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tv   Andrea Mitchell Reports  MSNBC  August 15, 2019 9:00am-10:00am PDT

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stopping the hemorrhaging with a lot of entertainers ignoring you and boycotting you. >> bill rhoden, espn's the undefeated. enjoy your insights. i'll let you get back to your vacation. that's going to wrap up this hour of nbc live. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. and right now on "andrea mitchell reports," shutting it the gates. israel under pressure from president trump takes the rare step of denying visas to elected members of congress, two of the president's sharpest critics. >> the fabric of the nation is torn a little bit further by the president's actions this morning. the president has shown himself incapable of defending the very ideals of our nation. roller coaster ride. market futures down. then wall street bounces back today after signals from beijing about a potential trade deal. but president trump muddies the waters with his tweets.
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>> this trade war seems to be a precipitating event that is raised down and uncertainty and increased pessimism among investors. and a bridge too far? republican leaders under pressure to expel steve king after his comments seeming to normalize rape and incest. >> what if we would go through all the family tree and pull those people out that were products of rape and incest, would there be any population left if we did that? >> he should resign or people should fire him i think. good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president trump is opening a new battlefront against the so-called squad. under pressure from president trump, apparently, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu today reversing
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himself and barring democratic congresswomen ihlan omar and rashida tlaib this weekend. it would show great weakness if israel allowed repomar and rep tlaib to visit. they hate israel and all juniew people. joining me now is nbc white house correspondent kristen welker, robert costa, national political reporter at the washington post, and moderator of washington week on pbs. mara gaines, msnbc contributor. jeremy benami, president of j street, a non-profit advocacy group and susan paige, usa today's washington bureau chief. well, i could not have a better panel to talk about a very
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controversial decision today. kristen welker, the president's tweet seeming to certainly trigger this decision by prime minister netanyahu which followed shortly afterwards. he has made a number of points here. let me read in the english translation. he says that if congresswoman tlaib asked to see her president, he would consider the request. the point being that anybody who comes to israel that supports the boycott against israel, the bds movement can be denied a visa. this is an elected member of congress. we've been previously told that the door would be open. and then the president intervened. >> reporter: it is remarkable, andrea. of course president trump, prime minister netanyahu, two very close allies.
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they have a close personal relationship. but what we have seen in recent days and weeks are bipartisan calls to allow any member of congress to visit israel. kevin mccarthy saying the congresswoman be allowed to visit. the fact that their entry would be denied is significant. it comes against the [ drbackdrop of the on going feud between president trump and these two congresswomen who have never said they hate israel or all israelis, just to do a quick fact check there. he's taken aim on them at twitter as a way to spin up his base. he's urged them to go back to the countries they came from. even though they and two other of their colleagues, three out of the four of them were born in the united states. they're all now citizens. you'll recall that prompted that
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rally chant send her back which prompted a backlash between republicans and democrats. president trump though again seizes this as a way to really spin up his base to energize his supporters. he heads to new hampshire today. it's a state that hillary clinton won narrowly, he's trying to win it in 2020. but he sends out this tweet knowing that he's got a rally in just a few hours. >> robert costa, how potent politically is this for the president? does this work for him? >> when you talk to the president's top advisors, they say they had hoped to run in 2020 on the economy. as there's signs of a possible recession on the horizon, you see him leaning into grievance and cultural politics.
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these attacks on the four minority congresswomen in recent weeks, the racist tweets, those are part of that political strategy of stoking the president's base on issues beyond the economy. should the economy not necessarily be the energy the president needs for political reasons. >> susan paige, very clear that when netanyahu said they'll be welcome to visit, he knew they supported the boycott movement then. so what's changed in the months? the one thing that's changed is president trump's position. >> we assume it's an important factor. as far as i know there's no president for israel refusing to admit an elected member of the u.s. congress to israel. i know that there is no precedent for an american president lobbying an allies government to bar two american citizens from entering their country. two american citizens, both of them elected officials. that's something that's never
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happened before. >> jeremy, you've been a very important voice for american jews who believe there should be negotiations. what is your reaction? >> i think that the threat that both trump and netanyahu posed to the underpinnings of democracy is really what unites all of this. this is a threat around the world. as we see despotism and au autocracy rearing their heads, this has to be fought by people on all sides of the political spectrum. it's not just an israel issue, it's a democracy issue. it's about where we're headed in the liberal democratic world. >> we're approaching a divide here. obviously this is going to put political pressure on nancy pelosi and other members of the
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house caucus to embrace their colleagues, two colleagues because you cannot have a situation where elected members of congress are being barred without their colleagues coming to their defense. >> that's right. it should put political pressure on republicans and americans of good will across the political spectrum to embrace the two members of congress. you know, it's hard to remember or even conceive of another example of the president of the united states has essentially sided with a foreign country. even an ally to bar, siding against two american, not only citizens, but in this case dually elected members of congress. the message comes straight out of the trump 2020 playbook and the 2016 playbook. which is the president unfortunately i believe is running on a platform of white supremacy and keeping the country white, even though it's not an all white country. we already know that. and, you know, the message is
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that these two members of congress are not legitimate members and are not legitimate americans. that they're not actually citizens. and it's just another example of the president trying to define american citizens as white. i think that's extremely offensive to the growing number of americans who are not white, but are just as patriotic. i think it's not just up to democrats to define these terms. and it's a shame to see an ally as well that's been as close to the united states as israel. the politics there -- it's a shame to see that ally embrace trumpism fully instead of a larger vision that we share between the two countries for democracy. >> israel should stand up to president trump and allow our colleagues to visit. nobody has to agree with their opinions, but it will inevitably
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harm u.s. israel relations if members of congress are banned from the country. there's enough division. that's at least one republican. another member, i'm calling this like i see it. short sighted and cruel. any leader committed to advancing democracy would welcome with open arms two elected members of congress. kristen welker, he says one of the criticisms is that they had not reached out for contact with members of the israeli government. it's not clear what was offered or what communication there has been with the israeli government between these two members of congress. >> reporter: that's right. it's gnnot clear. to the point you made earlier, omar wants to visit her family. the prime minister indicating that that request would be reconsidered. so we'll have to see where that
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goes from here. again, i think this broader question about what this says, that a democratic government would not allow two elected members of congress to visit is really going to be significant and, frankly, i think you're going to see the reaction pour in from democrats and republicans throughout the day as they come to terms with this and as they respond to this. president trump hopefully will answer some questions before he leaves. he's clearly going to have to answer questions about why he would weigh in on this matter. >> we have some reporting, susan, as well -- by the way, a maamash, justin amash is an independent. several members had also spoken to the ambassador here and said this is not a good idea. >> this is going to be costly
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for israel. you know, the democratic party is divided whd en it comes to t boycott movement. but they are going to unite behind their colleague whose are being denied entry to one of the united states' staunchest allies and a democracy for the purpose of getting -- say they oppose the israeli policy when it comes to the palestinians as they do, that's part of a democratic process that they are allowed to go in there, speak out. i wonderfer tif they understand the ramifications of this. >> elizabeth warren and several other members, 2020 senators have already, you know, been very clear on this. others as well i believe. but we'll be fact checking that -- this has happened very quickly, this reversal today. >> but it's coming a month
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before the u.n. general assembly meetings when israel is on the world stage being questioned and being criticized by many members. it's a very tough environment for israel. and this is the worst possible time to take a really outlying position. the palestinians have more friends in that general assembly. >> it's wrong in terms of creating the partisan political split here. it's wrong as a way to fight the bds movement. it's strategically wrong for the state of israel. it is a country that needs all the friends that it can get. it's undermining the core democratic values these two countries share. it's damaging its potential to maintain a bipartisan level of support for israel in the united states. >> and robert costa, there's another piece to this, which is -- the peace plan that we've
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yet to see, there's been an economic plan that was a real failure from the white house. because it didn't have a political component, and arab leaders say until there's a political component that includes the palestinians, especially after israel's annexation of the golanheigh he, that's a non-starter. they're going into a high profile moment with world leaders gathering when they have very little to show for their middle east policy. >> and behind the scenes you have many people inside of this administration beyond mr. kushner, such as john bolton, who are friendly with prime minister netanyahu. this idea of upending u.s./israel relations is off the table based on my report. and the president's focus is often distracted with the trade war with china, the ongoing
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negotiations with xi jinping or the lack thereof. the middle east is such an important issue, but not always front and center for this administration. >> thanks so much. stay with us, we'll be talking politics as well coming up. big gamble, is president trump risking his future as his trade war impacts global markets? stay with us you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. tching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. they customized my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. then i won the lottery, got hair plugs, and started working out. and so can you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪
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president trump's ongoing trade war with china is putting his greatest political asset, a strong u.s. economy, in jeopardy ahead of a grueling 2020 reelection battle. investors concerns over tariff threats and the inability to reach a trade doing is creating volatility. an 800 point plunge on recession fears. the president's strategy deflecting the game by throwing jerome powell under the bus. slamming his hand picked slekds as clueless for not cutting interest rates at a faster clip. kristin well kk kristen welker is back with us and we're joined by dominic chu. i know futures were down and the market came back up. i don't know where it is right now. it's hard for me to see where i am. so it's back in the green.
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but # we'we're talking about long-term fears and it's unusual to see long-term rates paying less than the short-term rates. >> yes. the whole idea here -- that's what's driving a lot of the action here. the idea is that when interest rates behave the way they're currently behaving, it's typically been associated with an economic downturn down the line. over the course of the past three or four decades, the five times we've seen this most recently have led to eventually recessions in the u.s. economy, the only issue is at what point they happen. sometimes they happen rather soon. other times it can happen two years down the line. on average over the last five recessions, they've happened 22 months. shy of two years after that initial inversion of the yield curve you just spoke of where the long rates drop below shorter term rates. that's why markets are reacting the way they are.
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with the uncertainty and the idea the u.s. economy might be slowing down more than previously thought, that's a condition being set for the volatility we've seen. something that may persist if those trade concerns continue, andrea, to linger. >> and kristen welker, it's been notable for those of us -- you and i follow this closely. the president has been so quiet and even handed for an american president given what's been happening now in recent days, but for months the protests in hong kong. he seems so fearful of hurting his relationship with xi and the possibility of the trade deal that he's not doing what -- nor is the state department, by the way -- doing what would normally be heard from western leaders. >> reporter: and that dichotomy, andrea, is getting a lot of attention. the fact you have president trump talking very tough on trade saying that a deal has to
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be worked out on our terms on the one hand and on the other hand saying i hope everything works out with hong kong. overnight the president did tweet seeming to link the two, saying he wants president xi jinping to try to resolve the issues and the protests in hong kong before they can strike a trade deal. here is that tweet. if president xi would meet directly and personally with the protesters, they would be a happy and enlightened ending to the hong kong problem i have no doubt. and then offering a personal meeting as well. but, andrea, look, there is no doubt that the president is starting to feel the jitters of the economy. you saw him yesterday essentially sending out a tweet storm, trying to put the blame on the fed as you rightfully noted. and it came just a day after the markets actually were rallying on the news that president trump was going to delay imposing yet another round of tariffs on china as a part of this trade war, citing the christmas shopping season and saying he
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didn't want to hurt that. for the first time acknowledging the tariffs and the trade war could hurt consumers and americans. so the president's reelection chances are tied up in the economy, as i've been saying throughout the hour. he heads to new hampshire later today. one of the states that has the lowest unemployment rate if the economy is not humming along, allies, those close to him say they're going to be very concerned about his chances for reelection. >> as well they should be. dominic -- it's a global slowdown clearly. europe as well, they don't buy as many of our goods. the president doesn't seem to understand that connection between we hurt our allies and our, you know, customers, we're hurting ourselves. >> sure. i mean, this is a global and interconnected economy that we're talking about. it's been developing over the course of the past two or three decades and perhaps even longer. the signs have been out there for months now that there are
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pockets of slowdown in germany, in china and other places around the world. if that continues it could put pressure on the global economy and the u.s. cannot escape that downward movement. >> thank you both so much. meanwhile, controversy over steve king, ignoring a firestorm with his latest inflammatory remarks after saying humanity may not exist if not for rape and incest while defending his views on abortion yesterday in iowa. >> we know the reason why the only exceptions is for rape and incest. it's not the baby fault. i started to wonder about this. what if we went back through the family tree and pulled those people out who were products of rape and incest would there be
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any population left of the world if we did that? >> those remarks prompted liz cheney to call for king's ouster, saying the comments are appalling and bizarre, adding it's time for him to go. he has long history of making offensive remarks. al earlier this year, he was stripped of his committee assignments. he was issued a rare rebuke, after he seemingly defended white supremacy. joining me now is jeremy peters and susan paige is back with us. jeremy, why haven't kevin mccarthy, steve scalise considered expulsion. >> the republican party behaves this way when one of their members -- >> not liz cheney. >> right. >> absolutely strong and fierce on this. she was when he made his comments about white supremacy. it take as woman in the
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republican caucus and leadership to speak out when the men won't? >> apparently it does. her comments saying he has to go is striking. we haven't seen something like that from the republican leadership about him or about other members of congress in the republican party who have said offensive things. i think that's a significant step here. i think that, you know, as far as democrats are concerned, you know, they need steve king in the picture. as much as republicans need rashida tlaib and ihlan omar in the picture. both of these stories are interesting puddling up on the same day. you have the version that the other party wants its opponents to see, right? so i think the more steve king is out there in the news, the better that is for democrats because they're reminded that by and large with the exception of people like liz cheney, the
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party has not condemned reprehensible conduct when it comes to people in power and that includes the president of the united states himself. >> and susan, kevin mccarthy did speak out. he was on fox last night. let's play a little bit of that. >> have a great deal of problems with that. it's not the first time i've had problems with what steve king has said. earlier in this congress, there's things that steve king said i do not believe the party of lincoln would stand for. as a united conference, we removed steve king from his committees inside congress. i think this continues to show why that action was taken. >> and just as part of the political mix today, we have a democratic presidential candidate in the next hour presumably, john hickenlooper is going to step down. do you think he's going to run for the senate? >> we think he is. he hasn't said he is. he's been thinking about it. he's got a big lead if he wants to get into the senate race and
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a lead against cory gardner, the incumbent republican senator. a lot of pressure from members of the party, including chuck schumer, because he's their best chance of getting that senate seat. the democrats have an outside shot at regaining control of the senate. winning colorado back would be a big part of that. >> i should have pointed out that what kevin mccarthy says he has a lot of problem with what steve king said. but he's not done what liz cheney has said. winnowing the field is important as we approach the next debate. >> we think the next debate there will be several who will not make the threshold. at that point it becomes harder for them to stick in the contest because they'll have problem raising money, getting attention. i think when we get into next month we'll see a smaller field than we have today. although, it's still a pretty big one. >> thank you so much.
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thanks for being with us. coming up, cause of death. leaked details from jeffrey epstein's autopsy raising new questions about how he died. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ied. you're watching "andrea mihetcll reports" on msnbc. let me ask you something. can the past help you write the future? can you feel calm in the eye of a storm? can you do more with less? can you raise the bar while reducing your footprint? for our 100 years we've been answering the questions of today to meet the energy needs of tomorrow. southern company
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and as a surprising new twist in the apparently suicide of accused sex trafficker jeffrey epstein, nbc news has confirmed that an autopsy reveals epstein sustained a broken bone in his neck. according to dr. john torres, the broken bones can happen in both strangulation and hanging. but does occur more often in strangulation. studies showing it occurs about a third of the time in strangulation and 25% in hangings. those are averages. the latest revelations now deepening the mystery surrounding the wealthy finance e financeer's death. st no official cause of death from the medical examiner, what are your sources telling you? >> reporter: we live in the environment where conspiracies
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fly. this does deepen this question. the bone is actually called the hyoid bone and it's by the adam's apple in men. it can be broken in hanging, it can be broken by blunt force trauma and strangulation. it has a more likelihood of being broken by strangulation. but, still, it's worth pointing out it can be broken by hanging. and the problem is that right now you have a lot of people speculating. we don't actually have final word from the medical examiner. all we have is a press release from a new days ago saying she needed more information. it creates this vacuum that allows these conspiracies to live and breathe. >> and at the same time, a new lawsuit has been filed late wednesday i guess by an unidentified plaintiff claiming epstein sexually abused her in 2001 when she was 16 years old. she claims the abuse happened
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after she was recruited after the false pretense she'd be providing a legitimate body massage. the federal judge says that his earlier apparent suicide attempt has not been definitively explained. what is the basis for this new lawsuit, which apparently is against the organization or the entity that owns his new york city mansion. >> that's right. this is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case. no one will go to jail at the end of these proceedings. the plaintiff claims that as a 16-year-old she was one of epstein's victims. she has sued three corporate entities that maintain property that was involved in epstein's criminal conduct. and she alleges that the owners of those corporations behaved negligently to her. she's entitled to a recovery. it's important to note that early on in the papers in this
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lawsuit they flagged the fact that the true defendant will be epstein's estate. they say it's not well-organized yet. it's not the right time to sue it, but they intend to once the estate is up and running. >> and there's a separate suit by actually this woman, this alleged victim who was interviewed by savannah guthrie. that is also against maxwell, the friend, romantically involved manager and procurer according to the allegations of many of the victims. can she be prosecuted criminally at any stage after his death? >> so it will depend on what evidence prosecutors in the southern district of new york can get together. she looks on the surface like she would be a likely target. it's not entirely impossible that she's already been cooperating with prosecutors. we really don't know at this point. but it seems likely that if she
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is not cooperating, that their eyes will turn to her and they'll see whether there's sufficient evidence to include her as a co-conspirator. they had already charged epstein in a conspiracy without identifying who his co-conspirators were. >> and stephanie, do we know anything more about the reassignment of the warden and other aspects of that investigation? >> well, you know, we know -- you referenced it earlier before that there was this exchange between that warden who has been reassigned and the judge who was overseeing the prosecution of epstein. and that exchange was when the warden officially notified that judge of jeffrey epstein's death. the judge wrote back and said, hey, whatever happened with that apparent attempt to take his life just a few weeks ago? we never definitively found out what that was about. it does raise the question, how did they never get to the bottom of that? >> so many questions and not enough answers yet. stephanie gosk on the case, and
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joyce vance, thank you so much. great to see you again. coming up, hidden. an exclusive look at the remote private detention centers where thousands of migrants are being held with little access to their lawyers or families. morgan radford's exclusive reporting coming up next. stay with us. exclusive reporting coming up next stay with us let's see, aleve is proven better on pain than tylenol extra strength. and last longer with fewer pills. so why am i still thinking about this? i'll take aleve. aleve. proven better on pain.
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facilities holding migrants. thousands of other migrants are being held hundreds of miles from the border in little known detention centers in louisiana and mississippi. some since last year. joining me now is nbc's morgan radford who has exclusive reporting uncovering this little known policy. tell us about these secret places. >> that's right. i mean, really the fight over the border has a whole new frontier. it's the american deep south. and they're trying to handle the overflow of immigrants along the border, so i.c.e. has opened more than a dozen facility in louisiana and mississippi. some were brought online so quietly and quickly that attorneys are calling them black holes, places where lawyers and families say the detainees can be unreachable by days. it's all part of a change that's placing detainees in remote rural areas, about 600 miles from that southern border. where a lot of people don't even realize these detention centers
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exist. >> reporter: along the winding roads of the american deep south, the immigration battle has a new front line. this is the facility -- >> this is the sign yeah. >> reporter: this is adams county correction facility in mississippi. we're outside of one of the detention centers here in mississippi. the men behind me are shouting in spanish. it's one of more than a dozen such facilities in louisiana and mississippi. now holding more than 8,000 i.c.e. detainees. according to new data shared by i.c.e. with nbc news. that number has almost quadrupled in just over a year. making it the largest population of i.c.e. detainees now outside of texas. this woman is one of just eight attorneys in louisiana who are able to represent those for free. there are none in mississippi. that's why she's driving across state lines to visit her client, detained just behind these
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walls. how long does it take you to go see your client? >> this is going to take us about an hour and a half. >> reporter: each way? she and other lawyers have referred to the facilities as black holes, where they say detainees can be unreachable for days and detained for months. a claim that i.c.e. disputes saying in a statement to nbc news, any claim that i.c.e. denies individuals access to legal counsel is false. adding i.c.e. began using new facilities in louisiana and mississippi this year to house the increased number of persons encountered at the southern border. for family members the wait is unbearable. it's like you entered a cemetery, like you died in there. her brother is emily's client. once a doctor in cuba, her brother says he fled political persecution and presented himself at the border in texas last year. with no warning, he was moved to louisiana and then mississippi.
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he's been locked up for ten months while appealing for asylum after i.c.e. denied him patrol. what would you say if you could speak to a government official? they need to check out these government centers, especially louisiana. you came looking for liberty because supposedly this is supposed to be the country of freedom. if you had a message for your brother, what would it be? you're fighting for him. and you're going to keep fighting for him until he's able to stay here. a fight that's playing out by the thousands across the country. hundreds of miles away from the border. so it's also really important to note the length of stay in these cases. because the rate of detainees who are granted patrol in this region has decreased from 75.5% to 1.5%.
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and that's the lowest patrol rate in any i.c.e. region in the country. we also did reach out to all three of the private prison kaemp companies and they say they're complying with national detention standards and that they're treating their prisoners fairly. >> morgan, it's incredible. thank you. right here in our own southern states. it's similar to black site presidents the cia used to run overseas. coming up, animal behavior. the trump administration's controversial plan to end many protections in the endangered species act. jeff corwin responds next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us on msnbc. g "andreal reports. stay with us on msnbc. great riches will find you when liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wow. thanks, zoltar. how can i ever repay you?
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decades. the act was enacted nearly a half century ago by president richard nixon but the trump white house wants to add the new requirement that the cost of protecting the species be a factor potentially opening up thousands of acres of land to mining and other development. the new rules are expected to go into effect next month unless the courts block the action. joining me now is a wildlife conservationist and documentarian. what would be the impact as this goes through? >> well, andrea, the impact simply would be shockingly devastating and profound. again, people need to take stock of what the endangered species act is. this legislation was supported by a bipartisan congress and senate, put into power and allowed to protect species by a republican president, richard nixon and by the passing of this legislation it meant creatures
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like manatees, bald eagles, california condors, hump back whales, elk in the american west, all these creatures that survive today exist solely because of the endangered species act. the table gets wiped away, important factors such as science and climate change get back burnered and it's all about the cost. what does it say, what do we, what are we willing to invest to save the species? >> this is coming as noaa has just announced july was the hottest month ever. climate change ignored by this administration, science ignored, epa, what is the trend here? and do you worry that it won't be repairable? >> that's a great question, andrea. and i think how we need to look at the way this administration
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is failing as their responsibility as our nation's chief environmental steward is that they have a profoundly rich amount of arrogance, which is fueling -- fueled by a tremendous amount of ignorance. as you just alluded to, science doesn't matter. they have alternative facts. they have already said they're not supporting climate change. i'm in europe. that's clear because they're no longer part of the paris accord. they've taken industry, energy, insiders and have placed them in leadership positions. david bernhart who is the current secretary of the department of the interior was a former lobbyist for the coal industry. they literally have taken the fox and put it in the hen house. and who will pay the price, andrea? our children. i believe, i am very confident that because of the negligence
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of this administration, we are going to see the extinction very soon of an iconic, charismatic species. it may be the gray wolf. they are just on the way out. the mexican gray wolf. or it could be the northern red wolf. there are a number of species teetering on the edge in the age of extinction and it will be pushed over because of president donald trump. >> jeff corwin thanks so much for joining us from berlin and interrupting your trip to visit with us. coming up, levelled playing field. the world cup champions ready to take their equal pay fight to court after talks break down with u.s. soccer. stay with us. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric. with up to twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it...
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women's soccer team is now prepared to take their fight for equal pay to court after mediation talks broke down overnight between the team and u.s. soccer federation team captain and world cup star megan rapinoe talked about next steps on the "today" show this morning. >> i think it's fair for us to ask that when we play a game and we win that game or we tie that game or we lose that game that we should be paid the same as our male counterparts. at any point if they want to have a serious conversation and are willing to not only talk about paying us equally and valuing us in that way but actually doing it, and showing us that they'll do it, our ears are always open.
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i don't think anybody wants to go to litigation. but with that said we're very confident in our case. if it's not equal, there is no, you know, deal we can get to. this isn't brg aingargaining. you either value us equally and show that or you don't. before we go a brief update, in a rare rebuke now of israel, pro israel lobby group apec tweeted we disagree with reps omar and tlaib's support for the anti-israel and antipeace bds movement along with rep tlaib's calls for a one-state solution. we also believe every member of congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally israel firsthand. president trump again tweeting against them. follow the show online, on facebook, and twitter @mitchellreports. thank you.
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i'm ali velshi. we begin with israel's unprecedented move as andrea was just talking about announcing it is going to block two american democratic congresswomen from entering the country ahead of a planned visit this sunday. israel's deputy foreign minister confirmed on israeli state radio that the country had decided that representatives ilhan omar and rashida tlaib who are outspoken critics of israel will not be allowed to enter. benjamin netanyahu consulted with aides earlier today. >> before the announcement president trump tweeted this. it would show great weakness if israel allowed rep omar and tlaib to visit. explain what in the world is going on here. >> so the israeli government essentially and now we have the prime minister's official statement came out and said that representatives ilhan omar and rashida tlaib were not going to be given entry to come into israel and the occupied palestinian territories. these two members of congress, fr