despite growing calls to resign, the labor secretary is defending his role in cutting a deal for wealthy sex offender jeffrey epstein a decade ago. but the attorney is pushing back saying as to ka is is completely wrong. nancy pelosi issues a warning to fellow democrats telling them to come talk to her instead of tweeting complaints. and flash flooding hits new orleans but the worst may be yet to come. the coastline is under a hurricane watch this morning.

good morning, it's thursday, july 11th. yasmin has the week off. labor secretary alex acosta has no apologies for his actions in the 2008 non-prosecution agreement with jeffrey epstein. a deal that let him avoid the possibility of a a lengthy jill sentence and violated a law to notify victims. while critics say the offer shielded other who is may have been implicated in the misconduct, a person familiar with the matter tells nbc news that president trump spoke to acosta by phone tuesday afternoon and urged him to hold a news conference to answer reporters' questions about the case. acosta read an eight-minute statement and took questions for about 45 minutes in which he deflected the blame. victims were rehuk tant to be identified in the times that we're living in.

>> facts are important and facts are being overlooked. this matter started as a state matter. it was prosecuted initially by the state of florida, not by the u.s. attorney's office. the palm beach state attorney's office was ready to let epstein walk free, no jail time, nothing. prosecutors in my former office found this to be completely unacceptable and they became involved. our office became involved. without the work of our prosecutors, epstein would have gotten away with just that state charge. >> yet the palm beach county state attorney at the time he can emphatically state that secretary acosta is completely wrong. federal prosecutors do not take a backseat to state prosecutors. that's not how the system works in the real world. the u.s. attorney's office produced a 53-page indictment that was abandoned after secret

negotiations between mr. epstein's lawyers and mr. aco a acosta. the state attorney's office was not a party to those meetings or negotiations and definitely had no part in the federal non-prosecution agreement and the unusual confidentiality arrangement that kept everything hidden from the victims. it he was concerned with the state's case and felt he had to rescue the matter, he would have moved forward with the 5 3-page indictment that his own office drafted. instead, mr. acosta brokered a secret plea deal in violation of the crime victims rights act. acosta defended his position as labor secretary during yesterday's press conference saying he has the president's support. >> i'm here to talk about this case. i'm doing my job. if the president decides i'm not the best person to do this job, i respect that. that's his choice. i serve at the pleasure of the president.

i thought yesterday he was kind and showed great support. >> the white house seemed ple e pleased with acosta's performance saying acosta did very well. acosta received praise from mike pence who dodged a question about acosta not apologizing to epstein's victims. >> acosta had a press conference. he basically defended his actions in the jeffrey epstein plea, which has the world watching. he refused to apologize to the victims. do you have concerns of how he handled that case? should he be serving in this administration? >> there can be no tolerance in america for sexual abuse of children. this administration is glad to see the southern district of new york bringing the prosecution against jeffrey epstein. we were pleased to see them step forward and explain the bay is

sis for the plea agreement they reached in 2008 that his team in the u.s. attorney's office reached in 2008. and again, we will continue to call on and support in every appropriate way the full prosecution of this case against jeffrey epstein. we have to protect our kids. and we've got to make it clear to those who prey upon our children that there's no tolerance for sexual or physical abuse of our children. >> just weeks after a fight over an emergency border bill broke out in the democratic caucus, nancy pelosi appeared to issue a warning to members of her party. according to an aid in the room, pelosi said, quote, you got a complaint? you come and talk to me about it. do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that is just okay. she added, our diversity is our strength, but our unity is our power. and without that unity, we're

playing completely to the hands of the other people. one member in the room said the comments came across as the way a strong mother speaks to her arguing children, stern with a good dose of consequences if it continues. according to "the washington post," pelosi without naming names was speaking to the four liberal freshmen known as the squad. it includes alexandria ocasio-cortez, elon omar and presley. according to interviews, congressional aids and allies the four are struggling with the speaker's moves to isolate them. pelosi has made half a dozen remarks dismissing the group. and asked about why she hasn't confronted pelosi, alexandria ocasio-cortez said she wasn't sure what to do. she told the post, i do find it curious leadership doesn't want us to have any conversation about even messaging. but we're just freshmen.

she also told the post, but the persistent singling out it got to a point it was outright disrespectful. the congresswoman who called the comments demoralizing thank fwod my mother gave me broad shoulders and a strong pack. i can handle it. i'm worried about the signal it sends to the people i speak to and for who sent me here with a mandate and how it affects them. >> joining us from washington is senior writer neil. what's going on here? is this a serious fracture between nancy pelosi and the proce progressives and what does that mean for democrats' ability to get things done? >> a lot of it seems to be basic math. because there are really more moderates within the pelosi house democratic caucus than the progressive left wing who can

take down legislation they are trying to advance. the problem solvers caugcus toward the middle. so some of this is pelosi trying to navigate between what the base wants, which is the priorities of these more liberal members and a lot of those freshmen against the more moderate wing of the caucus who has the numbers to derail legislation. >> let's set aside the substance. it's debatable on the merit, but let's talk about the politics. was that press conference, do you think that was enough to satisfy critics calling for him to step down both within the white house and democrats on the hill? >> i talked briefly with the acting white house chief of staff yesterday. he talked to reporters at the capitol building. and it was enough r for him, it

was probably enough for vice president mike pence. the question is at what point in time does this go away or does the u.s. attorney where you are in manhattan actually come up with something that looks worse for acosta's office. now we're in the wait ask see mode until we hear something from the justice department. >> thank you so much. we'll talk to you in a bit. turning to the tensions with tehran and reports of several iranian boats attempting to impede a british commercial vessel through the strait of hormuz. that's according to a u.s. defense official. armed iranian boats approached the british tanker attempting to drive it into territorial waters. however, a british military warship nearby was able to drive off the three iranian boats.

the foreign minister called the claims of interference worthless. iran's guard core denies the incident took place, but it comes a week after forces seized oil sanctions. yesterday iranian president said great britain would face consequences over that seizure. still ahead, a second judge rejects the justice department's request to change the legal taem on a case involving the 2020 census. what it means for the administration's efforts to add a controversial citizenship question. plus a flooding emergency in new orleans as a tropical cyclone is strengthening in the northern gulf of mexico. bill karins is going to have a full check of the forecast, next. full check of the forecast, next this is the couple who wanted to get away

who used expedia to book the vacation rental which led to the discovery that sometimes

a little down time can lift you right up. expedia. everything you need to go. but we're also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you.

welcome back. the louisiana governor issued a

state of emergency as a severe storm veers towards areas already hit by major flooding. waters rose four feet as new orleans was struck by 10 inches of rain in a three-hour period wednesday morning. forecasters say coastal louisiana could see another 12 to 18 inches of rain by monday. they also predicted the mississippi river could rise 20 feet by late friday. now an army corps of engineers spokesperson says while there are concerns for southern areas of the city, the agency is is not expecting widespread overslapping of the levies. it could be a tropical storm as soon as today and the season's fist hurricane by saturday. with that, let's get a check on your weather this morning with meteorologist bill karins. >> good morning a hot of yes, sir still to be answered. people in louisiana are

preparing. things look better for friends in port arthur to houston. the threat is focusing on louisiana. here's the latest with the storm system and the first thing i noticed as soon as i woke up this morning is is there's not a lot of thunderstorms around the center center is of the storm. for any tropical system to get stronger, you need a lot of robust thunderstorms near the center. that's not the case with this one. we want this to stay as weak as possible. regardless, it's going to be a huge rain producer and still going to send water up the mississippi river towards new orleans can w that storm surge. that's going to be an issue. so here's the new update at 5:00 a.m. it's not even yet a depression. right now it's a potential storm. so they have hurricane watches for all of southern louisiana and into cameron. they have a tropical storm watch up here for areas east of new orleans. so the winds are only at 30 miles per hour. i have very little concerns with the winds. the potential is is all about

water. it's all about how much rain is going to fall and what kind of is surge is going to move up the mississippi river. the forecast from the hurricane center takes it to a tropical storm later today into tonight and then brings it into areas of central louisiana. it make it is a low end hurricane. this is a very unpopulated area. it's very swampy this this region. and this region of louisiana hit by a low-end hurricane i would not expect a a lot of wind damage, but it takes the winds for a long period of time to the new orleans area and towards lake pontchartrain. that's why we're expecting a storm surge of four to six feet. right now the mississippi river as it goes through new orleans is is at 16 feet. so if we get a storm surge of four feet that comes up the mouth of the mississippi river, that gives us the 20-foot number and that's the height of the levy. we'll have to wait and see how bad the overtopping is.

it's a close call. there's a lot of nervous people. >> very close watch. thank you so much. a second federal judge has rejected the jlgts department's plan to overhaul the legal team for citizenship on the census. handed down by george hazel over concerns the decision presents another road block to the trump administration's attempts to find a legal path around the supreme court which barred the question on the basis of contrived reasoning and significant blow to william barr, who personally approved the litigation changes after what he described as weeks of strat ja strategizing with the white house. they have pushed back calling any staffing concerns meritless. joining us onset is legal analyst danny sovolos. all the game changes and strategy, what happens? does this stay in lower courts?

where does this go? >> this isn't that much of a loss for the doj, but it's such a fascinating decision by both of these courts because the general rule is a client is allowed the choice of his or her attorneys. and particular with the doj, it's one giant law firm. so they are switching around people within that law firm. but that right to counsel of your choice only extends so far as until it interferes with the rights of the court or others. and that's why there's an exception to the rule. if this attorney change is going to interfere with the time line or delay the case unnecessarily, then the court can deny it. in this case, the judge didn't deny it forever. he denied it and said you have to show me a better reason. taking a step back and looking at the big picture, this is just one more minor defeat in a series of defeats that is

leading towards the conclusion that there will be no citizenship question. >> is this another case of people who work for the president trying to make the reality on the ground reflect his tweet where he said, no, keep at it. try to get this question on there. >> i think you're on to something. we have to remember that the supreme court didn't really hand the government of the united states a loss. they handed the trump administration a loss. because the supreme court said they could envision a world where citizenship question would be on the census and would be fine. but not for the reasons the trump administration gave. the efforts to explain why they wanted that question were so lousy that they couldn't pass muster.

>> why can't they come back with something that's not contrived president bush. >> consider they have been using one reason for the last several months in litigating this issue. imagine if they went back into their lair, came back out and said now we have a new reason for this citizenship question. even though we never brought that up before, now it's important enough to include it. >> president trump explained why they want that citizenship question. it had had nothing to do with the voting rights act. it's about how you allocate billions of dollars in federal funding and draw congressional districts. >> it brought zero cases. even that argument wasn't a strong one because they don't

seem to be that motivated to begin with. so they would be even less disingenuous to say we have a different reason we never cared about put it's really important, we swear. >> thank you so much. still ahead, it was the celebration for the u.s. women's sock r team, but equal pay took center stage. we'll have the latest on the fight for equity coming up next. . we run right into these crises, and we do not leave until normalcy is restored. we'd been working for days on a site in a storm devastated area. a family pulled up. it was a mom and her kids. everything they had had been washed away. the only thing that brought any kind of solace was the ability to hand her a device so she could call her family and let them know that she was okay. (vo) there for you when it matters most. join us and get up to $650 when you switch. that's verizon.

...depend® silhouette™ briefs feature maximum absorbency, with trusted protection for all out confidence... beautiful colors and an improved fit for a sleek design and personal style. life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. "shaving has been difficult for me i have very sensitive skin, and i get ingrowing hairs" "just stopping that irritation.... that burn that i get. i wouldn't use anything else" ♪ o♪ ozempic®! ♪ oh! oh! (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7 and maintained it. oh! under 7? (announcer) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? (announcer) a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? (announcer) ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people

with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase the risk for low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) if eligible, you may pay as little as $25 per prescription. ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®.

it was a big day as new york city celebrated the four-time world cup champion u.s. women's national team. in a ticker tape parade through lower manhattan, it cull pit nated in city hall. another opportunity to fight for pay equity is is the loud chants broke out. then again while he addressed the crowd. >> equal pay, equal pay, equal pay. >> he went on to voice optimism about achieving that goal. >> we believe that u.s. soccer that all female athletes deserve fair and equitable pay.

and together, i believe we can get this done. >> one of the loudest voices in the players crusade for equal pay and winner of the golden boot award, megan rapinoe closed out the ceremony with a speech calling on everyone to be better. take a look. >> this is my charge to everyone. we have to be better. we have to love more, hate less. we have to listen more, talk less. we have to know that this is everybody's responsibility. every sing is the person here. every single person who is is not here, every single person who doesn't want to be here. every single person who agrees and doesn't agree. it's our job to make this world a better place. >> andrew cuomo signed legislation guaranteeing equal pay in the state. >> how much you want to bet it's going to be a big thing now?

>> with everybody else, yeah. still ahead, much more on the fallout from the sweetheart plea deal jeffrey epstein received a decade ago. why the manhattan district attorney is now coming under scrutiny. plus trump administration officials are warning of active threats ahazard of the 2020 presidential election. what the director of national intelligence and the head of the fbi are telling lawmakers. we'll be right back. k. johnson & johnson is a baby company. but we're also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you.

who used expedia to book the vacation rental which led to the discovery

that sometimes a little down time can lift you right up. expedia. everything you need to go. most of us don't know how much data we use, but we all know we're paying too much for it. enter xfinity mobile. america's best lte with the most wifi hotspots, combined for the first time. when you're near an xfinity hotspot, you're connected to wifi, saving on data. when you're not, you pay for data by the gig. use a little, pay a little. use a lot, just switch to unlimited. get $400 back when you buy the new lg g8. call, visit or click today.

alex withis is in for yasmin

this week. let's start with the top stories. alex acosta deflected blame for his actions in the 2008 non-prosecution agreement with jeffrey epstein. invoking how complex cases are when they involve children. pointing to the words of an attorney on the case who said they were acting in the best interest of the victim. >> i have shared with those in this room today and will make available publicly an affidavit filed by the career prosecutor in a civil matter related to the epstein case. she talks about the challenges faced. she talks about the victims being scared and traumatized refusing to testify. and how some victims actually exonerated epstein. she goes on to write that, quote, after the fact, people allege that epstein would have been easily convicted.

as the prosecutor who handled the investigation, she says in this affidavit, these contentions overlook the facts that existed at the time. >> but this past february, a federal judge in miami ruled that acosta's team had broken the law by hide iing the agreem for more than 30 underage accusers who alleged epstein sexually abused them. here's how acosta answered questions on that yesterday. >> several young women who say they were teenagers when jeffrey epstein sexually assaulted them. they say they went to you looking for help and they didn't hear back from you until it was too late. do you owe them an apology? >> so you're raise iing the iss of victim notification. and in the documents that i have circulated, i have addressed the issue of victim notification as well. the career prosecutor in this case had a difficult decision to make, and she didn't make it

alone. she made it in consultation with the fbi and in consultation with the office. >> you have no regrets? >> we believe we proceeded appropriate appropriately. >> the aers brought renewed scrutiny. during a 2011 hearing, the office of manhattan district attorney argued in court that epstein should not be registered as a top level sex offender in new york as a result of his 2008 conviction in florida. the prosecutor instead asked a judge to reduce epstein's sex offender status to the lowest possible classification. that move would have limited the amount of personal information that would be available to the public and also have kept him from being listed on a registry of sex offenders for life. the paper says the justice overseeing the matter denied that request and expressed

disbelief that the district attorney's office would argue in support of a man accused of sexually molesting dozens of girls in florida. they said it was made without his knowledge. and the statement to jonathan dietz yesterday, they reit tated that move based on incorrect information and later made moves that acknowledged the error by her and argued that epstein should receive the high essex offender status. chuck schumer is donatining the equivalent amount of money received from epstein. he accepted thousands of dollars from epstein in the 1990s. schumer spokesperson said the senator would donate the same amount to various groups saying, while these campaign accounts closed 20 years ago, and even then the cam payment never controlled the two pacs, schumer is donating to the anti-sex

trafficking group. top intelligence officials from the trump administration briefed lawmakers on capitol hill on the steps the government has take ton improve election security since 2016. at the same time, also warning of unspecified active threats to u.s. elections. durg the briefing yesterday, the director of national intelligence, fbi director and other officials assured members of congress they are doing everything they can to stop active threats. debbi ding the said, the sessions come as democrats continue to push legislation to keep russia and other foreign powers from interfering in future election, but mitch mcconnell has blocked bipartisan bills tackling election security from moving forward. mcconnell told the ap he welcomes the briefings and last year's midterm election was not a coincidence and showed the success of the measures the administration has already ta n taken. a state department

intelligence analyst has resigned in protest after the white house blocked portions of written testimony and the threat to national security. "the wall street journal" reports that he prepared a data driven report to deliver in front of the house intelligence committee last month. in it he argued that climate change could tribute to the cry sets. competition for resources and risks of political instability. the white house allowed the analyst to speak to the panel, but prohibited him from including evidence supporting his ae setsments in written testimony. that's according to an official familiar with the matter. they decided not to submit a statement at all. the intel chairman has since invited him to come back to the committee to, quote, shed light on the efforts to sensor his written testimony. the journal reports that the decision to leave the department after ten years comes amid-a series of conflicts with the trump administration's political appointees over scientific reports. joining us from washington

is senior writer neils. they allow him to talk in front of a panel to testify to that degree. but not bring in any evidence. he's not able to access any of the research and that sort of thing. it's an extraordinary move by the white house to block portions of the testimony as well. >> when i first read that story, i had the same sort of reaction. in what sense would you not have blocked him from testifying altogether. if that was going to be your approach to it, sort of trying to thread that needle seems really unusual. obviously, with the democrats in control of the house intelligence committee, i think we're going to see whether or not there's anymore of this to come, especially if he does come back and talk about the process

that was undertaken by the white house to block the parts of the testimony that were blocked the first time. >> was it because they didn't want the information in the congressional record? it's one thing to answer questions, but to have that in the record. might that have been the reason? >> that seems like the most plausible exmr. nation. also they may not want out this what has actually been going on in terms of what the strags has actually stil been doing on climate change. there could be an argument for that not in the record either. >> while we have you, you spoke with the former senate majority leader. what advice did he have for the 2020 field? >> reid is doing pretty well out in las vegas. but he said particularly his

particular advice was to focus on his own state. obviously, there's some degree of him wanting people to be out there and wanting people to invest in his local economy and staff up out there, but he really wants people to understand that's the first state that is a diverse contest among the democratic primary and caucus field. large hispanic population, and to understand the importance of his state chrks is third in the process. it's actually a week before south carolina. >> thank you for the update. >> thank you. still ahead, lawmakers in the house etscalate their fight over detention centers. details of the demands they are now making. plus bill karins will have the latest on the tropical system in the gulf and where it may hit. your first look at "morning joe" is back in a moment. is back in a moment.

(pirate girl) ahoy!!!!! (excited squeal, giggling/panting) gotcha! (man) ah! (girl) nooooooooooooo! (man) nooooo! (girl) nooooo... (vo) quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker, and is two times more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. (man and pirate girl) ahoy! (laughing) (vo) bounty, the quicker picker upper.

[ referee whistle sounds ] ♪ sport dr[ cheering ]s when you need the fuel to be your nephew's number one fan. holiday inn express. we're there. so you can be too.

[music playing] across the country, we walk. carrying flowers that signify why we want to end alzheimer's disease. but what if, one day, there was a white flower for alzheimer's first survivor? what if there were millions of them? join us for the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's. register today at alz.org/walk.

the "new york times" reports that nationwide raids to arrest thousands of undocumented immigrants are set to begin on sunday. this according to homeland security officials. the operation had been postponed because immigration officials were resistant to the plan. the raids which will be conducted by i.c.e. officials several days will include collateral deportations for imfwrants who happen to be on the scene of the raid even though they themselves are not targets of the raids. the times reports family members arrested together will be held in family detention centers in texas and pennsylvania. but due to limited space, some might end up at hotels until their travel documents are ready. officials said i.c.e. targets were targeting 2,000 immigrants who have been deported. the paper notes the operation is

expected to take place in at least ten major cities. a house panel is now demanding companies that manage detention centers hand over all communication related to their businesses. the move comes after allegations surfaced that kids were being retaliated against and sexually abuse d by border agents. for more on this, let's bring in leann caldwell. what more can you tell us about what lawmakers are trying to accomplish with this move? >> this is definitely an advancement of this investigation that house democrats have opened months ago regarding what's happening at the border. house democrats right now are interested in the profits of these for-profit companies contracted with the government to detain these migrants. they note that the profits have increased dramatically as a number of migrants being detained has also increased dramatically. in the letter democrats note

that the ceos of two of these companies have told their shareholders they have the best first quarter in their fihistor. so democrats are wanting -- they are giving these companies two weeks to comply with document requests. they are wanting a vast array of documents ranging from the contracts with the government, the profit loss records and the communications they have had with the government officials and they have to comply by july 24th. >> can i ask about these allegations of sexual assaults and the like. is that something they are expected to address in the two weeks and talk about that as well? >> so yes, they do point autothese companies have had poor records. not only media reports have said this, but also the dhs inspector general issued multiple reports talking about poor treatment of these migrants, and so this is

definitely included in the document requests. they do not own the influx facilities that are in the news lately, but it's the homestead facility in florida that a bunch of presidential candidates recently visited and form rer trump chief of staff john kelly is is on the board. this is a couple other companies that own many of these facilities in the southwest and around the country holding these migrants amid-all of these reports of poor treatment of these people. >> thank you for that report. we appreciate it. >> thank you. let's go right now to meteorologist bill karins who has the weather for us. >> a lot going on with the wh. all krns are in louisiana and it's for water. how much rainfall we're going to get, river flooding and what's going to happen with the surge

going up the mississippi river into the new orleans area. so this is the new forecast path. it's not even a tropical depression yet. but it could become a category one skmrk a rainmaker through louisiana into arkansas. our computer model take it is and agrees with the hurricane center forecast. heaviest rain late friday into saturday morning. moving on shore throughout the day on saturday. and then being a huge rainmaker through areas of mississippi, louisiana and up into arkansas. so the issues, what we do know for a fact is there's going to be a ton of rain. there's going to be a lot of problems with the rivers. flash flood watches are up in biloxi and mobile, but it's southern portions of louisiana that will take the brunt of this. this is the the rainfall forecast. you don't need a huge hurricane to have a huge rainfa

rainfall-producing tropical system. so the category doesn't matter. the category only tells you what the wind is going to be. it's really going to be a rain producer. this area of pink is ten inches of rain from baton rouge. new orleans could get serve inches of rain. you can tell what the water problems are going to be. the biggest question is what's going to happen with the levies. they are 20 feet. the river is expected to rise four feet. it's can wanted to get to 20. so that it causes 1:00 p.m. this is the storm surge and mississippi river. you can see the wunds pushing the water up towards new orleans. so again, that will be the drama is what happens during the day on saturday in new orleans. how high does the river get and it's not like had the levees are going to break. but it's the over topping. it's like your bathtub. you fill it too high and it spills over the edge.

then it's up to the pumps to control the spilling. so we'll see. >> 1:00 p.m. saturday. >> during the day saturday, yes. still ahead for all of you, the race for mitch mcconnell's senate seat is generating plenty of buzz and donations. a look at the money pouring in. plus washington could use some of that money after president trump's celebration left the security fund bankrupt. the steps the officials want the white house to take over the cost of those festivities. hi, i'm dave. i supply 100% farm-fresh milk for lactaid.

it's real milk, just without the lactose, so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive. delicious. now, i've heard people say lactaid isn't real milk. ok, well, if it isn't real then, i guess those things over there can't actually be cows. must be some kind of really big dogs, then. sit! bad dog.

at comcast, we didn't build the nation's largest gig-speed network just to make businesses run faster. we built it to help them go beyond. because beyond risk... welcome to the neighborhood, guys. there is reward. ♪ ♪ beyond work and life... who else could he be? there is the moment. beyond technology... there is human ingenuity. ♪ ♪ every day, comcast business is helping businesses go beyond the expected, to do the extraordinary. take your business beyond.

the money is powering uring one of the biggest congressional races for 2020. that is for mitch mcconnell seat. his team has raised $11.2 million for his re-election since 2015 with 3 million of that coming in the second quarter of this year. spokesman says mcconnell's campaign has $7.9 million on hand. those figures from team mcconnell come after his democratic challenger former marine fighter pilot amy mcgrath announced she raised $2.5 million in the first 22 hours after announcing her campaign on "morning joe" on tuesday. that figure marks the most ever raised on the first day of a senate campaign. >> notable there. president trump's fourth of july celebration has bankrupted washington, d.c.'s security and antiterrorism fund. this is according to the city's

mayor. according to a letter sent to the president on tuesday. the d.c. mayor warned trump that the event had exhausted the city's emergency planning and security fund by an additional $1.7 million writing, quote, it is critical that the epsf it fully reimbursed for these funds to ensure the district can uphold proper security and support during the remainder of the fiscal year without incurring a deficit for federal activities. the fund which helps pay for extra security and antiterrorism measures during large events in the nation's capital is expected to soon be $6 million in the red after last week's event. he has asked that the white house fully reimburse the city. so far the white house has not responded to a request for comment. coming up, we have a look at this morning's one big thing. coming up later on morning show, alex acosta defends his actions over his legal deal with jeffrey epstein. more on the labor secretary's defiant news conference deflecting blame on the matter

of victims who he says were reluctant to be identified frmg and democratic senator and 2020 presidential candidate amy klobuchar who has been quite vocal on the need for legislation discusses that and the state of her campaign. "morning joe," everyone, just moments away. campaign. "morning joe," everyone, just moments away why think about your heart? lower a1c helps, but type 2 diabetes still increases my risk of a fatal cardiovascular event. and that's why there's jardiance- the first type 2 diabetes pill that offers a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit for adults who also have known heart disease. it can significantly reduce my risk of dying from a cardiovascular event. and it lowers my a1c, with diet and exercise. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare, but life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction.

do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. so, now what do you think? while my a1c is important, there's so much more to think about. ask your doctor about jardiance today. there's so much more to think about. we'd love some help with laundry. spray and scrub anything with a stain. wash the really dirty clothes separately. new tide pods with upgraded 4-in-1 technology unleash a foolproof clean in one step. aww, you did the laundry! it's got to be tide.

[ referee whistle sounds ] ♪ sport dr[ cheering ]s when you need the fuel to be your nephew's number one fan. holiday inn express. we're there. so you can be too. ...depend® silhouette™ briefs feature maximum absorbency, with trusted protection for all out confidence... beautiful colors and an improved fit for a sleek design and personal style. life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. but in my mind i'm still 25. that's why i take osteo bi-flex, to keep me moving the way i was made to. it nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. osteo bi-flex - now in triple strength plus magnesium.

. all right. joining us from washington now, alexa with a good morning to you. what is the one big thing for axios this morning? >> we've all been talking about labor secretary alex acosta and trump world insiders told my colleague jonathan swann that alex acosta didn't do much at that high stakes presser yesterday to defend himself to president trump. he was defending the way he handled the jeff friday epstein case when he was a federal prosecutor in florida. but sources close to us tell us that while trump is -- there's zero percent chance he's going to fire acosta right away, he didn't do a good job of making himself in a better standing the

president after of that press conference. >> we've seen how the president when it comes to some of his cabinet officials who find themselves embroiled in controversy like scott pruitt, he digs in and then there's a point where he gives up and those cabinet officials have to rezblien that's right. >> i understand axios is looking this morning at what you're calling the next inequality crisis. what do we need to know about this? >> my colleague kim hart is reporting on this report coming out later today that shows that big cities are poised to get bigger, richer, and more powerful all because of automation. but that's obviously going to come at the expense of more rural areas and economies that are not doing as well as those as some of these bigger cities. all that matters because while automation might add more jobs, the jobs that we'll be seeing that are sort of going away are those in more rural communities that are for lower income folks or in lower income zblunts so wait. you're saying big cities get the more money, rural communities,

but what kind of jobs? are we talking just minimum wage jobs? they're going to get even further minimumed are if you will? >> entry level jobs especially and particularly in rural areas. and manufacturing jobs, sort of fast food jobs that we think about. but one thing that's interesting is that women are perhaps poised to not sort of be at the detriment of automation and the effects that could have over the country because women tend to be in provisions like personal care and health which are obviously harder to automate through a robot. but the flip side of that is that sometimes they can be lower paying jobs. so they won't necessarily be in a good financial position, but they won't ultimately be losing their jobs because of automation. >> that's a good point. what else are you guys watching today over at axios? >> well, today we actually are fooling what's happeni following what's happening with the fallout of epstein. because the president might have a zero percent chance of fire

acosta right away, but he stews over them and becomes a theater critic and we know that the president replies a lot to media pressure and outside pressure from folks in the media. so we're going to be watching to see where whether and how he does that based on the media narrative around alex acosta. >> i'm looking at the early look at axios because we're privileged we get a really early look. everyone else had has to wait another ten minutes. but you're talking about how the supreme court amps up populism. have you looked into that as well? >> so i actually haven't looked into that just yet. but that's something that i look forward to looking into when i get a chance to read axios am. i didn't get a sneak peek. >> we duly note this on the calendar we're ahead of alexei. it says it's become a primary force into the country's apoplectic anger as populism

rises. you're getting this from steve levine so you can talk to him about this. >> we were talking about the labor secretary alex acosta earlier. what should we be looking for in from this white house, from president trump in terms of signals that would suggest how much longer the labor secretary will have his job? >> well, as we know in president trump's world he likes to say that everything is coming in about two weeks. i highly doubt that he'll handle that with something so flip nant a situation like this. but what we've seen this folks in the past is that he likes to tweet about these things. he likes to tweet when people are departing with a farewell and usually a positive farewell with people embroiled in scandals. but i don't look for it to come soon because he won't want it to look like he's being pressured from outside forces. >> thank you. of course, as you said, we'll be reading axios in a little while, i think it's about ten minutes or so. to all of our viewers out there you can t