closing their doors. >> all right. thank you both. appreciate it. that does it for me. now we hand it off to geoff bennett who continues our coverage. >> we'll see you back at 2:00. i'm give bennett at msnbc headquarters in new york continuing our breaking news coverage of hurricane door arian. and the boat fire off the california coast with 33 people unaccounted for at this hour. first to hurricane dorian. national weather service warning florida residents of life-threatening storm surge as this massive system makes its way to the atlantic coast. those warnings are being taken seriously from west palm all the way to jacksonville and into georgia and south carolina where we're already seeing mandatory evacuations and calls from officials to make the right decision before it is too late. >> people need to remain vigilant. if you are ordered to evacuate, you need to do that. from palm beach county all the way up to nassau, the florida/georgia border, all

those coastal counties have issued evacuation orders and it is important that residents heed those calls. get out now while you have time, while there is fuel available and you will be safe on the roads. >> and we're watching all the developments in the bahamas, where tense of thousa of thousa seen the worth, catastrophic flooding for an island chain facing a major rebuild in the months ahead. let's get into the new details of this storm beginning with al roker. we've been watching your updates throughout the morning on "today." but what have you seen from dorian both as the day has progressed and as we're getting more information? >> the interesting thing is that this really not much. it pretty much has been almost stationery in the last five, six hours really. the one big change is the drop in the wind speed. it is now down to 155 miles per hour. but that forward movement, i

mean, i can walk faster than this. basically we're looking at hurricane warnings now from just north of west palm beach to north of melbourne. plus hurricane watches up to jacksonville. we have tropical storm watches also. and of course hurricane warnings over the northern islands of the bahamas. here 130-mile-per-hour winds by late tomorrow night. it is justakes a turn, but it just hugs the coast. the greatest shot at some landfall will be sometime on friday as it cuts across cape hatteras. we may see another landfall there. but in the meantime, it stays offshore. and look at this, boston is just south of the cone of uncertainty as this thing takes off. the problem with this is there are very few -- nothing really steering it. there is a big area of high pressure that we're waiting to break down, but in the meantime, because it is just moving ever so slowly, the storm center by

tomorrow afternoon will just be 40 miles offshore. the hurricane-force winds just about 10 miles offshore. so we'll, watching this closely as the day wears on as that pushes through. wind speeds will be an issue. we'll be looking at storm surge and as the winds wrap around that -- wrap around dorian, the winds push the ocean waters up against the shoreline. so as the day progresses today, we'll watch that as the system slowly makes its way up the co-. a coast and then continues to push to the northeast. what we expect as far as rainfall forecast, upwards of 15 inches of rain possible stretching from melbourne up into wilmington. and the storm surge, 4 to 7 feet from jacksonville down to west palm beach as it pushes up to at is the most deaths mhappen in te

storm surge area. so we'll watch that closely. but again, all we have to see is a bit of a wobble either waywil what. >> and it appears that it will pose a threat through saturday? >> yeah, as it makes its way up the coast. in fact if we can put the track back up over here, guys, you will see that basically it parallels 9 coast, and as it goes up, it is going to probably cause some rip currents and some waves pushing up as this system makes its way up to the north. it will cause probably some inclement weather perhaps in the northeast, but we're not looking at any kind of a direct hit at this points. >> got it. and so for folks in the affected region,atthis points. >> got it. and so for folks in the affected region, what period of the day poses the greatest risk? >> along the coastline, the next 24 hours or so. but again, we're waiting now for this thing to make its turn.

until it makes its turn, all bets are off. right now we're waiting for this high pressure ridge to break down and allow to funnel up in between areas of high pressure. until that happens, all bets are off. >> al roker, thanks. let's get to florida and gabe guttierez. we just heard from al. are officials there ready and are all of those residents who have been through some of the worst hurricanes, are they prepared for this latest system? >> reporter: as you mentioned earlier, there have been so many mandatory evacuations now under way up and down the florida and right now we're at force pierce. you take a look at some of the choppy water. we were just in jensen beach a short time ago. and we were able to see the

really choppy surf there. we have been seeing the winds kind of increasing here and occasionally we get one of those stream x. stre extreme outer rain bands. and while we expect conditions to deteriorate, the big question many are asking, when will it make its fortunately turn. that is what everyone is waiting on. and the governor alsoturn. that is what everyone is waiting on. and the governor also discussed that is the big question. because if it takes longer to make that northerly turn or if it would be thele ll llthel llle west, we choo see more here. ed the national guard is standing by ready to go in case things get out of hand up in the coast. but florida power and light is expecting extensive out think as. they have more than 18,000 workers pre-positioned.think as. they have more than 18,000 workers pre-positioned.as.

they have more than 18,000 workers pre-positioned. but you see mornl a million people mandatory evacuation orders and authorities are warning that despite this northwesterly projected path, this storm could bring tropical storm-force winds. we're actually in a hurricane warning area here right now. this could have major impacts for days to come up and down the southeastern coast. >> and are people heeding the advantaevacuation orders? >> reporter: in jensen beach, we did see many of the hotel closing up. and the orders are not for major populated areas although yes, more than a million people all 9 way to the carolinas. but here in like martin county, brevard county, they say that those are the low lying areas. those are what authorities expect the storm surge to increase from what we have seen so far, people are taking this thing very seriously.

when you hear that category 5 storm is battering the bahamas, it has weakened to a 4, but that storm won't be very far off this coast. the eye of this hurricane, if it goes a bit to the west, a cat 5, cat 4 storm definitely gets people's attention as we get more rain here there one of the outer rain bands. people seem to be heeding the warnings thus far. the governor also telling us that certain hospitals also in the area are also evacuating today as well. >> dave guttierez, my best to you and the crew there riding out the storm. let's get expert analysis from a former fema regional director and of course he is joining me now. so let's start with the ground game. where are fema teams positioning sthe themselves as we get closer to potential landfall or a massive storm surge there on the coast? >> the positions vary. it just depends on the location of the storm itself.

but the decision to select a location at which to position a team is made by where can the team be as close as possible and still the team itself be safe, assets be safe. and yet be able to get into the impacted areas. it is somewhat is art and science as to where to put the assets, but it is a selection that typically is made dependent on where the storm itself is. >> does the fact that there are so many officials in acting capacities at dhs, does that complicate the response effort? >> i don't believe that it particularly complicates the response effort as it has been planned now. i think that over time it could make for more possibilities of directions to be taken, strategic directions to be taken by the agency, that might not be

the directions that would be taken by permanent directors, permanent administrators. but with regard to the storm itself, i think that the agency pretty much knows exactly what to do and all the different levels particularly toward the people that really are on the ground, they know exactly what to do. >> and all morning long we've been seeing these devastating images. right now we're seeing pictures from the bahamas. the shear power of the storm is stunning think abo stunning. do you think residents who have rode out systems in the past, are they heeding the advice to take cover and evacuate? >> i believe that most are. i believe that there are probably a few that think, we go, i've been through this before, it hasn't been that bad, i can just ride this one out. and those are the ones that we worry most about because when

they get in trouble, when they have storm surge come into their homes, when they call for help and if possible when first responders try to get to them, it not only puts the people that failed to heed the mandatory evacuation order at risk, it also puts first responders at risk. so that is a double whammy and something we don't want to see. >> got it. thanks for your time. appreciate it 37. let's go now to oxnard, california where officials are briefing after 33 people are unaccounted for after a diving boat fire there. let's go to blayne alexander who is joining us from the los angeles bureau with more on this story. >> yeah, we are certainly still waiting to get more information any minute now from coast guard officials there near the coast. the numbers just tell us how dire this situation is. we know that of the people on board, there were 38 people on board that boat, five of them, five crew members, were able to get to safety, they were able to

be rescued. of the five, two have minor injuries. but the big number, 33 people are still unaccounted for at this hour. we know that the call came in around 3:15 local time that the boats was fully engulfed in flames. you siee how it has taken over the boat. this is a commercial boat typically used for diving, a boat that goes out on a multiday excursion. so we understand that the crew members were in an above area and the people, the divers, were down below making it more difficult for them to get out. so that is hampering a lot of the rescue efforts. our gadi schwartz is on the ground as the boats are coming back in from the rescue efforts and he's been reporting some information over the past hour or so. and he explains that really what is hampering these rescue

efforts is that crews were trying to, of course, use water to douse the flames, but at the same time, trying not to overwhelm the bode boat aat and sink. we know that it has been submerged, just the bow sticking out of the water. so that makes it more difficult for crews as they try to account for those 33 people who were on board. >> and we have sound from the u.s. coast guard official talking about how difficult this response effort was. let's take a listen. >> we basically had assets in the air and on the water on scene directly. and when we initially received report upon arriving on scene, we had coast guard crews, fire department teams actually trying to put out this fire. >> as we prepare to watch this press conference start, what more are we expecting to hear from officials? >> and i'll comment on what petty officer barney said. i think he speaks to just how difficult the rescue conditions

are. you see that it is a cloudy day and it looks like they are just getting ready to brief. so let's listen in if we can. >> partner agencies and coast guard have responded to a vessel fire near santa cruz island this morning at 3:30 a.m. coast guard central los angeles, long beach watch overheard a heyday oig call via channel 16 of an engulfed 75-foot commercial driving vessel with 39 people aboard. crews from the coast guard and fire departments and vessel assist have responded. fire department crews are fighting the fire when the vessel sank 20 yards offshore in 64 feet of water. five people were evacuated aboard a good samaritan pleasure craft known as the great escape. currently 34 people aboard the vessel are unaccounted for.

coast guard sector los angeles long beach launched two coast guard harbor 45 foot response boat medium crews. air san francisco forward operating base helicopter crew, coast guard air station san diego mh 60 jayhawk helicopter crew, and coast guard cutter. the vessel has a portion of the bow sticking out of the water. those are my comments. >> ventura county fire department has been in unified command since this morning at 3:30. and it will continue to be a unified effort as we switch to santa barbara county fire as the incident goes on and we go into a recovery mode.

>> so there is no chance of -- you say recovery mode. no chance of further rescues? >> presently the coast guard has full efforts in a response positive dhur right now. we're currently still in the response phase. >> are there divers in the water looking in the wreckage? >> i don't have any additional information regarding that at this time. >> what does response effort mean? >> search and rescue activities, yes, ma'am. >> so what can they be doing at this point? >> right now they are conducting shoreline searches for any available survivors. >> you can give insight, what is the distance from the boat to the shoreline? >> approximately 20 yards from my last brief. >> so at this point no word of anyone who made to shore otherwise? >> come yo hai don't have any a information. 34 unaccounted fortheredivers i? >> i don't have that

information. one question at a time, please. >> is the boat operator have a history of any violations? >> the vessel has been in full compliance. we are working deliberately with the owner operator who is with us at this time working on a plan to conduct further assistance for his vessel. >> the location -- >> plats harbor, i believe. plats harbor, 20 yards off of plats mo s harbor and on the no side. >> was this fire that started small, was there an explosion that was quick automaticed and nowhere? >> only mayday call we received is that it was under flames. >> how long between the call and crews arrived? >> i'll have to get that for you. >> 34 and then 33 -- >> 34 unaccounted for people on

board. >> how was the crew able to get off? >> the crew was actually already awake and on the bridge and they jumped off. >> and to clarify, five crew members, were there only five crew members meaning all crew made it off? >> five crew members on board. >> and were they all awake at the time? >> they were awake at the time. >> did the crew try to help the other passengers? >> i don't have any additional information regarding that. >> you mentioned the great escape, we saw some shirts that said -- >> i believe that it is grape, g-r-a-p-e. there that was . >> that was a rescue vessel? >> a good samaritan, a person that offered their services to help. >> so a person wearing a grape escape shirt, he was not -- >> simply a good samaritan. >> do you know where all of the passengers as opposed to crew, were they below deck? >> my understanding or the report that i received, they were below decks asleep. >> have you received any witness accounts that anybody was able to get above deck from below deck? >> i don't have any additional

information on that, sir. >> and no witness accounts of anybody other than the five crew members in the water? >> i don't have any additional information. if you will, we'll continue our response search efforts. so with that, i'll close out this brief. thank you. r-o-c-h-e-s-t-e-r, monica. and my rank is captain. >> when can we expect another update and where should family members be -- >> i'd like you to work through our public affairs person here and he will set up the nek brie. we'll still working on the family assistance. that is all the questions i have for right now so that we can continue our response. thank you very much. >> we've been listening to can continue monica rochester, briefed the press on this commercial diving boat that caught fire off the southern

california coast earlier this morning. she reports that the five people who track alt vacuated were mem the crew and they were awake at those early morning hours and jumped off the boat, but the 34 passengers who were presumably asleep below deck, those 34 passengers are at this hour unaccounted for. let's go back to blayne alexander in our los angeles bureau. what else caught your ear from this debrief that we got? >> yeah, so first i want to kind of nail down the numbers because she gave us another update when it comes to the number of people, 34 people that are currently unaccounted for, 39 on board all together. i think that the most shocking thing is what you just said, that the only reason that the five people, the five crew members, were able to make it off was that they happened to be awake. they were already up on deck and working getting ready to move things around the boat and they were able to jump off and move to safety. but those 34 other people were still asleep, still below deck. if you can imagine the call came

in around 3:15 local time. so certainly people asleep down below. but we're talking about very small quarters, cramped quarters. and something that wouldn't have been conducive to a very quick exit. of course we don't know the circumstances of where the fire was, where it started. but again, the circumstances would not have been conducive to a fast exit. i think the other thing that caught my ear is the fact that this boat was only about 20 yards offshore, if you can believe it. so we are not talking out in the middle of open waters, but relatively close to a place where it would have been docked. we understand that it caught fire while the boat itself was anchored. still no word on exactly what started the fire, whether it was an explosion or mechanical error. she did also comment on the boat itself and talked about the fact that the boat, the operator, was in full compliance. they say they have already looked into that. so the biggest question that is still unanswered is exactly what started this fire in the first place. now, we know that they are still working, this is still a search

and rescue mode. she couldn't sxhecomment on whe there were divers looking into the boat itself. but again, no confirmation that any of the 34 who are unaccounted for, no confirmation that anybody has been able to make to shore as of yet. so still searching. >> and we heard the captain say that they are searching the shoreline as that boat apparently sunk 20 yards off the coast. blayne alexander, thank you so much. we'll go now to gadi schwartz who was at that press conference. and help us understand exactly what the next steps here are in this recovery mode. >> reporter: you've got a bunch of different crews here. this is the coast guard right here, and then you see the fire crews over here. they are briefing. and then over in this building, the coast guard is holding a briefing as well. so you have dozens and dozens of first responders here, still treating this as a very active

situation. we're starting to see some of those boats come in, the channel islands are a little bit off the coast here. so they are about an hour away. but we've seen some of the pleasure crafts and just normal good samaritan boats that were involved in this rescue coming in. they have been speaking with members of the coast guard. we've also seen some people, at least one person, that appeared to be a crew member, he was limps, had some sort of injury on his leg and he was taken in, he is now speaking with some coast guard authorities here. but for right now, latest that we've heard, that this boat partially sank, the hull is still showing, in about 65 feet of water. about 60 yards off the coast, which means that it was swimmable. that was about 60 yards is something that anybody on that boat should have been able to do. sounds like these were divers that were experienced in the

water. unfortunately, this happened at 3:00 in the morning. so it is believed that most of the passengers, the 34 that are still unaccounted for, were down below deck sleeping. the five members of the crew that were rescued were above deck. and we understand that they may have jumped into the water and they were saved by a boat that was responding nearby by the name of grape escape. so we've seen some people from the grape escape crew around here, they have been talking to coast guard authorities. right now the search he was is along the coastline to see if maybe was able to escape the boat and make to shore. but right now, 34 still unaccounted for. >> a couple more questions for you. i was reading two of the things that complicated the response effort this morning was the foggy conditions off the coast and every time firefighters seemed to extesinguish the fire it roared right back. what more do we know about that and you live in california, so

give us a sense of the place here. these diving trips, these multi day diving trips, a fairly common thing, right? >> right. so this morning, it was very foggy. so foggy in fact that question couldn we couldn't get our helicopter up. the area was socked in. so that made it so that anybody that was responding to this particular area had to use their instruments to get there. it wasn't line of sight. and second thing when it comes to these expeditions if you will, these three day excursions, there are a lot of people in southern california, all over the world really, that come to southern california to go diving and channel islands is one of those destinations where there is abundant sea life. so the way the excursions work, this particular one seemed to be

a three day cexcursion. do you a few dives during the day, you may go hiking on the islands, and then they prepare you dinner there, you go to sleep. there are a bhufunch of differe bunk beds, some triple sacked, some singles or doubles. but it holds about 30 to 40 people in addition to the crew. so this is a very, very large boat. it has been in operation here for over 20 years is what we've been told. so it is a well-known boat in the santa barbara area. so many people in this community know the boat and the crew. and definitely a destination. we just don't know anymore information on the passengers that were on board. >> all right. gadi schwartz, thanks to you. and before that blayne alexander. appreciate both of you. meantime seven people confirmed dead and others injured in a highway shooting sfl spree in texas.

there are more than 15 crime scenes along a 15 mile stretch between the cities of midland and odessa. officials say the 36-year-old suspect who terror iz ized the towns had been fired from his job just hours before leading police on a deadly high speed rampage. the gunman was shot and killed by police in a movie theater parking lot ending the shooting spree that started after a routine traffic spot. garrett hague is in odessa. what more do we know about the status of the victims? >> reporter: here at the hospital where those most seriously injured victims were taken, some good news this morning as some conditions have been upgraded. still ten here, one this critical condition, one in serious and eight in fair condition as of this morning. when dealing with gunshot wounds, you are talking about very serious injuries even for those who might have been hit in an extremity. >> all right. garrett haake, thanks for that.

meantime this latest mass shooting which comes just weeks after the tragedies in el paso and dayton sparking renewed urgency to take the gun debate which is expected to be at the top. agenda when lawmakers head back to capitol hill next week. for more, let's bring in michael stee steele, felipe reinus, and amy stoddard. as to feliif so felipe, this is a key now the democrats in this 2020 race. and let's listen to what some of the top contenders had to say after saturday's shooting. >> split up after hijacking two separate vehicles -- >> so that wasn't quite the sound that we were looking for. but at this point, one of the things that i've heard from a lot of democrats is that the time is now to act. you have the nra in disarray, you have the parkland activists, groups like moms demand action

mobilizing in ways that they haven't before. so how can democrats really jump-start this conversation? and really the responsibility it seems to sca to be squarely on democrats. >> i don't think that it is fair to put it that way. ptd responsibility is on the entire government including the president. but it is the republicans that are basically stone walling. at this point it seems that the only way that we will have change is if we take back the white house and hopefully the entire congress in 2020. i know that that is a tough haul, but it is clear that the republican senate, mitch mcconnell, does not want anything to do with this. and it doesn't make sense why. there is pretty broad support among the electorate for some kind of change whether background checks or otherwise. and the republicans never say, well, here is an idea instead. it is always that wouldn't have made a difference, this wouldn't

have made a difference, they still would have gotten a gun. it is not being in the solutions business, it is being in the shrugging business. >> michael steele, national polls show a solid majority say they are in favor of stricter gun laws, universal background check, red flag laws, gun licensing for bans on high capacity magazines. what do you think it would take for mitch mcconnell and senate republicans to act? because it appears the reflect shon point has not been mass shootings. we hear the same talking points. >> and the ultimate answer is two word, president trump. if president trump tells 123459 republican leaders that he wants action on modest sensible effective legislation like bans on high capacity magazines, like improving and expanding the background check system, like doing red flag laws in a way that makes sense, i think that you can definitely see some action and very quickly. i think that all that -- the only thing that will make that happen is the president deciding

and wan wants. >> and yet amy, president trump just down played background checks and he is reiterating nra and manufacturers talking points. it strikes me in an election year where the president should be looking to increase the standing with moderates and independents that tougher background checks would be a good place to start for him. >> this is so interesting because the president really you could see him equivocating after parkland and then again after the shootings in dayton and el paso in the area of background checks saying that this is something that he really believed that it was time do. of course he changed his mind again, initiated a phone call with the head of the nra to say he is not moving on anything like this, the nra opposes and then tweeted about it. and you heard the same language again from him yesterday after another mass shooting. so it seems like he is not tempted anymore. but the reporting out of the white house showed that he really was concerned about the effects of this in terms of

people dying and politically what it would mean when looking at those poll numbers. 93% of the public supporting universe are al baal background strong opposition to assault style weapons. and even voluntary buy backs coming in at like 73%, astounding growth in those polls. so i think michael is right, it would really have to come from him to change the minds of senate republicans and break the impasse, but he seems to have backed off and that means that they will stay in their positions. we know that the white house is going to come up with a package that is going to expedite capital punishment for mass killers. i don't think that that will serve as a deterrent, answer the concern of the voters. but it seems that that is the position that the president has landed on. >> and white house officials say that the one area where the white house might get on board with tougher restrictions is

when it comes to mental illness. what they mean is that keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill or getting treatment. for democrats, that isn't enough. but do you think that would be acceptable to the president's base since that is the lens through you which he sees all of this? >> yes, you hit the right point about there. the president, given the choice between reaching out to suburban voters, who may not have supported him in 2016 or doubling down on list bahis bas always doubles down on the base. but i think some stort ort of expanded laws to make it harder to get these weapons of war would be something that his base would be okay. >> all right. my thanks to all of you. coming up, where president trump is spending his day as millions brace for dorian. johnson & johnson is a baby company.

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toward the u.s., president trump says the category 5 storm is a first for him even though four such storms have threatened the u.s. since he took office. >> i'm not sure that i've ever even heard of a category 5. a category 5 is something that i don't know that i've ever heard the term. never seen a category like this

coming. it came in really at 5. it was a category 5. i never even knew a category 5 existed. got hit as a 5. category 5 storm, which literally never happens. it actually touched down as a category 5. never seen anything like that. this has been a category 5 which few people have ever heard of. category 5, nobody has ever heard of a 5 hitting land. category 5 hurricane. category 5. never heard about category 5s before. category 5 is big stuff. >> and of course dorian was a category 5 and thnow downgradedo category 4. joining me is peter baker. i think a generous interpretation of what the president was trying to say is that category 5 storms are fairly rare, but people look to the federal government and the president for competence and they expect some consistency. if the president made these head

scratching comments and suggested that the storm will hit alabama which the national weal weather service do you make of all of this? >> this is a big storm. and it is on a large list of the most dangerous possible storms had it crashed into florida the way that they initially expected. so part of what the president is doing of course is making sure that the public is taking it seriously and not just sort of brushing it off in case it really did turn out to be the monster that people feared. having said that, what you see i think in the clips that you show is this is a president who is constantly in n. love with sue per la i have its. even for him is the most, biggest, the first. like you've never seen before, that is a phrase he likes to use. and it doesn't really matter whether we have seen it before. sometimes this president has seen it before multiple 4ri6 li.

and in the moment everything he is involved in is the most and biggest and first. >> he has no official event on his public schedule. he is at his golf course i believe. but before he left, he was busy on twitter, he took aim at the media and the so-called squad and b. twe tweeting about the economy. you have written how he will try to deflect blame. is that the lens through which we should see some of his comments? >> certainly. yeah, just the other day of course he went after american businesses and said if they are blaming tariffs for their problem, it is because they are making excuses for their own bad management. he goes after jay powell chairman of the federal reserve almost daily to blame him in case the economy does turn south. so he is in fact looking to set up villains if the economy goes in a downward direction as he is heading in to re-election. he understands probably as much as any president out there he is tethered to the economy as his most important political asset.

polls show it is the strongest support he gets from the public is how he handles the economy. and if that changes next year, he could be in serious trouble. we've seen downward shifts in poll numbers in terms of the attitude towards the economy in terms of consumer confidence, there are worrying signs to the white house. and so what you see the tweets doing is setting up a narrative in case things really do go bad. >> and let's talk about that because the tariffs on clothing and other imports from china went into effect on sunday escalating the trade war in a move that is expecting to hit american consumers. so to your point, is there any progress on the horizon that suggests trade talks will resolve this standoff? >> not at the moment, not really. they are further and further apart it seems like on a lot of levels. having said that, what you have heard the president say in the last week or so is he does think that he can get a deal. and that may be in part by

virtue of what you talked about, the political aspect of this. if he have doesn't get a deal by the election, he could be in trouble. so it is in his interests to find a compromise that looks like a better deal than they had before but resolves the issue in time for the american public to go for the polls. tariffs just went into effect yesterday, raised the stakes for american consumers. latest study i saw showed average american household will pay $460 more oefver the next year. so he wants to resolve this in time for the voting. >> 460 bucks, that is real money. all right. peter baker, thanks for your time. coming up, hurricane dorian slamming the bahamas, but the forecast for the atlantic coast continues to change as the system approaches. we'll have the latest details coming up next. something great from mr. clean. stop struggling to clean tough messes with sprays. try clean freak! it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact.

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and we are back with the latest on hurricane dorian. barreling through the bahamas where it is leaving a path of destruction. from knocked down trees and power lines, damaged homes and a stre severe flooding. florida should feel effects

tonight and through tomorrow morning as the storm is moving at 1 miles per hour. governor desantis asked residents to heed the warnings and he said he spoke to president trump. >> people need to remain vigilant. if you are ordered to evacuate, you need to do that. get out now while you have time, while there is fuel available. i just spoke this morning with president trump. he is fully engaged in this. and you know, just reiterated that he will provide whatever resources that we need to be able to weather dorian. fema is fully engaged. >> joining me now is dan leonard in massachusetts and also with my former press secretary marsha captrin. the storm is changing minute to minute. what can floridians expect based on where the storm is seeming to be heading? >> you said it earlier, west at 1 miles per hour. it is essentially stationery. it has been over grand bahama all night and into the morning. and even though that is really bad news for grand bahama

obviously, it is good news for the east coast of gof florida. it needs fuel and that fuel comes in the form of heat energy from the ocean. and if it is staying over the same spot for this long, it is exhausting that fuel. so it is up welling the cooler waters, and that is why we have seen it weaken to a category 4 and i expect continued weakening over the next 12 to 24 hours. so this is a bit of a good news for the east coast of florida up through the carolinas. >> and help us understand the protocol for the department of homeland security during a storm like this, one expected to last really throughout the week. >> yes, it will last. we still don't know what it will do. you know, one slight maneuver can take it in a different direction. but what fema is doing right now is it preparing and pre-positioning supplies and working with the state and local officials. so that is why it is so important if your local officials are telling you to evacuate, the time to go is now. do not wait.

have a plan. have an old fashioned radio handy. know where you will meet your family, have a meeting spot. because sometimes phones will be out, cellphones will be unreliable as power lines will be down. but what we're also worried about and looking for are those powerful storm surges which are, you know, rising water that come in that we can see very high storm surges. and remember though just one inch of water can do serious damage to your home. it can do up to $25,000 worth of damage that sometimes insurance won't cover. in addition to the winds and the rainfall, fema is looking out for all of those things. >> and dan, if the storm hits at a period of high tide off the florida coast, we are talking 5 to 7 feet of water at least in people's homes, right? along the coast anyway. >> yeah, we are. but one thing that i will say, this is actually a better case

scenario than if the storm made a direct right angle impact to the coast. as marsha sid, that is when rig coast. as marsha said, that's where you get significant, intense storms especially with a category 5. this time along, it's a lot like hurricane matthew. remember in 2016, matthew grazed the coast from florida to the carolinas. just think back, if you're down there what happened dug that particular storm with matthew three years ago. if you had a bad situation back then, you will have it again. this time, it's taking a very similar track and it will also be roughly the same intensity. so whatever happened to you during that system, it's going to happen this time around with dorian. >> dan leonard and marsha cap ro ron. coming up live, elizabeth warren and bernie sanders on the

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welcome back. democratic front-runner joe biden is in cedar rapids, iowa, at this hour. he's talking to reporters. let's go straight to it. >> -- having to sell weapons on the street with multiple bullets is irrational. there's no need for it. and your second amendment rights are not violate >> is there any compromise? >> no, no compromise, is this

one we have to push, push, push, and push. fact of the matter is it will result in seeing that -- >> is that the gun issue next fall? >> i don't see anything out there, do you? i've seen nothing, the president has no intestinal fortitude to deal with this. he knows better. his instinct was to say, yeah, we're going to do something. come on, this is disgraceful. this is disgraceful. >> the current vice president mike pence, they've just said that attorney general as part of gun violence legislation, that will include expediting a death penalty for mass murder. what is your standpoint on that? >> it's irrelevant. look, this is what we've always done before in the past. it's what you do when you can't get something done that's

rational, you increase the penalty for being irrational. it has nothing to do with irrational gun policy. do you think the gun penalty will stop that last guy? the white supremacist and including texas? i don't think so. >> here on labor day, should economy workers have more labor laws or just left to be treated as contract woshgtrkers? >> the answer is, they should. what's happening here and across the country, nonlabor personnel is getting it stuck to them by having their -- actually, wage theft. you have and you've heard me say, i know you're tired of hearing me say it and i'm going to continue to say it, nationally over $1 billion was denied in overtime for roughly 4 million people last year in

united states by being reclassified as managers. >> you've been listening to the former vice president joe biden speaking to reporters in iowa. let's go to milford, new hampshire. following bernie sanders. and in hampton falls we find ali vitaly. let's start with you, with burnbur bernie sanders on the parade route. what more you can tell us about that? >> that's right-august is a month of plan reallegations for bernie sanders and that report on how credit scoring occurs so that credit report that people have wouldn't negatively affect them. you see the army of volunteers behind me. this is a state in 2016, he won. he wants to win it this time around. the problem is, look there, you see other candidates, other supporters of candidates, vice

president biden, mayor pete buttigieg and elizabeth warren's supporters there. they see labor day as account time to buckle down. this is a time when you talk to advisers and aides, people are focusing more on the race. the summer is ending, people are paying close attention. that's why we have the plans coming out and they're hoping to build support. >> ali vitaly, we know this from covering senator sanders, i covered him on the hill, you covered him on the campaign trail. now that elizabeth warren is emerging as a real threat, is the lovefest over between the two of them? >> reporter: maybe. i doubt so much it's over between the two of them. elizabeth warren on the debate stage has been able to coast largely unscathed as she's been on stage usually away from the joe bidens and bernie sanders. those stages have been the biden versus kamala, and biden versus

cory booker. you haven't really seen elizabeth warren taking on the rest. i'm interested to see if this is, as you said, where the lovefest wears off because she does seem ready to push on the attack if pushed there so there's really not much upside in throwing the first punch. shaq is right. you talk about it being early. the conversations i've been having with voters here, down the street from where warren's campaign event is, they're just tuning in for the first time which making the stage that much more important. it's important to be in the conversation, to be on the stage when viewers start tuning in and try to figure out who am i voting for on this 20-plus feld. >> all right, that does it for me on this hour of msnbc live. now, i hand things off to jo ling kent. at this hour, we're closely monitoring hurricane dorian as the monster category 4 storm barrels sorts the southeast

coast. right now, dorian is 112 miles off west palm beach florida, it's very slowly inching west through the atlantic, with wind gusts of up to 155 miles an hour. and today, floridians are on edge for what could be the most destructive storm the state has seen since hurricane andrew. mandatory evacuations are under way across florida and the carolinas. residents of the bahamas seeing the discharge with 165-mile-per-hour winds and a massive 23-foot storm surge. >> please pray for us. please pray for us, everyone. please pray for us. >> the sea is just spraying on to our houses. the winds are howling like we've