yorkers will have their marijuana convictions cleared as a new law moves to reduce pot related punishments. that law took effect on wednesday. it blocks those offenses from appearing on most background checks. it comes as states across the country are grappling with the impact of criminalization of pot in communities of color. that's going to wrap up this hour. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," monster storm. hurricane dorian intensifying as it rages towards u.s. now threatening the entire state of florida where it could land as a category 4 storm. >> we urge all floridians to have seven days' worth of food, medicine and water. >> we're below sea level, so i think everybody's fearing for the worst. >> we're going to hunker down ride it out and stay safe. the gatekeeper.

president trump's personal assistant who controlled daily access to the oval office forced to resign after the president learned she shared confidential details about white house operations and the trump family with reporters during an off the record dinner. >> i suspect this would be an issue for any administration but particularly one that's is adversarial with the press and it concerned about leaks especially sensitive ones. new low? the trump administration abruptly ending deferred deportation of seriously ill migrants. children and adults who have been receiving life saving medical care since they were young. now their doctors are speaking out. >> we feel like we've given her a death sentence. it's stopping feedings for a patient that needs that type of support.

good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. millions of floridians on alert at this hour bracing for updates on that hurricane. hurricane dorian's path as this category 2 hurricane infence ti ifies. a new advisory forecasting sustained wind gusts above 100 miles per hour within a storm that's continuing to grow in size and strength. florida governor ron desantis this morning touring facilities across the state. with the path of the storm uncertain, local officials have to try to figure out how to make sure people don't evacuate too soon and head into the path of the hurricane. president trump canceled his trip to poland to monitor dorian's developments. joining me now, michelle grossman in new york. what do we know about the path?

is it any clearer? >> it looks to be somewhere along the eastern coast. we have a cone uncertainty. it will take a few days to hone in, but it looks now that the possibility is in parts of southern florida. the biggest take away is it's starting to slow down. we'll see it dasticalslow down miles per hour. that's a walking pace. we'll see a lot of flooding rains there. let's take you to the latest advisory, category 2 storm, it's getting closer, but it's friday. we're not expecting it to make landfall until tuesday. we're looking at winds at 110 miles per hour. nothing to shake out. it's a powerful storm now, it's only going to get more powerful as we go through the next several days. moving to the northwest at 10 miles per hour. last advisory was 13. it's starting to slow down. you can see that eye right there. there is that swirl. it's a big powerful storm

already. it's over the open waters. they're very, very warm waters. let's track it for you. there's our category 2 storm. within the next 24 hours, by the time we talk to you this time tomorrow, we're going to look at a category 3 storm. we need to talk about the gusts. that's what is going to impact everyone. then by saturday into sunday, it's over these open waters, it's taking in that warm water. there's nothing to slow it down. there's no interaction with land. the wind sheer is slow. it's going to blossom into a category 4 storm. nor northwestern bahamas will be affected. heed any warnings you get there, prepare right now for damaging winds, flooding rains. as we move closer to the u.s., landfall. category 4 storm. then it moves over land. we're not going to see it weaken very quickly.

land interaction does decrease a storm. we could see some wind, tornados as well. we'll have flooding rains. life threatening storms. so many possibilities with this storm. very dangerous storm. we're going to continue to watch this. every second over the next several days, andrea. >> michelle, thank you so much being so on top of this. morgan, there in florida people are preparing but they don't know which way it's going to turn. officials don't know which way to send people if there are needed evacuations. >> reporter: that's exactly right. that's what's brought a lot of uncertainty to florida all over the coast. people are acting like dorian is on their past doorstep. we're hearing reports of people waiting up to two hours just to get sandbags to hopefully keep their homes from flooding all up and down the southern florida coast up to the central part of the state. as you mentioned, this course is still very uncertaint.

as it relates to travel right now, an estimated 17.5 million people are expected to fly this holiday weekend. there's a very good chance a lot of those flights will be impacted by dorian as it moves into this way. a lot of the major characters are offering ticket wavivers so people can switch their flights. cruise ships are changing their i10iari i10ia iteniaries. feeling the impacts of dorian already. i know you're both here for work. you were planning on kind of adding that extra day of vacation. but here we are. how does that feel? >> i'm a little bit sad but happy i have a secured flight home. i know you probably feel the same way. >> i do, yep.

>> miss out on nice summy miami, given the hurricane i don't think to be here for that. >> reporter: i know you've been in florida before. you live in new hampshire. why is it so important to get out now? >> i went through irma living in ft. myers. it was not an easy time. evacuations and no power. just we were all safe, but it's still a lot. we have kids and it stresses everybody out. >> reporter: i know both of you have had a chance to see the surrounding area on your way to the airport. you were talking about some of what you've encountered. what were y'all seeing coming in? >> traffic was being blocked. you saw cars on the street trying to get gas. it's causing a lot of accidents. even on the way in we were impacted by traffic. >> yeah, accident on the way in this morning. people driving crazy. miami traffic is a little tough anyway. but they beep and honk, but they

were cutting off. they wanted to get in line for their gas. >> reporter: one of the most necessities to get ahead of a hurricane. thank you so much for your time. safe travels home. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: a lot of people are cautious about the approach of dorian. but as you can hear, people making preparations well ahead of the storm which is still several days away. andrea? >> we know about that miami traffic. thanks to both, good luck to everyone. federal agencies mobilizing ahead of dorian's landfall in florida. emergency management teams are working with local officials while health and human services disaster assistance teams prepare to assist citizens in the aftermath. jeff, i know how busy you must be. what are your top priorities right now going into this? >> our top priorities are what you and your team are doing and

the entire media that's on our team and helping us. making sure that we're getting the seriousness of hurricane dorian out to all floridians. the storm is impacted -- or you know forecasted to impact anywhere really from jacksonville to miami. but it's going to be a long duration, a lot of rain, a lot of windi. everything a major hurricane brings to include a very slow turn through the states. we want our citizens to be prepared. we want them to know when the evacuation orders are given, where to go. make sure they have their emergency kits and proper -- what they need to be safe. ready.gov. wonderful resources to learn more about those. so from that standpoint operationally, we're moving resources s into the staphyl. we are in great coordination with the state, the governor, and his team. we are looking at different ways

to come in behind the storm as it moves up so that we're able to provide aid to the citizens when necessary. >> what is your advice to people in the keys where the access can be so limited and they are obviously so vulnerable? >> you know, they're very vulnerable, but they're experienced. my advice to all floridians is make sure you're heeding your local warnings. they know best. our role is to support the state efforts, the state's role as to do the same with the locals. you know, the citizens of the keys, they obviously love water. they're very experienced in this situation. but you know, don't take chances. that goes for everybody. don't take chances, make sound decisions. heed those local warnings and do what you're asked to do. you're a very valuable part of the team, the citizens are the most valuable part of the team. do your part when asked to do that. >> great advice. fema's jeff bayard. good luck to you and your teams.

be sure, of course, to everyone. log onto nbc.com/dorian for the latest on the hurricane and its path. loose lips sink careers? president trump's personal assistant out after reportedly sharing personal information about the first family with reporters. the details coming up next on "andrea mitchell reports." only on msnbc. you're out there, quietly running the world. creating jobs and fueling the economy. you're small business owners, and there's nothing small about your business. that's why with dell small business technology advisors. you'll get tailored product solutions, expert tech advice and one-on-one partnership. to help your small business do big things. ♪ call an advisor today at 877-buy-dell ♪

a stunning departure from

the president's personal staff. the president's personal assistant and oval office gatekeeper is out. resigning abruptly after the president learned yesterday she had shared confidential details about the white house and the trump family with reporters who were in new jersey covering the president's recent vacation when he was in bedminister. she is now considered a separated employee and couldn't return to the white house today. joining me now is nbc's senior digital white house reporter shannon pettypiece. this is very unusual. her location, her seat right outside the oval office was -- legendary gatekeeper office. for her to be out, shannon -- >> and so abruptly -- >> what did she tell you at this off the record -- >> you know, i was -- >> it's a fancy place. >> i was glad i got out of bedminister duty this year, but

now i think i missed out on a very interesting dinner. her desk is outside the oval office. she sees everyone who comes and goes. she has access to the official schedules. she had access to behind the scenes schedules. she would see paper moving in and out of the white house. she would be a great observer of everything going on. unlike hope hicks who had one of the seats outside the oval office, hope was sort of an advisor, someone the president would bounce things off to. i don't think she provided that type of role, but she certainly had a front row seat to everything going on in the oval office and this administration. these dinners that you mentioned are not completely uncommon in this administration or any administration. for people who aren't involved in this it's the sort of thing with a white house official will talk to reporters off the record. nothing can be shared or repeat or published from the dinner. it's a way that us reporters can get an insight into how things work into what could shape our

thinking about the president. so the fact that she had one is not completely unusual in the fact she was talking off the record. it must be something that had to do with the content. >> or the fact that someone had it in for her. she was not a trump original. she was not a campaign person. she was with the rnc. according to the book american carnage, the 25-year-old broke down crying on election night inconsolable after trump's victory to the amusement of her rnc peers. she was chosen as the president's executive assistant. she probably came in with reince prieb priebus. >> i think they were suspicious of her as an anc person. she's free to say what she wants or not. usually i mean in the past when people have -- relationships got frayed, you know, people like that were given in agencies where they were qualified for, a way of keeping them in the tent.

it's interesting they separated her on this day. interesting to see what she has to say. i think what you suggested early is important. she had an off the record dinner with journalists. there's no reason that would be -- trump would know about that. it's not problematic. they all do. but someone out to get her must have told president trump, hey, you know, there's a news item you didn't like and maybe guess who had the off the record dinner with journalists. it suggests a lot of infighting. >> which would not be surprising either. the correspondents there in new jersey, they're away from their families. instead of going home at night, they're all in a hotel and having these dinners. as someone who spent a lot of time in georgia, in santa barbara, in kennebunkport over the years as a white house correspondent that's what people do, get together with white house officials some of it does

get into the press. they were usually done as a group with combined print to television network, whoever happened to be on duty. >> that's how it's been continuing under this administration. so the -- to get back to the point about the rnc crowd. we had the initial days of the administration where you had reince priebus and sean spicer of the rnc, there was a whole rnc crowd. there's not that many of them left, actually. she was one of the few remaining people from that initial group that came in. and anytime we see one of these key people to the president leave, whether it was his body man or the replacement for the body man or hope hicks, it runs this risk of throwing off what stability there is in the white house daily function. >> rob porter is in there. >> exactly. the people who knew, if you wanted today get to the

president, these are the people who could go. this west wing has really emptied out of those people who understood the president, understood the way he worked. it just adds to the further chaos about how things operate. >> they put keith schiller on the campaign payroll. hope hicks got a very good job. they left on good terms. no one would have thought anything if two weeks from now this young woman got a job at the congress department as deputy secretary or something. that could be done by a quick phone call. >> this was abrupt. >> they wanted it known that it was abrupt. still a little fear. it suggests to me there's something got out that trump was really upset about or a precedent he was upset about. it's not what you would normally do. >> details to come. book agents all over new york and washington are lining up, making calls.

thank you very much. >> we look forward to seeing them on this show on tuesday. >> we hope so. coming up, war stories, joe biden responding to the fact checking about his encounters with military heroes. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪ i planned each charted course ♪ ♪ each careful step ♪ along the byway ♪ much more ♪ much more than this ♪ i did it my way (announcer) verizon is america's most awarded network and the only one with the galaxy note10 5g. right now, when you buy one, you get a galaxy note10 free. that's verizon.

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joe biden is defending his account of a harrowing war story after the washington post reported the former vice president got some of his facts wrong. here's the story biden told an audience of supporters in new hampshire on friday night. >> i've been in and out of afghanistan and iraq over 30 times. i pinned medals on silver stars on soldiers up in the upper konar valley in the middle of a firestorm the poor guys have gone through. young navy captain, navy, navy. up in the mountains in afghanistan. one of his buddies got shot, fell down a ravine about 60 feet. four star general asked me would i go up into the fog. everybody got concerned the vice president going up in the middle of this. but we can lose a vice president. we can't lose many more of these

kids. not a joke. this guy climbed down a ravine, carried this guy up on his back under fire. and the general wanted moo e ton the silver star on him. i got up here, god's truth, my word as a biden. i said sir, i don't want the damn thing. do not pin it on me sir, please, sir. do not do that. he died. he died. >> now, the post reported several mistakes in details, time, place, service, but despite those apparent mistakes, an army staff sergeant who biden did award a brass star to tells the post that eight years later he remembered that moment with biden saying he has that look where his eyes can see into his eyes. i foelt lielt like he snood. joe biden responded. >> it was a young man, my

recollection was that, in fact pulled a colleague of his out of a burning humvee and he risked his life doing it and the young man died. his commanders asked me to pin the medal on him when i was in the theater. when i went to it do it, i said i don't want it, he died, sir, he died. i was making the point how courageous these people are. how incredible they are. these generation of warriors, this fallen angels we've lost. i don't know what the problem is. what is it that i said wrong? >> we in the news media making too much of this? joining us a washington post opinion writer who got that biden interview. >> friday night, your birthday in fact. jonathan you spoke most recently

to the vice president who is, you know, under increased fire for some of these mistakes. the same joe biden i've covered now since the 1970s, he tells long stories. and he mixes up key facts. and the response i get from biden world is yeah, but the president -- the president of the united states is not only making mistakes but lying about things every day. what's the difference here? what did you get from biden? >> the entire interview, 42 minutes, this is the one time in the interview where he pounded the table, the clip that you just played, that was when he was pounding the table. what did i say that was wrong? and so when i asked him after that -- because this was part of a bigger conversation, the two narratives of the joe biden campaign. one is the strong relationship with the african-american community and the other is about

gas. it gave me the perfect trampoline to get him to talk about that. but to also talk about what these gaffes say to other people. what do you say to people that are concerned that maybe joe biden is too old? joe biden gets his facts wrong, joe biden is missing a step? his response to me was one sentence, well, if i win that's how i change the narrative. >> but mike, that seems to be circular reasoning. that doesn't answer what you say to people about these other issues. my take away isn't it's age, it's the way he's always talked. you spent a lot of time with him over the years. >> this is how joe biden campaigns. the whole episode begins with a voter at this meeting in new hampshire asking him about mental health as an issue on the campaign. he answers it as he often does

answer policy questions. not with a white paper from his staff, but with personal anecdotes. he talks about his experience traveling into war zones. this is not hillary clinton saying she was under sniper fire -- you recall this very well. he did travel there. we have full reports from his time at vice president. i think the biden campaign is bristling a bit at the presentation of this whole story as if he made the whole thing up. there was as you say chad workman clearly remembers this. so what he does say to jonathan is interesting. i can only -- i think the focus speaks to the concern democrats have which is they have no margin of error. they want to make sure whoever their nominee is has as few flaws as possible. >> let me just posit something with both of you. i covered ronald reagan. he in one memorable account that we were reminded of yesterday,

he talked about this heroic moment in world war ii where a pilot is going town and the navigator has been shot. it was a movie, a wing and a prayer. we challenged reagan about talking about these movies. he's from hollywood. he said i guess i've seen too many world war ii movies. in defending biden said, he's seen too many wars. he's been in theater as a senator and as a vice president and has talked to so many of these troops and had a son over there in iraq. jonathan? >> yeah. when you're comparing vice president biden's mischaracterizations or mashing three or four stories into one, they really do pale in comparison to the real world, real life implications of the lies, prevarications, misstatements, misleading anything that president trump is

saying. i think that because there's a reservoir of good will for joe biden. people call him uncle joe. they're willing to give him a bit of a pass on this. as he likes to say, mike you know this on the campaign trail, he says his father told him joey don't compare me to the almighty. compare me to the alternative. for vice president biden and the campaign overall, when stacked up against president trump, they think they still -- and i would tend to agree -- they stack up pretty well up against the sitting president. >> but, mike, as you cover him, he's in a primary fight and in two weeks he'll be facing his competitors, elizabeth warren, for the first time on the stage who is the detail person. i got a plan for this. that's not who joe biden is. he has to figure out how to counteract her. they've got to figure out how to not let this become a distraction which reminds people about age and other narratives that clearly the trump organization is going to seize.

>> what's interesting about this interview that jonathan did, i'm impressed jonathan got as much questions in as he did. with the vice president, he can take over the conversations. one of the points he makes in the interview is that he believes any democrat, really could be a good president, a better president than donald trump. american voters what they want is not just somebody who can beat donald trump, but somebody who can repair the damage president trump has done. his argument is he's the best person capable of doing that. in recent events he starts talking in much greater detail about his policy. >> well, it is really true that a lot of people out there say that what they're taking from this is the empathy with a soldier who is struggling with the issues. jonathan capehart, remind me of the podcast. >> it's called cape up and you

can get it at washingtonpost.com. >> come back next week we'll talk about the rest of it. thank you so much. coming up, preparing for the worst. the military is getting into place. florida residents bracing themselves for the arrival of the hurricane dorian. new pictures from nasa now. 260 miles above the eye of the hurricane. just ahead of landfall in the coming days, you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with wus on msnbc. where is gate 87? you should be mad at non-seasoned travelers. and they took my toothpaste away. and you should be mad at people who take unnecessary risks. how dare you, he's my emotional support snake. but you're not mad, because you have e*trade, whose tech helps you understand the risk and reward potential on an options trade it's a paste. it's not liquid or a gel. and even explore what-if scenarios. where's gate 87?

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we're mobilizing as we speak. we expect about 2,000 soldiers and airmen from the florida national guard mobilized by the end of the day today. by the end of the day tomorrow, probably be doubled by about 4,000. we're trying to be responsive but not over zealous in implementing whatever requirements the department of emergency management levies on us. >> military preparations are the top priority for national guardsmen and service members stationed across the southeast at this hour. making sure that valuable equipment and technology are protected from dorian's path. so what are the top missions right now in advance of the

storm? i was just reading, this storm is moving at 4 1/2 miles per hour. extraordinarily slow. >> right, the good news is we've got time. the bad news is, as it moves really slowly it gets stronger and stronger. by the, i'm in jacksonville, florida, today. so i'm watching it with a lot of personal interest. the military will do three principle things. first we've got to protect our own department of defense assets. that means sending our navy ships out to sea, flying or aircraft where they get out of the path of the storm. protecting our bases, battening down the hatches as we say in the navy. number two is as you heard the governor allude to, we prepare to help the civilian community. this is something we're very good at and very proud of. these efforts will be directed outof colorado by u.s. northern command. florida national guard, very proud guard, will be the lead

element in this. but they'll also get support, andrea, from every branch of the active duty military. to give you an example, navy ships like our big ships that have hospitals, generators, those will be at the disposal of the state of florida as this unfolds. you'll see a very aggressive effort by the military to support themselves. >> big ships are safe in port, they don't have to move out to sea? >> they have to get out to sea first. what they'll do, is they'll get out ahead of the storm and come in behind it. the storm presumably breaks north and crawls up the spine of florida, you'll see those navy ships. suppose it hits west palm beach, where i was born, you'll see the ships moving to provide backup and support to be a sea going center, a command and control center. you remember this from katrina,

our big deck ships out there, admiral allen commanded them, made sure that our people working on the ground had water, food, logistics, helicopters, all of that will come into play. >> you said this is personal for you. what are you doing personally? sandbags? how do you prepare? >> well, andrea, if you know how to fill a sandbag, i've got a shovel for you. but we are, we're putting -- >> i'm at the ready. >> we're putting fuel in our vehicles. we have a generator, we're making sure that is fully fueled. we're insuring that we're able to help our neighbors. we've got a neighborhood watch thing going on. all of the things that americans do in the challenging situations working together is crucial. by the way, stay tuned to stations like msnbc or other 24/7 stations that can keep you updated. that is crucial. >> keep batteries charged and do

all of the other prep things. you and your family, we're thinking about you. thanks for all your advice. safe sailing in this storm. >> indeed, thank you andrea. coming up, caucus chaos. the democratic national committee expected to reject iowa's calls for a virtual caucus. throwing the nation's first contest into a state of uncertainty. stay with us, mark murray coming up. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪ applebee's handcrafted burgers now starting at $7.99 now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

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the democratic national committee is vetoing a plan to add virtual early voting by telephone to the iowa causes, citing pictures of hacking. that's breaking a promise for democrats who cannot get to polling locations. joining me now is mark murray and donna edwards, a washington post contributing columnist. the iowa caucus has always had very arcane rules. but it has such importance, it has developed so much importance

as a game changer potentially. what is the fix? >> iowa has always come first, and it's picked the democratic presidents. new hampshire actually hasn't had that kind of past history where hillary clinton or bernie sanders haven't gone on to win the nominations in 2018 and 2016. but what we're talking about is it's important to understand what a caucus is. people assemble in their community centers -- >> it could be a snowy night. >> it happens at one time at 7:00, 8:00 on a monday night. criticism has come from people who say if somebody has a job, somebody needs childcare, somebody is sick, they can't participate. why don't we allow a mechanism for people. you have a smartphone, do it several days beforehand. have your voting app ready to go

and in. the dnc, according to our iowa team is saying that that actually has some security concerns. it could end up getting hacked. there would be other problems. now we find a situation where iowa democrats will be at a plan b to provide some type of expanded voter access. it's the democratic party keeps talking about early voting. >> why can't they mail in absentee ballots? paper is the ultimate secure way to count. >> because of the situation on how you caucus. there's that 15% viability you have. you've got one side -- >> you're being influenced. >> you could be a democrat saying i want to caucus for candidate e. that person doesn't get 15% support. then you have to go over to another candidate. it's really hard. i think democrats are trying to find a way. they're struggling to be able to have a technological fix or a lujical fix to allow people to participate early in a caucus. >> and this has -- i mean, iowa

became important in 1976 with jimmy carter coming from nowhere. georgia governor. he went to iowa and is vaulted into the presidency. it's gained importance since. now it's an article of faith in the democratic primary process. >> i think one of the -- you've got to factor in the difference between a caucus and a primary. one of the things that caucus demonstrates is the ability of a campaign to organize, to organize deeply in a state. you can see that with some of the campaigns. sort of figuring out a way though to expand the process and make it more accessible, you also have to take into consideration the nature of the caucus and what happens during that process. the ability to convince your neighbors to come over to one side versus another. i'm not quite sure how you do that, even with technology, but you could do it in terms of timing so you could expand that

accessibility to working people. a different day, a different time. there were other ways to change the mechanism so it still works, but it gives campaigns the ability to organize in a way that you want to prove over the long term of a campaign. long-term of a campaign isn't just showing up at a primary to vote. >> do you think there is an argument that iowa will be less important or more important this time? i mean one argument is it's more important because new hampshire has a massachusetts and vermont neighboring senator as competitors. so people will discount the results of new hampshire, which is a week later? >> well, i think both the new hampshire and iowa are going to be very competitive and are important in the process in trying to you know, sort of sort through some of the campaigns. and whether you come out one, two or three, in that given the number of candidates it really will carry weight going from iowa into dsh into new hampshire. as i said, i think it really demonstrate the depth and capacity of a campaign. when you have to organize all

around the state in every myself gym. >> andrea, i actually think short-term iowa is still important. in fact i'd argue i think iowa is more important than in the past cycles. if the right democratic candidate wins iowa they might be able to sling shot through the other contests. long-term, however, i think there will be concerns if you don't have this kind of expanded participation that people might say, okay i was important in 2020. but neighbor in 2024 or 2028 werch a new system if people can't participate early. >> mark murray, donna edwards, congresswoman thank you very much. coming up hanging in the balance hundreds of migrant children with life threatening illnesses and adults as well forced out of the u.s. under a new interpretation of the immigration law. you're watching andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. ♪ this is the family who wanted to connect... to go where they could explore and experience adventure in unexpected places... ♪ who were inspired by different cultures

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take your business beyond. hundreds of migrant children as well as adults receiving life-saving medical care in the u.s. could now face immediate deportation as the result of yet another enforcement policy from the trump administration. in a stunning reversal without public notice and no clear plan in place, the u.s. citizenship and immigration service has eliminated an obama era program that allowed immigrants to avoid deportation while relatives undergo criticaled medical care. the trump administration is ordering many families many who are here legally to leave the

u.s. within 33 days or be forced out process joining me is our justice correspondent julia ainsley. julia, this is incredible. we heard it from boston. rachel maddow did it two nights ago, then expanded san francisco cases. now it seems it's a nationwide policy. >> i'll tell you how broads it. these are deferred action for deportation. people who have fallen through the cracks, a lot in desperate need of medical attention. there are a lot of reasons they would look at their specific cases and decide you might not have legal status but we won't deport you. it's the same thing give ton daca recipients only they are immune from the changes. now the u.s. stipship and immigration services ken cuccinelli's agency. saying we are not accepting these applications. whether a sick child or a widow who lost status because the spouse died like one person i spoke to. instead you apply to i.c.e. the agency in charges of

deportations. not only are immigrants afraid of making this claim to i.c.e. but i.c.e. officials told me they have no plan to deal with the claims and don't know where to send them for review. >> there is a lawyer who advocated for the families. >> i think we're really just trying to figure out the best way to move forward or for our clients and whether or not applying to i.c.e. is a valid option or not. i mean, i.c.e. obviously is really not known in being a friendly humanitarian type of agency that would be willing to take the really sensitive cases seriously. and so i think it's really frightening for a lot of people. >> i know you're going to be following up on this because so many questions to be asked. i wanted to ask you something on the other part of your beat. >> sure. >> because while we have been sitting here a story broke where guantanamo is finally holding a trial for chal i had mohamed.

january 20th and 21. >> khalid mohamed the architect of 9/11. worked with bin laden. he has been held in guantanamo since 2006. this is a long time copping. but we understand now from "new york times" reporting by carol rosenberg who spent more time in guantanamo bay than any journalist that they have set a date of 2021 when they will begin jury selection for this. >> it's a military judge. >> it is. it's a military judge. it's not through u.s. courts by has been the major criticism of guantanamo. there is so little transparency around this and around the process and the trial and their rights. but it seems they are moving forward as a date of 2021. so the extent we can watch what's happening in the trial i know it will be close to see. >> fascinating and many say long overdue. >> true. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and julia ainsley. that does it for in edition of andrea mitchell reports.

thank you very much for being with us today. have a safe weekend. follow all of our reports online on facebook ob within twitter and feshl reporting online of course about the hurricane dorian and its path. and here is ali velshi and velshi on ruhle. >> have a good afternoon and a safe weekend. it's friday august 30th. come up this hour on velshi and ruhle we are tracking hurricane dorian as it approaches florida. threatening to make landfall as a category 4. we have teams on the ground. and update from the national hurricane center and where the storm is headed and just how hard it's going to hit. plus, new reporting on jeffrey epstein and how he allegedly recruited young girls. we will talk to the reporter who followed the tangle web of recruiters and survivors. weeks after the deadly mass shooting in el paso, texas is changing gun laws. but not in the way you might think. we're digging flew details. but first we're keeping a close eye on hurricane dorian at this hour as the monster category 2

storm gains strength, barreling toward florida. right now, dorian is moving northwest with maximum sustained winds nearing 110-mile-per-hour. a hurricane watch in effect for the bahamas as the storm is expected to maf over the islands this sunday and all signs showing dorian could have a maffe category 4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in florida next week. today residents in the state high alert. stocking up, governor ron desantis issuing a statewide warning earlier today. >> you're looking at potentially significant water event, you know trout major portions of the state. and so we want resources to be able to navigate that. this is a major event. we still have some degree of uncertainty. we just got to be prepared for all those circumstances. >> the governor adding that he spoke with president trump who has pledged full emergency assistance to florida.