring now to discuss what is happening there the administrator of fema, william brock long. and it's great to have you here to discuss what we're seeing in these pictures and all these
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text afternoons needing so many help at the moment. and you can see it and you've pa been monitoring it, what is the severity of the disaster so far that you have seen and how does it compare to friday? >> oh, this is a landmark event. and what is occurring is what the national weather service has been telling everyone over the last 48 to 72 hours, that we will see torrential rainfalls that cause catastrophic flooding and it's become a reality unfortunately and i'm afraid it's not over. we'll continue to see the rivers and the water crest over the next 48 hours. it still habsn't reached the cresting point. and right now we are laser focused on making sure that we can get the federal government resources actively mobilized in support of the governor. we're down there helping them to perform search and rescue. we've mobilized search and rescue resources from all over the country to be there. >> as you and i watch together,
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fellow americans having do this, walk through streets of water up to their chest, taking important things and just holding it and trying to to get to a safer place, what is your suggestion to them at this moment if they are in places like these? >> first of all, they should listen to the local officials. i don't want to step on the toes of local officials. but if you are stuck in a house, get to an elevated place. and again, it will be a while before swift water rescue are most likely reach you. but the most important thing is, you know, don't call 911 asking for information. only call 911 if it is working if you are in an emergency to let them know of your location and listen to the local officials. >> what kind of information have you been taking in, what kind of information have you been processing coming in directly from those on the ground resources that are now out there
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and of course we've mentioned some of them, there are 600 vessels right now that are be used for rescues. i mentioned the power power out is the information that all ever your staff are taking in? >> so right now, communication and emergency management is set up to come from the local to the state and ultimately to the federal level. right now the lines of communication are incredibly strong. me and governor abbott are in constant communication. and when it comes to what is happening on the ground, we process the information that is the state is pushing up and it comes in the form of mission request to fema and we work to fulfill those. >> and how many have you received? >> oh, i don't know. >> too many to count? >> yeah, too many to count. and chasing numbers on power outages or deaths or anything,
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you know, right now we're not chasing those numbers. we're staying focused on the larger missions and the themes of those missions. >> you have clearly stated you have all the support you've wanted and asked for from the president and i understand that there was a teleconference today a little bit earlier, maybe about an hour ago where he did speak with top administration officials. were you one of them and what are you hearing from the president? >> yes, i'm talking to the president directly every day. his commander's intent is very clear, focus on the life safety and security aspects of what is going on and get the governor what he needs. >> you were part of katrina. that takes us back a couple days, doesn't it. and that was a very difficult time. you were part of emergency management during that particular hurricane. how does this compare? it's early, but how does this compare. >> it's hard tos assess.
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this is a completely different storm. each storm is take madramatical different. vulnerabilities are different. and we have to remind ourselves that that this event is not over. so we don't understand the full scale of the disaster that is there. and what is being shown just on houston is a small depiction of the total picture of damage. there are, you know, almost 18 counties under the governor's major disaster declaration request. so damage is widespread, but it's still occurring. so this events is not over and people need to be listening to their local officials to take action. >> quickly, sir, mr. administrate, to talk about louisiana. in addition to that, what can americans do across the country to best help our fellow folks down there, fellow citizens in those two states? >> governor edwards and his staph and the director are remaining vigilant. they are watching this carefully because any shift in the forecast, you know, to the east or north can have significant
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ramifications for their state. they have parishes under evacuation orders, as well, and so we're watching that. we are ready to respond and we have assets in the state of louisiana. in regards to the spochbs, this is a whole community response. the entire nation will be involved with helping texas get back up on its feet. it will require donatie ining t and other states sending mutual aid resources to help us in this response fight and ultimately a very, very lengthy and frustrating recovery. >> mr. administrator, brock long, thank you for what you're doing. thank you for stopping by to let us know and get the word out for you. appreciate it. >> thank you. now to houston gowhere gabe route riz i guttierez is there.
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a lot of people trying to get through streets. >> reporter: that's right, good afternoon. yes, here in houston, this is something that we're seeing playing out all over and over again. take a look from our ground camera, we also have live drone images. so you can see this is chimney rock right on on the wegs pars of houston. many of the roads are still impassable. thousands of calls for water rescues. it's been tough to get around. we drove up here from corpus christi and around the houston suburbs, many of the roads are blocked off, yet you can still see there are parts that are dry and we're getting a brief break from the rain right now, but if you turn the corner, many of the feeder roads for the freeways are flooded and the concern is that people are driving through this area. it's really tough to pass through this road. not recommended. we've seen a big suvs get through, but not a good yod to idea to come so. and thankfully we're getting a
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break from the rain, a break from the winds. but as we have been hearing, this is going to be a storm that will stick around for several days and dump a lot more inches of brain overrain over a city td to flooding, but not like this. this city has issues of course with drainage, it's low lying topography, it has had its population bhoom over toom, so infrastructure has struggled to keep up. but there are a few people there walking in the distance. there is a deep area in about knee high water. but this is something that we will see play out over and over again over the next day or so. local authorities are saying if you don't need to be out, hunker down in your home. but again, a lot of water rescues going on. the governor saying that 3,000 members of the texas national guard are on alert ready to help out. >> great shots from the drone that you have there on location. and we could just see how wide
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stretching these streets are full of water. do you have power there, and are there any small businesses that are open that might be necessary for gas or for staples, water and bread and other things? >> well, there are a few businesses, they are closed, the power does appear to still be on in this part of houston. stoplights are on. this is a huge metro area. there are a lot of areas that still have power, but they are just not accessible right now. we just for with a professor who studies flooding in houston and he chose his house because he thought it would never flood. this is the first time that the streets around his home have flooded. so while this is a city that
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oftentimes tries to be prepared for flooding, it's used to flooding, they are not used to this. this is unpreunprecedented. i've covered many floods here especially in the summertime. but i'll tell you, this is something a is unprecedented. i've never seen anything like this in houston. >> gabe guttierez on site for us in houston, one of the great cities of our country, fourth largest in the united states. so thank you so much for the very latest. and now here with an update, shan in m shanna mendiola. we can see how large half havrv. >> and hasn't moved. we're seeing a lot of rain because it is training over the
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same areas overnight and we really picked up a lot of brain. i want to read something from the national weather service. the wording that they used is strong. and this is just a serious situation. again, the key note here is unprecedented, they used that word, and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced. so we don't actually know what can happen, but we know that the rain will be significant for the next few days. you will see that all those bands are feeding off the ocean and now the latest track of the storm is dipping down back over the water and driving it just to the west of houston as we approach thursday. so five more days of this rain. even though it looks like the amounts will go down, it doesn't matter. there is rain on the ground, it's flooding already, we have an is you there. it's not going anywhere and there is more to come. so this is something that is serious. rainment as already up to close to 30 inches in dayton all the way down to about 17 in houston. so a lot of rain and this could be a historical event that we're seeing as well. the record for the most amount
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of rain in a single storm was in 1950 and that was about 52 inches and we're looking to pass that here with this big storm here in texas. most of the area in southeast texas is looks from minor to major flooding. and we are seeing the buffalo bay uhe, the rifrd thver that g straight through houston, starting to hit record stages. today, tomorrow, down through tuesday and wednesday. we may see it subside thursday, but again with the amount of rain that is already on the ground and ground being saturated, not allowing that rain to move anywhere. it will be a big problem as we head into the next few days. cleanup will take a long time and if you don't need to go anywhere, if you are safe right now, don't go on the roads. because any moving water could knock you off your feet and we see a lot lt of deaths. water is a deadly killer and so we warn you about that, as well. >> and still moving at a walking
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pace? >> about 2 miles per hour. so basically not moving at all. >> thank you so much. we're continuing to watch the situation in houston and other parts of south texas as well as louisiana. and also more fallout, too, that question will tell you about for president trump and his pardon of former sheriff joe arpaio. stay with us for that on a very active sunday. don't let dust and allergens get between you and life's beautiful moments. flonase outperforms the #1 non-drowsy allergy pill. it helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms.
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backlash from both sides of the aisle from president trump's pardon of former sheriff joe arpaio. here is ohio governor john kasich earlier today. >> i wouldn't have done this way. it's not -- it is absolutely should be out of bounds for somebody to use in a as some sort of a political wedge. it appears as though that is what it was.
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>> a washington post report reveals the president asked jeff sessions if it was possible to drop the federal case against arpaio this spring. the commander in cheeief was lar advised the move would be ib appropriate. joining us now, page lavender and barbara mcquaid. and was it inappropriate? >> of course it was inappropriate because the people who runs justice department and the people who are experts in this field understand that it is inappropriate but but i'll add that it cements president trump's stance when it comes to racial profiling in pursuit of law and order. so the president essentially said it was okay that you racially profiled people, some who are american citizens because we understand that you were trying to cramp down on
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immigration. so this is something that had real issues and the court found to be in con tempt and the president essentially saying it's okay. but yes, it is inappropriate. >> and we heard kasich the governor of ohio also saying the very same thing. if it is a political move, it was widely seen as that, if there are ear halo effects of saying yes, i'm fine with racial profilin profiling, is there more of an up side than a down side? >> i srcertainly think trump se this as him being hard on immigration. and he sees this is feeds in to that narrative. but i think that this will leave a bad mark on his presidency. many democrats and many republicans even have come out to criticize him for this
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decision. >> and barbara, legal watchers are saying this is legal, but just not standard practice compared to previous presidents. previous presidents have done it after a conviction and after serving some time. and then after the convicted individual applies for a pardon, that is when typically a president then grants a pardon. in this case president trump did not do that. what does there say in terms of rule of law, what it means for the doj and the judiciary? >> well, not only did president trump not comply with knows usually standards and protocols of process, but i think it's important why this there is outrage. lots of pardons are unpopular, but in most cases you have a prosecution brought by the executive branch and then the head of that branch, the president, grachbnts the pardon. in this case what arpaio was convicted of is being held in con tempt of a court order
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directing him to stop racially profiling latinos acting illegally. and so what president trump has done is usurp the power of the court, a special branch of government which i think undermines respect for the rule of law here. >> and also, is this a way of signaling potentially to those who might be prosecuted in the russia investigations, hey, stand pat, don't flip, because you could get a pardon if you stay loyal to this presidency? >> i think there are two things. yes, if there are people worried about the russia investigation who have been in president's corner, they can sleech amounts better tonight knowing that this president is saying that even if the courts find you to be guilty of something, if you have been my guy, i'll take care of you. there is that going on. but i also think that this president is saying to progressives and people who spent years trying to go get
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arpaio not elected, and then made sure that he was convicted of an actual crime for racially proceed fi profiling, all of those activists, donald trump is saying this is my country, this is the way things are going to go and if you have a problem with it, you have nothing to do because i'm the person with the ultimate power. >> paige, reflect on that topic. >> i definitely think she has a great point there. trump has really -- it appears what he wants do is advance his personal agenda. it's rich that he made this move as part of america was worrying about a category 4 hurricane and weeks after we saw these protests in charlottesville where he really his hesitated to condemn racism. but miss initial response that there was violence on many sides. so really it's been a banner few weeks for trump as far as
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addressing racial issues. >> and barbara, in the idea of pardons, what can special counsel mueller do to try to circumvent that potential theoretical pardon strategy? could he use it as an argument for obstruction of justice, for instance? >> i think so. i mean, i think he has to watch what is happening very carefully. if trump should do what you suggested, which is to offer pardons to some of the people in his conspiracy like manafort or flynn, offer them pardons in exchange for the cooperation in this case, although the pardon power is absolute, it cannot be used corruptly. and so one of special counsel mueller's tasks is to show that the president has acted corruptly in obstructing justice. so if he is to use the pardon
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power krumt pt kruchcorruptly, t that is additional obstruction of justice. >> all right. thank you all three. we're watching this big numb today. 50 inches, that is the estimate nation p estimate makes of rainfall in texas, highest evof recorded. next we're live in victoria where we expect har swvey to hi again for a second time.
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move people out of harm's way, we need your help. >> and that was the harris county judge desperately calling for residents to help one another as floodwaters continue to rise. and katie beck is joining us from victoria, texas with a look at the devastation there. and the whole thing about this, victoria was hurt early on in the last 24 hours when harvey came through. and it's about to be hit if you will by the center of this current storm again getting that double doozy. >> reporter: that's right. and people are bracing from the second round, they are getting more prepared by stocking up on things like gas and food while they have a bit of a lull right now. no real rain or wind at this point, but that won't last for long. and we are standing at a corner in victoria where basically the only gas station open for the next 40 miles is this one behind us. and you can see this line of
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cars here. it's about 100 deep. people have been waiting in this line for up to two hours waiting for gas and several people here at the gas station as you can see have their amp arms full of can to fill as many as they can carry. this morning i was outside of a convenience store and they ran out of coffee and it was an absolute uprising. people are desperate for hot food or hot beverages. and another look at the traffic, this is all people waiting for gas here. the real concern here concerning flooding is that they ever a river that runs through the middle of town calmed tled the d guadeloupe that is expected to crest tomorrow. and so 34 feet is what will end
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uncovering the town and they are about 26 feet right now. so with more rainfall tonight, the conditions here in victoria will get worse. i'll send it back to you. >> and are folks patient? what is the sense of tone that you are noticing from folks waiting for gas? >> reporter: i got to be honest, we've heard some hostile words behind us. people have been without power now for two days, sitting in the darkd. they have not been able to get a hot meal. so nerves are agitated. and i think when you have to wait in line for two hours, and someone cuts in front of you, there will be some hostile words exchanged. i'm hoping this the people waiting are going to get what is left here. i can't imagine getting to the front of line and having them run out, which is a real possibility. >> when i was covering sandy, folks were driving hours and then the stations did run out. so that is always a good place to understand what folks are
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thinking. katie beck for us in victoria, about to be hit for a second time wouldby harvey. sebastien gorka, what he says bts warning factions inside or raert wther the warring fact inside the trump administration. stick around. it's just a burst pipe, i could fix it. (laugh) no. with claim rateguard your rates won't go up just because of a claim. i totally could've - no! switching to allstate is worth it.
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tropical storm harvey not letting up with rainfall nearing historic levels as the national weather service warns now in a some areas could see 50 inches of rain when the storm finally ends later this week. catastrophic flooding in houston as emergency crews working around the clock. the mayor of houston saying the city s. has received more than 2,000 emergency calls for rescue and has opened up the city's convention center for those in need of shelter. along the texas coast, cities have been devastated by the hurricane. the small city of rockport, texas has been nearly demolished by the storm. flash flood emergencies are still in effect for multiple
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counties in southeast texas as the storm threatens to dufrltmp to another 7 inches of rain per hour. new reaction today as well from secretary of state rex tillerson appearing to distance himself and the state department from president trump for the way that he responded to the racially charged violence we saw in charles two weeks ago. take a listen. >> i don't believe anyone doubtses american people's values or the commitment of the american government or the government's agencies to advancing those values and defending those values. >> and the president's values? >> the president speaks for himself, chris. >> are you separating yourself from that, sir? >> i've made my own comments as to our values in the speech i gave to the state department this past week. >> let's bring in page lavender, and we have liz smith,
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democratic strategist, and kerry sheffield founder of bold. when we look at what rhett rex till is saying, he is saying that it is the president's view. how do you interpret that? >> it's hard to interpret it as anything as in the president's side. and this comes in the same week that gary cohn gave an interview to the financial times saying that the president didn't do enough to stand up to white supremacistists. and it's almost like the more moderate reasonable members of his administration are so fed up with him and so frustrated with him that they feel like the only way that they can get through to him is by delivering these very stern messages to him via the tv. and is itundt underscores how k
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theic kay on theic it the white house is. >> as you listen to those comments.kay on theic it the wh house is. >> as you listen to those comments. might one sbhinterpret it as secretary tillerson saying i might be finding my way out of this administration or i'm fine with contra distridicts this administration? >> i think it's a far reach to say he's on his way out the doo door. sometimes people disagree. that is normal. nikki haley when she was gorsuch helped take down the confederate flag and said this is not part of the history that we want to have at the level of the state government. and that is okay. i mean, it's good to have people around you who are going to be a back stop and challenge you. i'm someone who thought that president trump should have been more forceful as well. and it's okay to disagree with the president. i felt the same way about barack obama on gay marriage in 2008,
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he was against gay marriage, but then he evolved. i hope that president trump evolves on this issue as well. and i think that is why people like gary cohn are staying put. that is why when it you look at what gary cohn said, he said i am not going to quit and be rye place the because people are chanting that jews will not replace us. and i applaud him because we need great men and women for support the president and the country. is this about the entire country here at stake. >> and about the entire country, secretary tillerson in the same interview on fox was asked about those handful of missile tests from north korea, tests that could potentially hit u.s. forces in south korea. and his reaction to that is like he still believed that the united states still can use peaceful preshl to influence pr
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influence kim jong-un and still seeing another barrage of missile tests. do you believe that his belief is a fool's errand? >> i don't know if it's a fool's errands. it's not been that long since trump came out against north korea with strong language. he wasn't holding back and he didn't seem to be taking a very continue lee ma kip l diplomatic proposal. so it will be interesting. >> as and we move to afghanistan, again another move on foreign policy from the state department. when we talk about that country, secretary tillerson says he believes the president's strategy is simply about sending a message to the taliban and that secretary mattis will decide what that might constitutes in terms of troops. is it really just about the taliban in terms of the message of his afghanistan strategy here? >> well, look, i'm not going too
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spe to speak to their strategy. it does seem that they are trying to kant talibcontain the further. but the president went out there is a few days ago and asked the american people to put their trust in him as commander in chief just days after he wouldn't stand up to white supremacists and things like that. so it's hard to ask people to trust in your moral leadership when you won't even show it and stand up to hate in and you are own country. >> i think that is off topic because what that afghanistan speech showed and even lindsey graham who has been a vocal critic of donald trump said he was proud of donald trump. i was proud of president trump in that moment as well because he swallowed his pride and he said i'm going to listen to my generals. i'm going to listen to the military experts here and i'm going to change the strategy
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based on conditions on the ground, not on arbitrary deadlines or numbers. that is really what the course of the future in the military is about conditions on the ground and being flexible. so i thought he did very well in that speech. >> and speaking of listening to generals, again new chief of staff as we look at general kelly, and maybe this was part of his decision, sebastian gorka was pushed out and he spoke out for the first time to breitbart. let's listen. >> we are winning and we will continue to do so with steve back at the helm, it's like the last scene from "star wars." do you remember what obi wan said in if you strike me down, i will be more powerful than you can ever imagine. the left thinking they are winning. they have no idea what is coming around the corner and it will be fun.
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>> in that same interview, gorka compared himself to the rebel alliance and a think peenople would take issue with that. it certainly seems like bannon and gorka are so ready to fight with the white house and i think that they think they are in better position to do so now. >> all right. may the force be with you and i thong you all three on this sunday. >> thank you. some dramatic pictures we want to show you. this is from southwest houston. a nursing home in dickinson flooded by waters. a family member who posted this on social media. and you can see this 15 senior citizens, under water basically in a very difficult situation. good news here, they were rescued from that home by helicopter today. but just a sense of how difficult it has been.
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president trump faces pressure to end the defer the action for childhood refers. and that program now created a generation of so-called dreamers who were brought to the united states illegally as children. ten conservative states led by texas threatened to sue the trump administration if the president does not announce plans to phase out that program by september 5. now with that deadline looming, reports th s thas that home lan met to review it in prepare operation for the likely lawsuit. over 800,000 have now severed daca referrals that allow them to stay in the country for two years. but even more over 1.9 million are believed to be eligible to apply today.
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joins us now is an activist. you have applied for daca and also balin, thank you for being here. what should the president, what should congress do with this? >> at this moment, what we're hearing from the white house is that they are wanting to implement a white supremacist priority, which is ending daca. right after charlottesville, this is the first major policy that we see the trump administration facing. trump has told us that we should rest easy, that he would deal with daca with heart. and so far we haven't seen that. what he's considering, from the rumors that we've heard, is that he wants to put 800,000 immigrant youth vulnerable at having ice knocking on our doors, of being put into immigrant detention centers and of ultimately facing deportation
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and being ripped away from our families, our jobs and this country that we call home. >> if the estimates are right, it's more than that, balin. you're mentioning only those who applied. there are also the 100 million who have not applied as of yet but still face the risk of deportation whether they've applied or not. so you want the president now to extend daca, is what you're saying. but should congress do something to move farther forward on policy, on the law of the land? >> ultimately that is what, in a perfect land, would happen. but what we're seeing now is that the trump administration is pushing to have additional things added like paying for the border wall, like enforcement, that would, yeah, benefit more people, but it would also put our families at risk. and we wouldn't be the people that we are if we didn't have our families here with us. so it's a catch-22. >> it's a catch-22. what's the conversation been so
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far amongst the not only latinos that are here in the united states but also the asians, the europeans, the africans, all of which comprise this space of young people that were brought here by their parents illegally? >> i think that we have taken a lesson from our previous fights, from fighting for the dream act, from fighting for daca for immigration reform. that this isn't just about us anymore, this is a bigger picture. 11 million people aren't just going to disappear one day and that we need a permanent solution, just like we're seeing now. daca is an executive action. it can be taken away by whoever the next president is, and we need more. we need this administration to stop with this scapegoating, stop with trying to throw other people under the bus and see that we have value and that we bring something to the table in this country. >> balin sesa, co-founder of the
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group undocumented students as well as a dreamer. thank you so much. >> thank you. in the eye of the storm. next, an update on the historic rains that are hammering a large section of south texas right now, and it's expected to last for days. i no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c. wondering, what if? i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary
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texas governor greg abbott just gave a press briefing in the last hour, and the situation by the numbers looks very, very difficult, if not dire. at least 300,000 people still without power. that doesn't even include houston itself which has 6.5 million people. in addition to that, they have 250 highways closed, people waiting in line for gas, hundreds of cars in line. they have 3,000 national guard on the ground and, of course, they have 600 vessels reported that are being used to help all these folks that are stranded. streets now full of water. at the top of the hour, we're
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going to get you all the latest, a live report of what this all means from the ground and an update on the system itself and where it's going in just about two minutes. stick around. bl
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go pro with crest mouthwash. checkup? nailed it hello, everyone. i'm richard liu at msnbc headquarters in new york city. we're tracking tropical storm harvey as the system continues to lurk over houston and dump tons of water. part of that area have already received 17 inches of rain and the national weather service say some areas of the city could see a historic 26 inches by the end of the week. the city has received more than 2,000 rescue calls and rescue and emergency crews are working around the clock to help those in need. cities around the texas coast have been devastated by harvey. rockport, for instance, looks like this. demolished when it was hit with the full force of the storm and massive amounts of flooding have now left communities completely under water.