this sunday, nuclear tension. north korea claims it has detonated a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. what does this mean and how will the u.s. react? we'll have the latest. plus, after harvey. >> i was in such denial, i didn't put anything up. i didn't grab anything. >> the greatest rainfall event ever in the continental united states. >> the rainfall amounts really are staggering. >> tens of thousands still in shelter. >> i am very thankful that we are here safe. >> and the dramatic rescue. >> we were, like, so happy. god had answered our prayer. >> what's next? beaumont remains under water

while houston begins to dry out. i'll talk to the mayor of houston, sylvester turner. also, after a brutal august, a now weakened president trump faces a challenging september. >> i am fully committed to working with congress, and i don't want to be disappointed by congress, do you understand? >> can he get a budget passed, raise the debt limit, keep the government open and get his border wall funded? i'll talk to roy blount of missouri. joining me for insight and analysis, nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker, usa today's washington bureau chief susan page and eddie glaude of princeton university. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press". from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history celebrating its 70th year. this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning. we'll get to the latest on the flooding in texas and the recovery in a moment, but we begin with very big news overnight while you were

sleeping. north korea carried out its sixth nuclear test and claims it has detonated a hydrogen bomb that they say could be mounted on an intercontinental missile. whether or not it was a hydrogen bomb or a larger version of the previously tested atomic bombs, south korea's defense ministry says the explosion was five or six times as powerful as the last test the north conducted. this comes amid increasing tensions and elevated rhetoric between north korea and the united states with president trump. last month warning of fire and fury if north korea continues to threaten the united states. so let's go now to south korea. our own ron allen and ron, do the south koreans see this test as the most provocative step yet this year? >> reporter: oh, yes, chuck. this is a huge step. this is a massive explosion. this was registered 6.3 on the richter scale according to the usgs, and it comes of a are at a time when as you were pointing out, there's been an escalation, a constant escalation, a back and forth.

remember, of course, the north koreans fired a missile over japan and they threatened guam not long ago and now this just a couple of days ago, a massive show of military force by the united states, south korea and japan a massive flyover and military exercises that were, to some extent, unprecedented and yet the north koreans still keep pressing forward. the north koreans are clearly testing and pushing the trump administration to see how they will respond. they see an administration that's perhaps weakened, that has low approval ratings, that is in somewhat disarray, that isn't able to get much done and so now they are seizing this moment, many would argue, the north koreans are to just try to assert their will. this is a regime that sees its very existence tied to nuclear weapons and advanced missile capability. they see themselves acting in

self-defense. they see the regime dependent on having these armaments and they don't see much coming back from the united states. many analysts in this part of the world and elsewhere will tell you that the options that the u.s. has are perhaps limited. people see military scenarios playing out in this part of the world with cataclysmic consequences, sanctions haven't worked. so we've heard the outrage and we've heard the condemnations and we'll have to see what more the trump administration will do in the face of this very, very strong provocation. chuck? >> rob allen who has been on the beat in seoul for us, a long day and night for you, thank you very much. joining me is chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. good morning. >> good morning. >> let me run through the president's tweets this morning. north korea focused, three of them. north korea conducted a major nuclear test their words and actions continue to be very

hostile to the united states. north korea is a rogue nation that has become a great threat, an embarrassment to china which is trying to help, but with little success. the third tweet, south d'orria is find, as i have told them, that their talk of appeasement with north korea will not work. they only understand one thing. he singles out china. singles out south korea and uses the word appeasement and how is that being read by both china and south korea. >> the word appeasement is such an insult to south korea which is sitting there -- >> they'll view this as an insult. >> oh, absolutely. that is an insult as well as his threat to cancel a trade deal with south korea, worst possible timing to make that threat. the fact is this was a game changing. whatever this was and the intelligence officials and the pentagon are still trying to confirm to u.s. satisfaction that it was hydrogen, but the scale, the size of this is so big it will likely prove to be a test of an advanced thermonuclear device. if they have achieved a hydrogen bomb they still have to prove miniaturization, and re-entry on

an icbm on an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the fact is the explosive nature of this kind of blast is so big that they need a much smaller, rather much less of a lift. they can put this kind of a warhead on a missile and have a much more explosive effect. so they don't have to miniaturize as much as they ordinarily would. >> it feels as if, to use a metaphor here, that kim jong-un has put his foot on the accelerator when it comes to the nuclear program. let me put up these statistics. these are missel tests. his father, kim jong-il conducted 16 missile tests in his entire reign. kim jong-un has done 84. he's done 18 missile tests just since president trump was inaugurated and more than his father just in the six-month period.

ron, in his report from seoul alluded that the north koreans are paying attention to the president's political standing. is this about testing trump or is this something more going on and are we reading too much into it domestically? >> i think it's probably both. certainly testing president trump and seeing the mixed messages coming from secretaries mattis and tillerson on one hand, talking more about diplomacy and the fire and fury, worse than anything the world has ever seen, the rhetoric, locked and loaded coming from president trump and that kind of mixed message and the uncertainty about who president trump is in foreign affairs that is frankly, worldwide, and i was speaking to foreign leaders about this. right now we don't know exactly what this is, but there's no question that the pace that you've just alluded to is so remarkable. i met his father when we were it there for a diplomatic mission with secretary albright and this is a very different north korean lead are. >> it's clear they're getting some help. there have been reports of ukrainian scientist and is there an outside foreign power?

>> this is russia and china in terms of giving them the economic help and the energy supplies and so the ukrainian reports were discounted, widely discounted, but russia has been helpful, as well, and we still see china the most recently pushing back against the unilateral u.s. sanctions which went against chinese entities and they're not yet ready to really press hard and maybe this will change it, but not clear it will. >> andrea mitchell, a long night for you. appreciate you getting up early. >> you bet. >> coming this morning. let's turn to the hurricane recovery efforts now. if there is one number that helps illustrate the biblical, it's eight. the natchez river, beyond the previous record. think about that, eight feet. that's 96 inches above the all time record in beaumont. thankfully harvey will not be the deadliest storm in u.s. history, but the destructive tone it struck can be hard to

comprehend. 51.88, that's the number of inches that fell in cedar bayou outside of houston, the greatest rain event ever in the continental united states. 436,000, the number of households seeking help from fema. 7.85 billion dollars, the amount of money president trump has initially requested in federal funds for first-round of harvey relief. 250,000, the number of harris county homes with flood insurance policies. there are 1.75 million housing units in the county including apartments. 9%, the drop over the past five years in harris county homes with flood insurance and the saddest number of all, 43, that's the confirmed death total so far.

unfortunately, that number is likely to rise as well. hurricane harvey causeded what is being called the thousand-year flood. we want to take a look back at the past week at scenes of tragedy, survival and of common purpose. >> this storm intensified quickly, making landfall overnight. >> this whole front area was grass earlier. now we've got two feet of water. >> behind me, you can see -- wow. this is one of the major highways in houston. >> the house is flooding, and it's rising way too fast. >> i was in just such denial, i didn't put anything up. i didn't grab anything. >> the alarming situation is playing out right now in crosby, texas. explosions and smoke at a flooded chemical plant. >> the situation they warned that might happen is happening. you have the firefighters getting out their air canisters and their masks. >> the weather in beaumont has been deteriorating all day long. >> we were, like, so happy. like, god had answered our prayers. >> you can see the large helicopters plucking people out of the sky. you have first responders that will go neighborhood to neighborhood. >> i want to get to my babies.

>> we couldn't find him and once our dive team got there it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. >> he said the van was bobbing in the water and that's how deep it was and he kept yelling at the kids. you can hear the kids screaming and crying trying to get out of the van. >> four mega shelters are operating, three in houston, one in dallas. >> if we can't get out, we have to figure out a way. i wasn't going to give up on my son. i was crying hysterically. i thought i was going to die. >> i am just very thankful that we are here safe. >> i lost my home and i'm thankful my children are safe. it's just -- i have nowhere to go. >> good to see you. >> we're signing a lot of documents now to get money. $7.9 billion. >> it looks like around about 100,000 affected homes. that's a big number. all my assets and my house all gone, and no insurance.

>> i left the garage full of stuff. i keep thinking what's in there. >> just to watch all of your stuff kind of floating away, pretty much, our entire lives. >> we just passed the $15 million mark. i've said it so many times before, but the worst times bring out the best in people. >> whatever we can do to help these people in a time of need that's what we're going to do. ♪ ♪ joining me now is perhaps the busiest man in the country right now, the mayor of houston, sylvester turner. mr. mayor, welcome to "meet the press," a whole country pulling for your city right now, sir. >> thank you. we appreciate that. sure. >> let me start with tuesday morning. this coming tuesday morning. how much of the city is operational? how many businesses do you feel, like, can open? how many people can go back to work, et cetera? what is the goal for tuesday morning? >> well, the goal is to open up, of course, for example, like city hall.

we return to a full, functional day on tuesday. the school systems will not open -- not all of them. that scheduled day is september the 11th, but the airport is now open. the port of houston. the port is now open. >> transit and metro system has returned to regular service and so we are moving in a very positive and progressive fashion. i suspect on tuesday many, if not most of our businesses will be open. >> over 95% of the city is now dry, and i'm encouraging people to get up and let's get going. there are still tremendous needs. i don't want to downplay that. we have two areas that are still somewhat under water, the northeast, the kingwood area and of course, the west houston area with water being released from the dam, but most of the city is dry, and i'm saying to people, if you can open, let's open up and let's get started. >> let's talk about what are your immediate needs. you talked about this issue where you had to order a very

small evacuation of folks because of the release of water from the dam. how long is that going to be in place? is that a week? two weeks? you said it's only for houses that already have water in them that they have to get out. >> that is correct. >> explain why that is? >> let me explain that, chuck. this is for the area in west houston where many of those homes didn't flood because of the rainfall. they are flooding because water is being released from the reservoir to establish capacity on the west side of the reservoir. that is probably going to continue for the next ten days and what i've said in very narrow terms, for those homes that are inundated with water. if you have water in your homes, i have issued a mandatory evacuation for them because it's dangerous for those who are choosing to live there, but also it's very, very dangerous for our public responders and the first responders who are needing to be out there trying to provide protection to them so i've issued a mandatory evacuation for only those homes where water exists in the homes already and that will probably

remain in place probably for the next ten days. >> let me ask you about, there have been some reports overnight from the associated press about the toxic cleanup sites that are essentially run by the federal government and the environmental protection agency. how concerned are you about the flooding that's occurred there? is there any chance, do you think, this could impact drinking water. the drinking water in houston is safe to drink now. what do you know about these super fund sites and is the federal government on this? >> well, the super fund site is just outside the city of houston. they're not in the city of houston. i feel very comfortable about our water system. the system is safe. the plants are functioning and so i'm fine about that. that may be right along the san jacinto river area, but those are outside. i can't speak specifically as to whether or not the epa is on the ground. it would be important to have

them on the ground and to take to inspect those sites and to contain any possible contamination. so i'll be visiting with other people in the region, but those are sites not specifically within the city of houston. >> many times with water damage there are invisible toxins or where you don't know -- you think your house -- the water is gone, but the mold could be so bad that you cannot live in there. who is making the determination whether a house needs to be condemned completely or it can be rehabbed? is that a federal government decision? is that something your government handles? walk us through that? >> right. that is something that we will be handling locally and what i've said most of 95% of the city is dry. for many, the damage is on the inside. especially with regards to low-income communities. so now what we're doing and we

started this several days ago. we are going literally door to door. we have a lot of volunteer, first responders and others, firefighters are going door to door to check on people, possibly anybody that we have left behind and especially seniors who may be in their home, but really don't appreciate the dirge of living in homes, dry now, but the mold is starting to set up and sheetrock that needs to be pulled out. that needs to be our local responsibility to watch out and take care of our neighborhoods and i'm particularly sensitive to seniors and people in the low income communities and neighborhoods, but that's a door-to-door check in on them, looking in their homes and where possible, assisting them and pulling out those carpets and those rug, the sheetrock and what i've said to the president, for example, yesterday what we need is rapid repair housing. that is a very, very high priority to provide assistance so people can stay in their homes and make the necessary repairs that would allow them to

stay in their homes while they do the bigger repairs. >> i want to ask you about the president's visit. helpful? >> the president's visit yesterday was very positive. the goal for this week for me, we'll take it one week at a time and that's housing, housing, housing. checking on people especially in these communities that don't necessarily get all of the attention, but you know, where senior citizens exist and people with disabilities and low-income communities and we're checking on them and we need to make sure that their housing is good enough for them to live in. so it's housing, housing, housing. reducing the number of people, for example, in our shelters and that number has dramatically gone down and this major shelter in downtown, georgia brown. at its peak is 10,000 and it's down to 1400 and the other point this week which is a high priority is debris removal and every community and every part of this city was touched by this storm and so people are now putting that debris out and what i said to the president, we need to get that debris removed like yesterday. otherwise, we'll have a public

safety hazard. the city crew started on thursday removing that degree, but we need advanced funding and the president was amenable to that, and in fact, he issued a statement that it would be 90% reimbursable in that category. so housing, housing, housing for this week, debris removal this week and then saying to our businesses and others let's get going. we're in the recovery phase. so let's move forward, open up the businesses and provide the necessary employment, but let's get going. >> mr. mayor sylvester turner, as i said at the top, you're among the busier people in the country right now dealing with this, and look i said, you have a whole country behind you. thanks for coming on. >> we appreciate it. it's a can-do city, chuck, come and visit us in one year and i'll show you a better city than it was before the storm. >> that's a deal. i can't wait to interview you one year from now.

thank you, sir. >> thank you. more on harvey later, but when we come back, august was a rough month for president trump. how about september? how much can a president get done in low poll numbers and being at odds with his own party. i'll talk to a leading republican senator roy blount of missouri. as we go to break, here are a few more scenes from texas this week. break, here are just a few more scenes from texas this week. ♪ crohn's disease. you're more than just a bathroom disease. you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk

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welcome back. even before hurricane harvey welcome back. even before hurricane harvey hit, president trump in congress had a pretty big to-do list for september, passing a budget, raising the debt limit,

basically our credit card line, keeping the government open, deciding whether and how to pay for mr. trump's border wall, and of course, getting tax reform started and the president claims he still wants to do health care. all that would have been hard enough if president trump weren't weakened by poll numbers in the 30s now and increasingly testy relationship with his own party. joining me now to talk about what could get accomplished this month is roy blount of missouri. welcome back to "meet the press". >> good to be with you, chuck. >> let me start with north korea. it seems the conversation is the same and it used to be three months we have the north korea conversation and unfortunately, we're having it every three weeks. sanctions aren't working. these joint military exercises don't seem to have an impact on him to wrap ratchet things back and he things to ratchet things up. what's left in the diplomatic arsenal? >> well, for 20 years, the diplomacy by itself appears not to have worked very well. sanctions without russia and china interested on solving this problem don't work very well. i think the president putting everything on the table is -- is not a bad thing right now both for north korea, but maybe more importantly for china to be thinking about how consequential this behavior is.

the intel committee serve on doesn't disclose anything to say that in the last year this has been the number one topic month after month, what was happening there and what we were going to do about it and i hope the neighborhood understands how critical this is. >> is the assumption now among the high-level folks in the government that russia and china in some ways have actually -- north korea appears to be on a faster track in their developments. how helpful has the russians and perhaps the chinese been to them? >> well, you know, we -- there's some sense that they have been more helpful than they should have been and more sustaining to the economy than they should be. everybody in the world, as well as particularly the countries that are in the region have a lot at stake here. nobody in their right mind would want this to happen. you've got a leader who is both spoiled and reckless. spoiled and reckless is not a unique thing to find in the

world today, but it is unique with somebody who has control of what may now be hydrogen weapons as well as nuclear weapons. >> the chinese, there's been some analysis, why they're afraid and there's at least diplomat being understanding. what are the russian up to? is this simply to distract the united states. >> the russians have had an interest for well over 100 years. it is close to them and it is another outlet potentially for them. i think the chinese have more at stake and do more to sustain that economy and they can also do more to quickly cool that economy down, though with this leader, does he really care about the other people in the country or does he just care about himself and staying in power and intimidating whoever is necessary for him to stay in power in his own country? >> let me start with the to-do list that you guys have in september. it isn't a full month because there's a lot of holidays, so

actually, you have about two working weeks to actually get some stuff done. the aid to harvey. does this mean that the debt ceiling fight is postponed because of harvey. the government shutdown potential is not going to happen this month because of harvey? is that fair to say that all of this will be packaged together to keep the lights on for three months and raise the debt limit? >> i think it does create another reason as to why you want to keep the government open. frankly, no interest in republican leaders and i would think any leaders on capitol hill of not keeping the government open, but the president's attention to this issue, i think puts another reason on the table to get things done in september. there are some religious holidays in september. there is a limited number of days to work. there's a child insurance bill to be extended. the faa, the federal aviation -- >> you just added more. >> plus keeping the government running and some of those things

will have to be combined. i will say this on harvey. one, the things the mayor just talkeded about, the fema money, the stabilization money, the cleanup money. all are important to do quickly. the sba loan money to get back in operation to do quickly and that's the money the president appears to be asking for beyond that i don't think we want to make the same mistake as sandy which is to ask for way more money. do it in multiple occasions just like the joplin tornado. >> are you comfortable with raising the debt ceiling with the harvey money? it sounds like the president wants that? >> that's one way to do it. >> you'll vote for that. >> the whip and the leader need to look at how the votes come together to make that happen, but -- >> you could support something like that? >> well, i'm, you know, i never have great enthusiasm for raising the debt ceiling, but the debt ceiling is to pay for things that the government is

not committed -- this is not a future spending thing. this is the bills we've already encumbered and whether you put that with leaving the doors open for the government or the debt ceiling vote is something that will be decided in the next few days, i would expect. >> let me ask you this. what's been the reaction among senate republicans with the president's tough words for mitch mcconnell in the month of august. is it going to get harder to get things done? >> they're both tough men. they're both tough men. i think they're both longtime negotiators where things didn't go exactly the way they wanted to. i imagine what most members were hearing were either you are too supportive of the president or not supportive enough of the president without much discussion about a mitch mcconnell president or a paul ryan presidential relationship discussion. >> i want to ask you, though, about a john mccain op ed from friday, he writes this, congress must govern with the president who has no experience in public office and we must respect his

authority and constitutional responsibilities and we must where we can, cooperate with him, but we are not his subordinates. we don't answer to him. john mccain may be in a different place than where you are, is that the senate and the house republican leadership want to establish that the legislative branch is equal to the president and not answerable to him? >> i think the congress to understand fully and the country to understand that these are two separate branches of government is a good thing. i think it's also a good thing to understand that these are not people that you have much hiring or firing opportunity when it relates to what individual members of the congress decide they need to do so certainly that's important. in terms of the president's ability in his job, i will tell you the one thing the president understands better than anybody in the country today is to how to drive a message, how to communicate with people using new ways of communication and

frankly, you're just a lot better about that. >> i have to ask you about a comment. he was pretty tough on the president, he said now comes trump who is exactly what republicans are not, who is exactly what we have opposed in the 160-year history and we are a party of the union and there's want been a more divisive person since george wallace. he wrote this response to charlottesville. any part of the statement that you agree with? >> senator danworth has always been helpful to me and he's a friend of mine. this is not unusual for him to set a standard that is not necessarily the standard that gets things done. we have to work with the president and it's a mistake to get in a fight with the president. it's not a mistake to disagree when you disagree. it is a mistake to suggest that somehow this president who was elected just as the constitution prescribed and has the responsibility to lead the

country that somehow we need to not work with this president, i think, is a bad road to go down. >> is the president as divisive as senator danforth is claiming? >> i don't think so. i don't think so. i was with the president in springfield, missouri, my hometown wednesday and he talked about the importance of better jobs and more take-home pay and that's a message that resonates in the country. we are almost at the end of a full decade of people's take-home pay and what they can spend on their family has not increased. the president wants to see that happen. we ought to all be focused on making that happen and that will be a test of whether this congress and this president can do the job. >> all right. roy blount, you have a busy september. good to see you, sir. thanks for coming on. when we come back, the president's tough august has taken a toll among his supporters. what trump voters told thus week about what they think the job the president is doing so far. welcome back. y think the jo the president is doing so far.

welcome back. panelists here matthey conte, editor in cheer of the beacon. kristin welker, and susan page, and eddie glaude the chair of the center of african-american studies of princeton university. welcome.

not quite the holiday weekend feel, i think, to the news. we've got a lot to get to, and i want to get to it through the prism of how the president is being perceived right now even by some of his supporters. there isn't a striking focus group this week that peter hart, one of the democratic hats that the wall street journal poll conducted in pittsburgh, and i'm going to play some sound and these are all people that voted for president trump. take a listen. >> he's not even professional, let alone presidential. >> the thing that drives me crazy is all of the tweeting he does. >> maybe there's personal motives for his businesses involved, but i truly think he wants this country to be the best it can be. >> he is our president until and if he gets impeached. >> as much as i thought he would be a quick learner and delegate to top-notch individuals, he hasn't done that. >> matthew. i emphasize again, those are

people who supported the president, all of them there. those sound like grades that they're not ready to look at again yet. >> one thing struck at me, chuck, which was the criticism of president trump's tweeting habit, and you see two different trumps. one is when he conforms to the mold of what we expect of a president, and there, i think, his supporters and some leaners or independents generally approve things like hissing a afghanistan speech and his budget speech and his response to hurricane harvey. when he gets outside those official capacities and when he starts tweeting and when he dukes it out with the media like he did with the post-charlottesville press conference and then those supporters start going, can he just change a little bit? i think they like the disruption and that's what they like, the idea that it's not working and we like somebody who will shake things up and they want to see a little more function and that's one of the big tests for both the hurricane relief and the response to north korea. they want to have the feeling that he has some control in these two big challenges and especially north korea.

i mean, that is a challenge that has the most catastrophic possibilities of any we've seen since the end of the cold war. >> this reaction isn't new. we saw it during the campaign and we saw people questioning his confidence and his temperament and this isn't new. in some ways, you remember in 1982 when mayor bradley ran for california and we had the bradley effect and there was the social desirability progress, and he was leading in the polls and he lost and we need to talk about the trump effect and there are folks who will tell us that he's incompetent and the tmz video is horrible, but in the end of the day they'll support him. >> for his supporters, they tolerated the tweets, some of the chaos during the campaign because they thought that he would be more restrained, he would rein it in once he was in the oval office, out of the good of the country and out of self-preservation and that's part of why you're hearing the

frustration because they feel the chaos has persisted for too long and i also think, more broadly, there's the frustration that he hasn't had any major legislative achieve ams and that's why there's so much riding on this fall agenda which you were discussing with senator blount. >> what can get done this fall? >> on one hand they have the must dos. on the other hand he does need something that's a signature. >> right. >> how does he get the signature? they look look they're in conflict. >> senator blount occurred to me that tax reform kept going down the bottom of the list when you have the priorities to keep the federal government functioning. the legislative agenda is a tax cut of some kind that keeps going down that calendar and maybe even until next year now. >> think about health care and tax reform, and health care only the president is messing around still with health care. in this way, the hurricane which is a tragedy and we're thinking about the people that we've seen on tv and elsewhere. it's also an opportunity because it changes the agenda. if he can deliver on hurricane

relief in a serious way, even though it doesn't get to tax reform. maybe that's an agenda item, but gives him something that makes him competent. >> if he stays focused on harvey and he'll move over there, but then he's not and the developer in him, this could be an opportunity for him to be in his comfort zone. >> you know, i think so, and i think that's right, but we need to understand that donald trump is just the tip of the ideological divide iceberg that we tend to put trump over here and those who are against trump over there, but underneath there's all of this division, right? the freedom caucus, right? corporate republicans, right? libertarian, you have democrats and corporate democrats and you have the left within the democratic party. all of this is underneath and we tend to focus it toward trump, whether you're successful or not, but this is happening which complicates and mix up the legislative process.

>> i think you will see short-term harmony over trying to get relief for hurricane harvey systems. i do think they're going to tie the debt limit to hurricane harvey relief. i am being told that that is increasingly likely and what happens next? how do you get tax reform done? there are divisions between the white house and capitol hill over the specifics and that's where it gets more will challenging, and i haven't brought up daca. i will bring up daca. why houston is vulnerable to flooding and why it is so difficult to have the city prevent something like this from happening again. why houston is vulnerable to flooding and why it is so difficult to have the city prevent something like this from happening again. ♪ ♪ ♪

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and we are back, ♪ ♪ and we are back, data download time. in the wake of hurricane harvey, what kind of challenges could houston face as it starts to rebuild? taking a look at how the city has changed in the last two decades, it could help us start to understand. harris county, texas, the houston metro area has seen its population explode since the turn of the century from 3.4 million residents in 2000 to nearly 4.6 million in 2016, a 35% increase in less than 20 years. much faster than most metro

areas. notably, one part of houston's population influx came from new orleans residents displaced by hurricane katrina in 2005. roughly 250,000 residents took refuge in houston following that storm and an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 of those folks still remain in houston today. houston is also a very diverse city. since 2000, its white, non-hispanic population has declined from 42% to 30% while at the same time the hispanic population has risen from 33 to 42% and this could present another set of challenges to the recovery efforts. pew estimates more are undocumented residents, are they eligible for federal dollars? the population explosion also comes with consequences. between 2000 and 2015 over 400,000 housing units were constructed in the houston area for the population explosion and houston has had to pave the way literally for these new residents. harris county has 35,000 lane miles of road. bear county, home to san antonio is similar in size geographically to harris county, but is less than half of the amount of lane miles of road. why does this matter?

all of this development has led to the paving over of wetlands and prairies and it is less able to absorb the huge amount of rain of harvey and all of this suggests this won't be the last time we see major flooding in houston. >> when we come back, what we learned this week about the russia investigation. we'll have the latest on what was a litany of new developments. investigation. we'll have the latest on what was a litany of new developments. ♪ ♪ crohn's disease. you're more than just a bathroom disease. you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara®

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welcome back. oh, by the way, russia. and i say oh, by the way, because as my executive producer put it in one of our morning meetings this week, he said there's a lot of this and that. let me run through a little bit of the this and that and he obtains a little draft of president trump firing comey, special counsel mueller is teaming up with the irs and paul manafort, the one-time campaign manager turns up a bunch of notes including notes from the infamous meeting with some russians and donald trump jr., and of course, we find out that yes, the trump organization was

trying to build a trump tower in moscow. susan page, it is a lot of this and that. what does it tell us, big picture, about the way the special council is. >> it's a reminder that you may not be paying attention to the russia investigation, but the russia investigation is paying attention to you. bob mueller is not happy that there is more attention on him than the blasts, and he is going to persist and he will find things and these are suggestions of them that we don't know now, but we will know eventually. >> the discipline of the president will get tested on the next 10 days on russia and hillary clinton and she'll combine the two when her book comes out. is he going to be able -- he's avoided the topic of russia for him a lot over the last two weeks. will it continue? >> we'll see when the headline breaks that he feels compelled to respond to, if he can resist. how central trump is to all of the responses to the russia

investigation. remember, of course, he was involved in the statement of the crafting of john junior's statement when news of that meeting leaked, too. this, i think, is a potential problem for the president as mueller's investigation comes to a kind of a climax where he might be asked to testify and that, i think, is a point of maximum danger. i want to switch gears a little bit on tuesday and the president will make some announcement on daca. this is the president's deferred action, and children brought over here illegally by their parents protected by deportation with an executive order by president trump. kristin, is the president going to rescind it? is the president going to ask congress to codify it? where is he headed on this? >> my sources tell me he has made a decision. they won't tell me what that decision is, unfortunately, but they also caution, look, he being always change his mind. there's been a very robust debate inside the white house. a lot of people saying particularly in the wake of

hurricane harvey, you cannot rescind daca. you cannot take away these legal protections for 800,000 young people. i am told most likely he's going to find a way not to have his hand on the knife and that could mean kick it to the legal system or to congress, but his base is saying they want to see him rescind it. >> eddie, i smell a -- he's going to kick it to congress and ask congress to codify it. look at the responses from orrin hatch. i've urged the president not to rescind daca, hint, i don't want to vote for it. paul ryan, i don't think he should do that. again, he wants to keep it. is he ready to vote for it? rick scott, governor of florida, very close to the president personally and politically and also wants to run for the united states senate in the state of florida, he wants protect these kids. is thissed headed to congress? it seems like if the president wants to pull a political fast one and says i am going to rescind it in six months. >> that makes political sense and i'm not sure that fits donald trump's m.o.

what i'm interested is in something kristin said. this is about his base and we can think about the policy issues and this is an undertow, that this is red meat to his base and it's a deep seeded anxiety, that this immigration issue is not about securing the border and it's not about jobs and fixing a bad immigration policy. it's really about what houston looks like. it's a majority, minority nation. >> where are we in the party? >> complicating the issue is that the republican party itself is divided. all of the republicans you quoted, chuck, come from the pro-business moderate wing. >> the chamber wing. >> there are two other wings. one is the tea party conservatives who oppose daca for separation of power reasons and of course, you have the working class populists who are for immigration restrictionism and want to reduce the number of legal immigrants admitted. that's two lines of the party versus the pro-business moderate wing.

i think we might see the end of daca in the coming months. >> very interesting. we'll be back in 45 seconds with "endgame." chief of staff john kelly already on the white house endangered species list? we'll be right back. coming up, "endgame" brought to you by boeing, continuing our mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. "endgame," brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. when only the best will do... tempur-pedic delivers. tempur material provides up to twice as much pressure relieving power, so you wake up feeling like a champion. through september 17th, save up to $500

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>> and we are back. august, of course, brought a whole sea change and the john kelly chief of staff reign here. look at this, he apparently continues with some trump supporters call a purge, if you will. john kelly's pushing out now omarosa because he has denied her access to the president believing she was somebody that was feeding him vibes and roger stone tweeting last night, of course, a political consultant on and off relationship with the president, reporting that longtime trump bodyman keith schiller is leaving the white house. the kelly purge question mark? >> i think general kelly is definitely the chief of staff and he's gaining control in the staff in a way reince priebus was not able to do. he is still not chief of the president and nor could a chief of staff do that, and you see all those signs and that fuels the speculation about how long will john kelly last if he -- if

president trump feels like he's being managed. >> kristin, it was very interesting, all of the trump reporters called up all of the friends of trump who have now been disappointed that they don't have access to the president anymore or that john kelly listens on the phone conversation. that's -- they're sending a signal to the president that hey, is john kelly's handcuffs too tight on the president? >> i think that some within trump world think it is too tight. look, the president does feel, to some extent, as though he's being handcuffed, but there is broad agreement, democrats and republicans say the messaging coming out of the white house is more disciplined and i can tell you the president is still talking to some of those former advisers and people like steve bannon. he's still getting their mind meld as he's making these decisions and that's some of the push and pull you will see in the coming weeks. >> the schiller think in particular, is there a point where he feels too isolated, where he feels who is with me other than hope? >> keith schiller is one of his friends. he might take that as a personal

loss if he has distance. john kelly has been through a lot and one question i have is how long is he going to want to remain in the job? >> and there's always the challenge, you know, to borrow senator blount's language as he described another leader, there is another one that spoiled that he has to manage and i don't know how long this is going to last. >> the happiest about john kelly are lawmakers on capitol hill and finally, they're getting a clear message out of the white house. >> all of it gets tested in the month of september. you guys are great. appreciate it. >> thanks, chuck. >> rough week. that's all we have for today. have a safe and enjoyable last gasp of summer this labor day weekend, enjoy the football and remember, we'll be back next week because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press". >> you can see more "endgame" in "post game" on the mtp facebook page. wooend, enjoy the football and remember, we'll be back next week because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press". >> you can see more "endgame" in "post game" on the mtp facebook page.

any threat towards the united states territories, including guam or our allies will be met with a mass iive military response. a response both effective and overwhelming. >> the defense secretary warning north korea's kim jong un following reports a rogue nation carried out its sixth nuclear test, shaking china and russia. a blockbuster report generating the swens backlash that president trump will end daca. neighborhood after neighborhood in houston still recovering from harvey's