their bright and glowing eyes. thank you so much. [ applause ] really beautiful. thank you. you know that, right? also joining us today is a very special friend. 7-year-old christian jacobs, who is here with his mom, britney. i met christian exactly one year ago today. last year, after the wreath laying ceremony, christian walked over to me, with great confidence, shook my hand, looked me straight in the eye and asked if i would like to meet his dad. he loved his dad. marine sergeant christopher jacobs, who died when christian was just 8 months old.

next, christian, looking as sharp as you could look, dressed in a beautiful marine outfit. i've never seen a marine look that good in my life, christian. [ applause ] he wanted to look good. he told me as a tribute to his father, and he led me to his dad's grave, and we paid our respects together. it was a moment i will always remember. christian, i want you to know that even though your father has left this world, he's left it for the next. but he's not gone. he'll never be gone. your dad's love, courage, and strength live in you, christian. as you grow bigger and stronger, just like him, so too does your

father's incredible legacy. so thank you both. that's so beautiful. thank you. mauz because [ applause ] thank you. >> thank you, christian. good to see you. he's become my friend, i will tell you. a special young man. to every family member of the fallen, i want you to know that the legacy of those you lost does not fade with time, but grows only more powerful. their legacy does not, like a

voice in distance, become a faint echo, but instead their legacy grows deeper, spreading further, touching more lives, reaching down through time, and out across many generations. through their sacrifice, your loved ones have achieved something very, very special -- immortality. today we also remember the more than 82,000 american servicemen and women that remain missing from wars and conflicts fought over the past century. we will never stop searching for them. [ applause ] and whenever possible, we will bring them home. we pledge to remember not just on memorial day, we will always

remember them. we will remember them every day. moments ago, i laid a wreath in tribute to those resting in honored glory. for more than 80 years, the sentinels of the old guard have kept watch over the tomb of the unknown soldier. serving in this elite unit is among the most prestigious honors in the united states military. while the rest of us sleep, while we go about our lives, through every minute, through every day, through freezing cold, scorching heat, and raging storms, they stand watch. even when the earth shook beneath their feet on 9/11, and smoke from the pentagon darkened the sky, above these tree lined

hills, here they remained faithful at their post. eternal on guard. they never moved. the sentinel always stands, because america never forgets -- it's our heroes who make us who we are, and who determine what we will be. [ applause ] our fallen heros have not only written our history, but they shaped our destiny. they saved the lives of the men and women with whom they served. they cared for their families more than anything in the world. they love their families. they inspired their communities, uplifted their country, and provided the best example of courage, virtue, and valor the

world will ever know. they fought and bled and died so that america would forever remain safe and strong and free. each of the markers on that field, each of the names engraved in stone teach us what it means to be loyal and faithful and proud and brave and righteous and true. that is why we come to this moment sacred place. that is why we guard these grounds with absolute devotion. that is why we always will remember. because here, on this soil, on these grounds, beneath those fields, lies the true source of american greatness, of american

glory, and of american freedom. as long as we are blessed with patriots such as these, we shall forever remain one people, one family, and one nation under god. [ applause ] it's been my great honor to be with you today. i want to thank you. my god bless the families of the fallen. may god bless the men and women who serve, and may god bless the united states of america. our great country. thank you. thank you very much. [ cheers and applause ]

[ applause continues ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the playing of "taps" and the benediction. then remain standing for the playing of "america the beautiful." [ "taps" being played ]

♪ [ "taps" being played ] >> and with the mournful playing of "taps," good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington on this memorial day. president trump at arlington national cemetery, honoring america's heroes, including 94-year-old former senator bob dole, in attendance today. grieve usely wounded during world war ii. joining me now is jeff bennett and bill neely. jeff, arlington cemetery is

actually running out of space 17 years into the war in afghanistan, section 60, the iraq and afghan veterans, brave veterans' graves filling that section. according to reporting today, there's only 25 years left at this pace in a cemetery that was supposed to last another 150 years. some choices ahead if they're going to toughen the requirements for being buried in arlington. >> reporter: that's right. the army would like arlington to stay open for another 150 years, but in order to do it, they would have to restrict burials to a certain kind of veteran, even those killed in the line of duty or those who received the medal of honor. so some tough choices ahead. i can tell you, the cemetery is taking public comments and they're expected to arrive at some decision by the fall, andrea. >> and jeff, talking about north korea, i want to bring in bill with all the late developments.

but you were talking to people at the white house. the white house clearly, according to the president's tweets and according to all the statements over the weekend from sarah sanders and others, they sent joe hagen, the deputy chief of staff, to singapore to do the planning. and they also sent a high-level team former ambassador to north korea to talk about the policy with north korea's hardline deputy foreign minister. so they're working on the assumption that this singapore summit is back on. >> reporter: that's right. ky tell you that u.s. officials are now working overtime to make the reality on the ground reflect the president's stated desire to salvage this summit. perhaps even have it on the original scheduled date of june 12th. you mentioned the advance team in singapore, the delegation in north korea having direct talks. it looks like there's enough momentum to bring both sides to the table, but there are questions how quickly kim will decide or offer to give up his

weapons. and what assurances he might get in return. it's not just about the weapons, there are questions of economic sanctions, questions about the presence of u.s. troops in south korea. but i can tell you that based on my conversations with white house officials, andrea, there's a sense of relief and that the president's decision to cancel the summit this past weekend, they believe really lowered expectations for this meeting when it happens, because there are those that point out to the president that coming one a plan that's acceptable to all sides, but judging the success of that plan will take time, and that there are no quick wins here. andrea? >> and to bill neely, of course, in seoul, what is the risk now to the relationship with president moon who wanted this? he campaigned on it, and then was blindsided by the president's sudden cancellation. what is going on between the south koreans and the u.s.? >> reporter: yeah, andrea,

president moon clearly wasn't happy. i think the word that was used was perplexed when he heard that the summit was canceled on thursday. he, of course, has virtually staked his political reputation here on not just being the mediator but delivering something, and critics here have lambasted him, certainly in the 24 hours after the cancellation about how could you be so naive in bring thing agenda forward? so it really does matter for president moon. it clearly mattered for kim jong-un. and it clearly matters for donald trump. because the summit pronounced dead on thursday by him, is clearly being revived by the delegation that right now is in north korea in the demilitarized zone, trying to negotiate. it's an experienced delegation, led by an ambassador who right back in 2005 was negotiating an agreement. so it may be a mid level team,

but it's highly technical. as jeff said, they will want real assurances from north korea, not just fine words about denuclearization, something that can make this summit a success, andrea. >> bill neely and jeff bennett at the white house, thank you both so much. joining me now, congressman mike gallagher, who serves on the armed services and homeland security committees and served as a captain and counterintelligence officer in the marines on active duty in iraq. thank you for joique us -- joining us on memorial day. you served in iraq, africa, the middle east, and the counterterrorism center. you must be thinking about a lot of your buddies today. >> absolutely. it's a very sorrowful day in some respects, but a reminder of what is great about this country. i apologize for the casual attire, i just came from a

parade, but it's great to see americans come together and honor the sacrifices of our veterans. i hope this day is a cause for reflection, to figure out how we can make sure we're dedicated to the task of making our little patch of grass better than how we found it. >> someone as knowledgeable as you, and we're happy to see you no matter your attire, it's always good to have your expertise. do you have concerns about the rush to the summit in terms of whether or not the policies are in place, an understanding what does kim jong-un mean when he talks about denuclearizing? >> well, i have concerns that the north koreans are not serious when they talk about denuclearization. it's clear we're talking about who different things when we use that phrase. a lot of the things that the north koreans allegedly say are being filtered through a

government in south korea that is committed to getting a deal, and we're getting a little bit of spin there. when we talk about denuclearization, we're talking about dismantlement in a verifiable sense, and the opening up access to the country so that we can verify that it occurred. i just don't see the north korean regime agreeing to that at any point. when kim jong-un talks about denuclearization, he's talking about suspension or temporary pause and things like that. so that's no harm for talking, if for no other reason we can figure out if they're serious about denuclearization. >> victor cha, an analyst for us, what he said about the challenges in terms oh of the policies that they need to get in place. >> in terms of the substance, i mean, we're all focused on the roller coaster. the key issue is, are they going

to give up their nuclear weapons? unfortunately, i think the answer is no. >> what victor cha is saying, he doubts they're going to give up their nuclear weapons, which al. >> victor cha is a very smart man and i consult with him a lot. i don't know any north korean expert that thinks kim jong-un is willing to give up their nuclear weapons. so if that's the case, we should be able to find out through testing diplomacy here, and we're going to need to continue a campaign of maximum pressure. i believe we have just begun to scratch the surface in terms of the pressure we can apply. not only on north korea, but chinese banks. i don't think it would be a bad idea for treasury and justice to send a letter to certain chinese

banks to see whether there was any nefarious activity going on. i think there's a lot more that we can do to impose pressure. so while i'm happy to let the administration test diplomacy, let's be clear eyed about who we're dealing with when we sit down at that table. >> are you worried that the president seems to be praising kim too much and too eager for the summit? >> no. listen, i look at the broader team, right? i think the president has been criticized at times for being too bellicose in his language and now too accommodating. which is it? i don't understand. the team we have in place, mike pompeo, john bolton, these are not people that are going to be easily fooled by the north korean regime. so i find it hard to believe we're going to be duped into agreeing into a bad deal. i was happy that the president announced he was willing to walk

away. we wound up in a very bad place to the iran deal, because it was transparent that the obama administration was unwilling to walk away. that is the risk you take in negotiations like this. there's a certain path dependency that occurs, self-fulfilling pressure to get any deal under any conditions, but we have to step back and say is this in our interest? will this verifiably eliminate the threat of a nuclear north korea? >> thank you so much, congressman. thank you for joining us on memorial day. good luck with your parades. coming up later, catastrophic flash floods tear into a maryland town for the second time in two years. as florida braces for the first named storm of the season, making landfall this afternoon. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us on msnbc. (vo) we came here for the friends.

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maryland is under a state of emergency after heavy rainfall triggered devastating flooding in ellicott city. this is the second time in less than two years since the city's

main street was slammed by powerful flash feeding, and now this. officials confirmed one person is missing. joining me with the latest is christian dahlgren. this is such a tragedy for this community. >> reporter: it really is on so many lefs, andrea. edison herman is an air force veteran, and a member of the national guard. his friends tell us he was here and trying to help people in those flood waters, actually wading into the water when people saw him washed away. so they are continuing the search for him at this hour. some of his friends, he's so beloved, have decided to search themselves. they're downstream, organizing a search, they're going to go out and continue to look for him. that as the cleanup gets under way here.

behind me, you can see huge amounts of dirt and mud that need to be moved, that were deposited here. this parking lot was full of cars that had been dropped here by the rushing waters. the waters so powerful, and you can see it in the videos we were seeing from the flooding yesterday, just moving cars as if they were doing and taking down buildings. the water just so powerful, it took almost everything in its way. it was well above the first floor in many of the buildings. so it's going to cost millions and millions of dollars. this is an area that just two years ago saw at that time they called a 1,000 year flood. they didn't think this could be worse, and today they are saying this one was worse. >> and just very, very briefly, was mr. herman on active duty or just volunteering? >> reporter: it sounds at this

point, and we're just getting this from his friends, he was just here in this area and decided to go out and help. it's an incredible story of bravery. >> thank you so much. more bad weather in the south in florida. residents in the western panhandle bracing for subtropical storm alberto. expected to hit the gulf coast within the next few hours. let's get the latest from panama city, florida. mia? >> reporter: the storm is expected to make landfall in destine, just west of where we are, with 65-mile-per-hour winds and there are red flag warnings up and down the coast. take a look at the high surf. these waters are so calm here in this area. but that is certainly not the case today. we have not seen anyone in the water. but there have been people walking up and down the beaches here, even though they are

closed. you heard from florida governor rick scott in the last hour. he was warning about a potential two to four-foot storm surge along the coast. there have been so evacuations in franklin county just east of here. the big concern at this point, andrea, all of the heavy rain and flooding that can come from it. andrea? >> mya rodriguez in panama city, thank you. coming up, what president trump and his lawyers are saying about the mueller investigation now. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections

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welcome back. president trump went on a tweet storm this weekend over the holidays, slamming what he called the russia collusion witch hunt. two of his other favorite targets, president obama and hillary clinton. this as his attorney rudy giuliani went on tv sunday to try and delegitimize the mueller investigation. >> the president, we're more convinced as we see it, this is a rigged investigation. >> you think that the mueller probe is legitimate? >> not anymore. i don't. i did when i came in. >> my flenlriend dana bash on c yesterday. joining me now are my guests. both are msnbc national security analysts. welcome both. i want to share with you something else that rudy giuliani said, casting

dispersions on two of your former colleagues. this is what he had to say about james clapper and john brennan. >> i have no regard at all for clapper and brennan. i think they're two clowns. i mean, clapper is talking about spying, and brennan has been -- he was chief torturer in charge. then he disowned it, then i don't know what he did with the cia. but he's the most political cia director i have ever met. >> john, over to you. on both counts, we're talking about general clapper. 50 years of service, minimum, in and out of intelligence. >> these are two people i know well, worked with for many, many years. they are both honorable people. they both are nonpolitical people. yes, they worked for presidents,

but we all did. i think every one of us, including those two, have worked for presidents of republican and democratic administrations. and i think what giuliani said there amounts to a kind of crude character assassination that characterizes really the whole manner in which he and the president are talking about this investigation. >> and, in fact, what jim clapper had said was to deny that there was a spy embedded. you know the fbi better than anyone, the difference between an informant and a "spy" with, in this case, the informant being used to check out legitimate levels of inquiry about the role of certain trump campaign associates and their connections to russia before they launched a full investigation. >> i think it's important to make this distinction between what was being targeted here. so it's important for the public to understand that it appears the fbi was trying to flesh out

and test whether or not the russians truly pep tranetrated campaign, whether or not cam pin offici -- campaign officials were receptive. and that's very different than embledding an informant to targt campaign strategy. none of that has occurred. we know there were meetings with republican and democratic members of congress, and the democrats come out and said there's nothing here. everything was above board. but more importantly, andrea, we're seeing the strategy evidenced by rudy giuliani, which is a scorched earth strategy to attack the investigators, and the investigation. rather than to rebut any findings coming out. i think that's fascinating. >> it's also a strategy by the president and rudy and -- rudy giuliani and others working for the president to label things, to use that spygate phrase, the

witch hunt, and it's beginning to penetrate. john, i know you don't deal with politics, but we're seeing this in the polling, that people are beginning to absorb these messages, and it does junltd mi -- undermine the mueller investigation. >> we see a classic technique used by authoritarian governments. it's been established over a long period of time that if someone in authority such as the president says something over and over and over again it sinks in to a public that is otherwise distracted by the events of normal life, which everyone is entitled to be. not everyone follows this in the detail that we all do. and i was thinking as i came in here today about the long-term effects of all of this. we really need to think about it. every couple of days it seems the president sends us all down some rabbit hole, chasing some

weird thing that turns out to be compelling in its need to be covered. but on the other hand turns out to dissolve in front of you as you examine it. what is the american public to make of all of this when the president is doing this over and over and over again? i think the long-term effects are not going to be minimal here. >> and that's exactly what devin nunes seems to be doing, beginning with unmasking and one thing after another. which don't pan out, frank. >> yeah, i think the public is going to have to focus on the facts relentlessly and try not to be distracted by all of this noise. but the noise is going to get louder and louder. in the last couple of days, rudy giuliani has actually revealed what the strategy is. he said -- he's even said, there may not be -- we don't know if there's been collusion with the russians, but even if there was, it may not have been that bad or may not be a crime. that's an interesting strategy.

if that's the best you have, to attack comey's leaking of a memo that predicated the special counsel, to attack the christopher steele dossier that may have been used, if that's the best you have and you're not prepared to say we didn't do that crime, then the public needs to understand they're not rebutting the facts, they're simply creating some noise. >> thank you both so much for coming in on memorial day. speaking of spying, a secret operation, which was spying. an israeli security company stopped by former israeli government elite spies for mossad was targeting obama officials and their families. who hired this company? richard engel learned it had a

political aim. here's a clip from richard's report. >> it's creepy to know that someone was trying to dig up your profile and the names of your kids and in-laws and your wife and where your live. that's pretty sleazy. >> i don't have much to hide, but it's not okay with us that some firm is trying to gain access to us. >> who wanted this done? >> joining me now for more about his investigation, richard engel. it's fascinating, it's

disturbing to say the least. >> it certainly is. you mentioned harvey weinstein. that source was someone with direct knowledge of this operation, and he was hiding his identity because he was concerned about repercussions and his own safety. black cube did an operation for harvey weinstein. that's been well documented a t this stage. and harvweinstein hired this coy based in israel to find out information about his accusers and to manipulate his accusers, to throw them off of their goal, which was to expos harvey weinstein. obviously it didn't work out the way he planned. then there's another operation by this same company, with a such more political operation, a much more political objective. and that operation targeted two members of the obama administration. colin kahl, you saw him with the

glasses on in that clip you just showed, and ben rhodes. the idea was to go after these two former officials, try and find out whatever they could about them, big into their private lives with the idea of exposing whatever dirt they could unearth. not just to undermine the credit -- not to just discredit these two government officials, but to discredit a piece of legislation or a piece of diplomacy that they were involved in, which is the iran nuclear deal. so the ideal was, go back, target the architects of the iran nuclear deal. people were very publicly associated with defending the iran nuclear deal and discredding them, you discredit the deal. >> do you have a time frame? and who could have hired black cube, this israeli firm? >> so the time frame was, until relatively recently, right

around the transition period, we're talking about the transition period when president-elect trump was still president-elect and then the early days of the administration, that seems to be the peak point of this operation. who hired them? we don't have a contract, but we have two sources, including the one you just heard, that says the end client was the trump camp. no one is suggesting that there's a contract somewhere with president trump's name on it. but that it was someone who undertook this -- who hired this company to benefit the trump administration. >> richard engel, thanks for your reporting. there's also reporting by "the new york times" that report who had been in touch with ben rhodes were also targeted. i was one of those listed. i knew nothing about it other than what "the times" reported. coming up, president trump pointing a finger at democrats

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the trump administration is under increasing pressure to locate nearly 1500 migrant

children, some of them separated from their parents under trump administration policies. and the president reacting to the news by falsely blaming democrats, tweeting saturday -- >> joining me now is my panel, sam stein, jordan frazier, and a.b. stoddard. sam, it was everything in one tweet. if you could break it down and tell us where this policy came from. i know that sessions -- jeff sessions announced the separation policy, and they view it as chief of staff kelly said, as a deterrent to try to stop

migrant families from coming, because they might be separated from their children. >> a few things going on here. one is that with regards to the missing children, they're missing in the sense that these are unaccompanied minors who have come to the border. there's a policy where they're put with foster family, and hhs keeps track of them. for 1500 or so of these kids, they lost the ability to keep track. they may still be with their foster parents, but hhs does not know the status of them. that's causing a lot of concern and consternation on capitol hill. they fear in part, they might be sent into human trafficking or terrible working conditions. there's a trump administration policy that says you can -- a parent crossing the board we are their child can be -- the child can be removed from that parent's custody as they go through the prosecution proceedings. that was an explicit trump administration policy. there's no law, despite what the president is saying, and it was done as a deterrent to persuade

parents not to come across the border, especially not to come across with their children. >> and we're talking about 1500 kids. >> yeah. >> somewhere lost in the bureaucracy. jordan, the president and all of this rhetoric about it seems to be suggesting that, you know, we have to be tougher and he's been cracking down on his homeland security secretary for not being tough enough. >> lots of drama in that relationship there. what's so interesting about this whole story, we're talking about this largely because of social media. again, social media has brought this story up where we're facing a larger moral question, of who do we want to be as a country and how do we want to treat these children in particular. rob portman from ohio has been outspoken about this and said this is isn't necessarily a question about law. this is a moral question about how we want to act as a country. it will be interesting when congress comes back how they're confronted with this.

which know kamala harris has called this immoral and tweeting about it over the weekend. so we'll see if more senators join in on that conversation. >> mitch mcconnell has not wanted to rejoin the debate over immigration, but there is a push by some members of congress, some republicans, as well, to deal with daca and come up withwith an immigration bill. >> the president keeps talking about loophole s in the law tha permit children from staying, now that the trump administration wants to deport their parents. the fact is, republicans control the congress. so if loopholes need to be closed, it's on the republicans. this is the last thing republicans want to deal with. senator portman and others don't want to answer questions about these tragic stories of separation and these incredible pictures. what's going on with the moderate republicans in the

house is also really threatening this question of what republican voter is going to turn out to defend the majority in the midterm elections. that's why leadership is saying no, let's not handle it. trying to solve the daca program. president trump would like to keep the issue alive for the midterms seeing it as a way to turn out his base with an election that otherwise they might stay home. >> to your point about secretary nielsen. on one hand privately reamed out by president trump for not being tough enough on the border, for people even coming. to watch this weekend as the president calls out a policy, his own policy, she's been asked to implement saying this is inhumane. you must wonder at what point does she have a breaking point? this is morally indefensible what i'm doing, ripping children from they're parents and not able to possibly please my boss the president of the united states. one hand he wants me tougher, the other hand publicly says

this policy is unethical. >> and because she's already defended it enough i don't know she can necessarily backtrack at this point. >> what about midterms and whether or not this becomes a compelling issue? were you in new hampshire when jeff flake was -- >> i was. >> on "meet the press" yesterday. play a little of that. >> one quick thing. have you ruled out running for president? >> that's not in my plans but i've not ruled anything out. i do hope somebody runs on the republican side other than the president. if nothing else, simply to remind republicans what conservatism is, and what republicans have traditionally stood for. >> if you ran would you only run as a republican? >> i think so. >> no one is running until president until they are running for president. he shows every sign of wanting to run for president. i thought the last part of chuck's question was most interesting. asked, would you run as a

republican? because from a practical standpoint, running against an incumbent republican president is very difficult if not impossible. jeff flake is in this position now because he faced an uphill battle in 2018 for re-election and it was a fight he couldn't win. so -- you know, the practicality of that isn't there. >> you can see in senator flake's comments what you see in paul ryan. mourning the loss of the republican party that doesn't really exist anymore. only thinks of himself as republican hopes after the midterms say democrats take the house, a huge come to jesus moment for the republican party, maybe some will come back and recover itself. most people don't think so. they think it's a party of trump, but that's what he's living the door open for. >> i want to close bringing us up to date on george herbert walker bush. the latest information on president bush 41, back in the fred second time since his wife's barbara's death in april.

only days after returning to a warm welcome in kennebunkport, maine, summer retreat. the hospital stay comes only a day after president bush joined fellow local veterans and former national security mince sister itself at the american legion post for an annual pancake breakfast. the oldest living former president is awake, alert, not in any discomfort, but will unfortunately miss his traditional appearance at the kennebunkport memorial day parade today and we are thinking about him and wishing him well. coming up, the next generation. how a group of kids are leading the fight against climate change. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is great... when i can keep up! - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide.

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is part of a bigger picture. that bigger picture is statewide mutual aid. california years ago realized the need to work together. teamwork is important to protect the community, but we have to do it the right way. we have a working knowledge and we can reduce the impacts of a small disaster, but we need the help of experts. pg&e is an integral part of our emergency response team. they are the industry expert with utilities. whether it is a gas leak or a wire down, just having someone there that deals with this every day is pretty comforting. we each bring something to the table that is unique and that is a specialty. with all of us working together we can keep all these emergencies small. and the fact that we can bring it together and effectively work together is pretty special. they bring their knowledge, their tools and equipment and the proficiency to get the job done. and the whole time i have been in the fire service, pg&e's been there, too. whatever we need whenever we need it.

i do count on pg&e to keep our firefighters safe. that's why we ask for their help. the trump opposition to climate change policies is challenged in court. tammy leitner has the story of 20 kids taking matters into their own hands trying to make the world a better place for everyone. >> what's in here? >> my pet hermit crab. >> reporter: lehigh seems like any other 10-year-old, but this precocious science geek knows more about climate change than many adults. >> i worry about it basically every day. >> reporter: he's worried rising sea levels could mean his home along the florida coast could disappear completely. >> if climate change does not

stop we will probably have very little beach. >> we all have a stake in this case. >> reporter: levigh and 20 others from across the country decided to do something. suing the federal government for failing to protect the earth. >> this case is about the federal government for more than five decades creating a dangerous climate situation for young people and for all future generations. >> reporter: 14-year-old jaden boytelin in louisiana woke to floodwater and sewage pouring into her home. and this child in alaska sees his hometown slowly melting with each warming winter and this 17-year-old from the navajo reservation in nevada faces drought. the problem is older than any of the plaintiffs. the government argues the courts are no place to decide energy and environmental policy. that's congress' job. and while droughts, floods and rising sea levels may affect

children, there's no fundamental right to be protected from climate change. >> in this case, the government, ironically, is on the defense. >> reporter: legal analyst david hackett is surprised the case made it this far. >> the plaintiffs bucked the odds. >> reporter: a highly unlikely case that's a personal cause for 21 young people. >> i just hope i can inspire other young people, other youth, to take action. it's everybody's future. if i wouldn't have a home on this barrier island, then i have to do something. i have to make a change. >> reporter: tammy leitner, msnbc, satellite beach, florida. >> yep. to be inspired by a 10-year-old. it's a wonderful lesson for all of us. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember veterans and their service today and follow our show online, facebook and twitter @andreamichellereports. katy tur the up next. >> only the bottom of the totem

pole work the holiday. what are you doing here, my friend? >> i am below the -- no. it's an honor. privilege to be next to you. >> absolutely. i always say that. andrea mitchell, the queen. have a good holiday. thank you very much. good afternoon, i'm katy tur at msnbc headquarters in new york following two big stories. one of them is a danger -- dangerous weather across the map this memorial day weekend from the aftermath of dramatic flash flooding in maryland to the first named storm of the 2018 hurricane season, about to make landfall this afternoon in florida. first, a city outside of maryland. a state of emergency in effect today after catastrophic flash floods. raging rivers replaced roads and swept cars down the street. a stone cottage was knocked right off its foundation.