many, many years on guns. and the question is, can they impact the elections? >> thank you to the two of you for joining me tonight. peter, a.b. thank you. and that does it for me this hour. don't go anywhere, though. we are not even close to done. ms nbc's live coverage of hurricane dorian continues right now with my colleague chris jansing. >> i've seen you all day on tv. i'm fascinated you're back. it's a big story and i'm glad you are back. >> we have a number of big stories. usually labor day weekend, you're kind of struggling to see, is there a lot of traffic out on the roads, not today. >> i would give anything to not have to report on these very troublesome stories. >> very unfortunate stories. great to see you. i'll see you tomorrow. thank you so much, ali. it is midnight here in new york. we're continuing to follow breaking news on all these different fronts that ali just referred to. first of all, hurricane dorian, still bearing down on the bahamas right now with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. a devastating and deadly storm.

we'll also bring you the very latest on that deadly fire on a dive boat off the southern california coast. search efforts are still under way, even at this hour, for any possible survivors, though hope is fading. and in texas, we're learning more about the gunman who police say killed seven people in a shooting rampage saturday along roadways in odessa and midland. much more on those stories ahead. first, we want to get the latest on hurricane dorian. right now, the category 4 storm has stalled over the bahamas, where it's already blamed for five deaths. 30 inches of rain could fall in some isolated areas. obtained bw flooded homes nearly fully submerged. officials say they have received a tremendous number of calls for rescue. yet, in many places, conditions are still too treacherous to respond.

one pipe lot it one pilot telling me earlier that rescue planes could not go up until daylight. hurricane dorian one of the most powerful atlantic storms ever recorded. here's the situation in freeport earlier today. >> as y'all can see, the trees, that's the water right there, banging against the window. that's the front porch. the water is about six feet, or over six feet deep. god be with you. god be with us. god be with us. keep praying out there. >> no kidding. that is terrifying. we're also following dorian's impact on florida, where the hurricane's outer bands are now reaching some areas. the storm expected to track along florida's east coast as it moves to the north. i want to go straight to the latest forecast and for that, we turn to our msnbc meteorologist, ja nessa webb. after all the days of uncertainty, all the models are

pretty much showing the same thing. >> we're finally in agreement here, finally going to see this thing steer well to the north here, so, florida, finally in the clear here, but it's still the cououter bands that are goi to be a problem here. just because we don't have a landfall here, we are going to see the storm surge that's going to be very significant across the florida coast. this just in from the national hurricane center, 130 miles per hour here. it continues to be stationary across the grand bahamas. this is a very unfortunate situation. we've already seen about 24 inches of rain and with the high tide continues to come in, we're going to continue to see that catastrophic flooding here in that area. we need the movement here, so that band starts to really move out of that area. now, the storm surge across the florida coast, with hurricane warnings, already put in place across west palm beach into portions of southern georgia. i do want to do some live

reporting here. we're going to see the band here make its way well to the north here, but you can see freeport, they're dealing with these dicey conditions with lightning strikes in that area, but things are really starting to get better. now, west palm beach here in the next 24 hours, you're really going to start to see the winds pick up, but from that area, we're about 82 to 85 miles from the eye of the hurricane. it will be well offshore. that's really great news here, but you're going to see the isolated accumulation of rain that's going to be pretty copious throughout the next 24 hours. now, we're still talking about a major hurricane here. so, the storm surge, the winds, they're still going to be an issue, at least for the next 24 hours, before it gets downgraded to a cat 3. now, people are really concerned about the intensity of the storm. that's not what we're really focused on, the energy of the storm still really going to be

intact here, so, that's still going to be a problem. now, that sustained winds, tuesday evening of 125 miles per hour, but that's not talking about gusts in that area that could exceed 155 miles per hour. it's really not letting up for your wednesday a.m. 155 miles per hour. and all the waves, they're really going to start to make its way into jacksonville, as well. so, this just updated here. it's a little bit too close for comfo comfort for my liking for myrtle beach. still a cat 2. and that storm surge is going to be a problem even for the outer banks of north carolina into south carolina, as well, and now jersey in the mix of this, as well. so, the forecast mere for the florida impacts is going to be the storm surge once again. and we're going to see the winds continue to pick up for at least 24 to 36 hours. now, savannah, you are still on

our radar here with this massive storm system, potentially going to see that minor flooding in that area, as well. atlanta you could see some bands that start to make their way in, but it's going to be a very minor. so, the wind flow after this system really starts to move here, we're going to finally get a break and really be able to check out the gee yography now the bahamas. they sit at sea level. this is just devastating for that area. the cone of uncertainty really coming into place now. we're not saying people are in the clear, because the storm surge is very halfty. >> yeah, i talked to a lot of florida officials that are still saying, hold on. we want to make sure everybody is safe. ja nessa, thank you for that. speaking of florida, i want to go to simone boyce, who is in west palm beach. what's happening where you are? >> reporter: chris, it looks like we are underneath one of those rain bands that's stretching out from hurricane dorian.

it comes and goes in pitches, but we just had some pretty heavy rain downpouring just now, and we've been seeing wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. and that is expected to continue throughout the night. tropical storm warning, hurricane watch, storm surge warnings are still in place here in west palm beach, as well as palm beach island, through 1:00 this morning. now, one thing that we are monitoring is the fact that uber is suspending rides, actually as we speak, just because the conditions here are worstening. so, that's the thing. i mean, if you haven't gotten out already, if you haven't heeded those mandatory evacuation orders that are in place for parts of west palm beach, it's too late now, and uber was one of those things that could help you get to safety, but really, what officials are going to be watching out for, within the next couple of hours, is the tide. they're keeping a close eye on the tide. high tide is coming in in just about a half hour. this is an area that has experienced king tides as of late. so, unusually high tides, and

officials are concerned that those high tides in combination with the rising waters -- you cease these gusts of wind right now -- we're going to be seeing more tropical storm-force winds as hurricane dorian makes its way closer to florida, but back to those high tides, that's what people are concerned about. that in combination with the storm surge could make for a pretty dangerous combination, chris. >> yeah, simone. we saw the winds whipping up. take care out there. and the fact that uber is suspending is significant. they were offering free rides to people to shelters, talked to some folks from the red cross earlier. thousands of people in shoeelte. i know you'll keep us posted on that from where you are. let's turn now to katie beck, who is in savannah, georgia. how are things there? >> reporter: hey, chris. well, it's pretty much a ghost town right now. we are on the riverfront, right in downtown historic issavannah. this is a popular area most nights, hotels, restaurants,

bars. since about midday today, it has been deserted. you're going to see sandbags at the doors, bar stools up on tables. garbage bags, entire bars cov covered up with sheets. this is not normal. this is a place that would see a lot of traffic, a lot of tourists, but given the fact they are waiting for dorian and those mandatory evacuation orders were put into place today, a lot of people heeded that warning and got out of town, especially when their hotel said, we're closing the doors, head out. so, the mayor of savannah tonight issuing a very ominous warning, saying to folks, this is not something to try and ride out, not this one. this is not the storm to try your luck. you only have one life and he doesn't want to see any lives lost, so, he was urging people that were still here to make their way out of town. starting tomorrow, contra flow on i-16 heading out of savannah, as well, to try to get that traffic out of here without a jam. the civic center will be opening its doors at 8:30 in the morning

tomorrow for those that wanted to evacuate but really had nowhere to go. so, a lot of things are in place. the bad weather they're expecting is not supposed to come until wednesday, so, they do still have another day to sort of try to get everyone out. but as you can see, not many folks left. this is about as quiet as you can ever imagine savannah could be. this is sort of the equivalent area, you know, to new orleans, and having, you know, so much traffic, so many people, to see it like this is just eerie. >> especially on a holiday weekend. catie beck, take care. thank you. we're slowly getting more details about the devastation in the northwestern bahamas, hard-hit in the past 24 hours or so by the crawling hurricane dorian. video shows catastrophic damage in the area. houses almost fully submerged by storm surge along with heavy winds and rain. on sunday, one desperate resident of great abaco island posted this video, just as the powerful storm moved in.

>> please pray for us, please pray for us, everyone, please pray for us. me and my baby, everyone that's staying in the apartment building, we're stuck right here. please pray for us. pray for us. pray for abaco, please, i'm begging y'all. my baby is only 4 months old. please pray for us. >> our own morgan cheske has this report from the bahamas. >> the water continues to rise. >> reporter: tonight, the bahamas torn apart. dorian, a slow-moving monster. >> that's a roof. >> reporter: swallowing homes, mangling cars and pushing an angry sea onto people's doorsteps. >> literally in the motion. >> reporter: on grand bahama, david gave a chilling play-by-play. his home on stilts no match. >> far beyond anything we've ever experienced. >> reporter: on abaco island, prayers for a family, as dorian turned deadly.

>> my grandson died, that's it. >> reporter: the grandmother in tears after she said her grandson drowned seeking shelter. today, conditions remained so bad the u.s. coast guard couldn't move until until late this afternoon, rescuing dozens but leaving many fearing the worst. what is your biggest fear right now as a dad? >> my biggest fear right now is my son's safety. >> reporter: robert monroe's son, part of the bahamian military stationed in abaco. his last message, "the weather is picking up." since then, silence. >> the storm came and all communication was lost. >> reporter: nothing? >> nothing. >> reporter: right now, flooding is among the biggest concerns. with cars submerged at police headquarters on grand bahama, as dorian dumps foot after foot of rain. >> know there's severe flooding and we fear for the lives of many there. >> reporter: tonight, the bahamas prime minister items me help is on the way, but stresses he's never seen such a powerful

storm. >> it's disheartening. it's as if we're fighting a war with the enemy having all the weapons at its disposal and we have absolutely nothing. we're hopeless. the only thing we have is god, so we can pray to god and ask god to bring us through. >> reporter: and again tonight, thehamian prime minister confirming five deaths here in the bahamas. he told me he plans to visit abaco island tomorrow to witness the devastation first-hand. morgan cheske, nbc news. >> morgan, thank you. and we will, of course, be staying on top of this hurricane throughout the night. still ahead this hour, tragedy off the coast of california. the latest in the search efforts after that deadly boat fire. eight bodies have now been recovered, though not identified. at least 26 men and women are still missing this hour. and later, a look inside the investigation into that deadly rampage in texas, and what, if

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mayday, mayday, mayday. conception. north side of santa cruz. i can't breathe. >> your vessel is on fire, is that correct? roger. are you onboard the conception? >> roger, there's 33 people

onboard the vessel that's on fire, they can't get off. >> following that mayday call, dozens are feared dead, even as the search continues overnight for any possible survivors of an overnight boat fire off the coast of southern california. eight bodies have been recovered, but dozens of passengers are still missing after the dive boat went up in flames around 3:30 monday morning. 39 people were onboard when the fire started. most of them sleeping below deck. five crew members were on-deck, able to escape and paddle to a nearby boat. bob and shirley hanson were awakened by pounding on their hull and she told "the new york times", the crew was distraught, some wearing only underwear. one man told the hansens that his girlfriend was still below deck on the conception." another man cried, describing how they had celebrated three passengers' birthdays hours earlier. four of the bodies were recovered by rescue teams.

officials say four others were found on the ocean floor near the boat. the santa barbara county sheriff's offices says authorities will need to use dna to identify the victims. joining us now, knbc reporter kim tobin from our nbc affiliate in los angeles. i understand you've spent a good bit of the day with the hansens. i can't imagine what it was like for them. they're out on the water, they were sleeping and they hear this pounding on their boat? >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right. we talked to bob hansen, the captain here. his boat is currently docked here. he said he and his wife were sleeping, at 3:30 in the morning, they got banging on their boat, they heard shouts for help and five of the crew members that were able to escape. the captain, along with four crew members, they got onto the boat. they pleaded for help. two of them had injuries to their legs. they pulled the men on and they made that call to the coast guard to get help. bob says he walked outside, he saw the flames there, about 30 feet high, he watched that goat. he said, there was not one piece

of that boat that was not engulfed in flames. and he said it was just so hard to sit there and not be able to do much more to be able to help. he has a 60-foot he had the five crew members, he helped them. three ofhem went back to the boat to go check. there was flashlights. they were not able to find sure vile vorps in the water. they waited for the coast guard. and rescue operations are still under way tonight closer up the coast near santa barbara this evening. >> did he have anything to say about what they told them, did they have any clue about how that fire may have started? >> reporter: and it's so early to speculate right now, and a lot of people here in the boating community don't want to, because they know so many things have gone wrong. he asked them if they had propane on the boat, they said no. they said all of their cooking was done with electrical and they didn't have any idea exactly where it started but there was an idea it could have been in the middle of the boat. and there are two exits to the

bottom where everybody was sleeping and by the time that the fire erupted and the crew members tried to go down there to rescue everyone, they went to both exits, the main exit and the fire exit, both were engulfed in flames and the ceiling tiles were already st t starting to fall down. they were not able to reach them. they wound up jumping overboard, getting in that smaller boat and riding over to the hansens. >> do we know anything more about the people who were on this trip? >> reporter: so far, it's been so sparse on identities and what we've been able to find out. they've been really giving the families a lot of privacy. as you can imagine, this is one of the deadliest maritime accidents here, maybe in decades here in california, so, they are giving them a lot of privacy right now. we have not been able to really get an idea. but like you said, we know, according to bob hansen here, we spoke with the captain. he said they were enjoying their time out on labor day weekend. three birthdays, one of a 17-year-old girl with her parents, so, we know that. and talking to bob, he's been here with a lot of people in the

water, he says that a lot of those people who might have been diving, they're a lot younger and he believes a lot of them may have been young men, women, whose lives are possibly lost, feared they could be gone tonight. >> t k >> kim, thank you for that update. and we're going to speak live to a mayor, just hours away from declaring a state of emergency. our coverage of hurricane dour yan and its path headed north when we come right back. me righ. oh, wow. you two are going to have such a great trip. thanks to you, we will. this is why voya helps reach today's goals...

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we are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of our northern bahamas. our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery. i ask for your prayers for those in affected areas and for our first responders. >> that was the prime minister of the bahamas talking about the aftermath of hurricane dorian. now, tonight in the united states, millions along the southeastern coast are bracing for dorian's effects over the next several days. the storm expected to track along florida's east coast, then turn and continue up along through north carolina. joining us now, the mayor of

southport, north carolina. mr. mayor. you have a beautiful town, where the cape fear river meeflts the atlantic ocean. i know that it's been featured in a number of movies. how are things looking there tonight? >> well, tonight, just kind of a normal summer night. as a matter of fact, i was at the waterfront earlier today and everybody was enjoying the sunshine. we had a very wonderful day. it's a little cloudy, a few drops of rain, but other than that, today was a pretty nice day. >> as some people might say, the calm before the storm. what are you expecting over the next 24 to 48 hours? >> well, what we're expecting, we've had a couple of meetings here over the last couple of days and been in contact with our national weather service center out of wilmington, north carolina, and they're forecasting that what we'll see of the storm will probably come wednesday or sometime late

wednesday or thursday morning and according to them, it may scoot along the coast and not hit landfall, but still we're expecting and to expect heavy rainfall, perhaps ten inches or more, and plus tropical storm ones, and we're preparing for that. >> tell us a little bit about the preparations that you're undergoing. >> yes, ma'am. first thing we're going to do is, we're putting our city under a state of emergency effective at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. that would be this morning, excuse me. and we have met with all of our resources in the city here today and yesterday, the fire chief, our ems chief, our police chief, public works and all staff members and make sure that we

have all of our resources in place to help our citizens and to protect our city. >> correct me if i'm wrong, but i was told that you have far too much experience in hurricanes, that you have been there for every one since 1968. less than a year ago, florence brought some flooding to your town. what have you learned that helps you to know how to deal with whatever's to come? >> well, one thing we've learned about hurricanes is, number one, they're very uncertain, even though we have a lot of scientific information and they're much better on being predicted as to the outcomes and the landfall and what to expect. there's still that -- that window of uncertainty that we don't know about them. and one thing i've learned about hurricanes is that a lot of people are very afraid of the

winds, but most of the -- our trouble comes from the flooding, the heavy rains that are caused by the hurricanes themselves. >> yeah, and i think it was true in florence last september, that it was mostly fluiding and it was not the high winds that have the impact. i had done some reading about how it affected the fishing industry, you've got charter businesses there. how concerned are you about this from a business standpoint, especially with so many small businesses in your town? >> yes, we are very concerned about that, because number one is that our city depends a lot on the tourism industry. we used to depend primarily on the fishing industry down here and we still do, to an extend. and all those -- all those have been affected by the storm, yes, ma'am. >> well, mayor j.v. dove, it is very kind of you to stay up late

with us and talk to us and we certainly wish you the best. we'll be keeping an eye on it. our best to everybody there in your beautiful town. >> well, thank you so much. thank you so much. >> thank you. and coming up, a traffic stop turned deadly, as texas once again mourns its own from another mass shooting. we'll have the latest on the investigation there. we're back after this. e back af. saturday morning, our suspect went to work and was there for a short time and was terminated by his employ year. right after that firing, he called 911, odessa police department's 911 and so did his empl employer. basically, they were complaining on each other because they had a disagreement over the firing. a short time before he makes contact with the -- with the dps trooper, he actually calls the fbi national tip line.

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gunshots. took cover underneath my seat, still trying to drive. scary moment. i have a 9-month-old son. i didn't know if i was going to be able to see him again or not. >> very terrifying situation for a lot of people who were in the path of the gunman. and authorities in texas are revealing more about this past weekend's sheeting in west texas that left seven people dead, more than 20 injured. we are learning troubling new details about the gunman himself. nbc's miguel almigare is covering that story. >> get down, get down. >> oh, [ bleep ]. >> get down. >> reporter: before most victims had time to run -- >> get down! >> reporter: -- they found themselves pinned down in a hail of gunfire. >> it's okay. it's okay. >> reporter: officials now say the suspect, seth ator, had a criminal history, failed a gun purchase background check and should have never owned the assault-style rifle used to kill seven and wound 22. >> just got shot.

>> reporter: hours before the shooting, he was fired from his job. >> he was on a long spiral of going down. he didn't wake up saturday morning and walk into his company and then it happened. >> reporter: after police tried to pull over the suspect for a traffic violation, he opened fire on officers and civilians across odessa and midland before he was eventually killed. investigators later swarmed his home, where neighbor s say he ws often armed. said it was a dirt floor? no running water? >> no. >> reporter: with several still hospitalized, carla burn lost her brother in the rampage that left seven dead. >> my brother was slaughtered like he was nothing. in his car at a stoplight with his wife and children on their way to get family pictures taken. >> reporter: overnight, this tight-nig tight-knit community also came together to remember the postal

employee, the truck driver and the afghanistan veteran who survived a battlefield, but died at home in odessa. >> and that was miguel almagair reporting from texas. and coming up, the question we ask after every one of these mass shootings. will anything get done? a look at the politics of this issue when we return. >> i am heartbroken by the crying of the people in the state of texas. i'm tired of the dying of the people of the state of texas. too many texans are in mourning. too many texans have lost their lives. the status quo in texas is unacceptable. and action is needed. we need solutions that will keep guns out of the hands of criminals like the killer here in odessa while also ensuring that we safeguard second amendment rights. and we must do it fast. it faste

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synagogue or in a mosque. >> i work with mitch mcconnell where we can agree, on this one, he's not going to agree, because he's where the president is, because we just have to beat them. flat-out beat them. >> we've been having great ideas for decades. the problem is that congress does not have the courage to act. if they don't within the first 100 days of the administration, i'm going to take executive action. >> so, that's how some of the democratic candidates have been reacting to this weekend's gun violence in west texas. but president trump, who, after the el paso shooting indicated support for background check legislation, is, again, backing off from that, after this latest mass shooting. >> this really hasn't changed anything. we're doing a package and we'll see what it all -- how it comes about. it's coming about, right now, and a lot of people are talking about it. and that's irrespective of what happened yesterday in texas. we're looking at a lot of different things. we're looking at bills, ideas,

concepts. it's been going on for a long while. background checks. i will say that for the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five, going back even five or six or seven years, for the most part, as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it. so, it's a big problem. it's a mental problem, it's a big problem. >> with me now to talk about where the discussion on gun violence goes from here, ken thomas, political reporter from "the wall street george" and jonathan allen, nbc news national political reporter. good morning to both of you guys. so, ken, when the president says they're doing a package, do we know what that means? >> well, they've talked about a few things. they've talked about red flag laws, perhaps. he has mentioned background checks. >> and then backed off from them. >> and then backed off. so, you know, i think the frustration that you're seeing from the democrats in the 2020 field is that, you know, there's

just been a lot of discussion for years now and nothing has really ever come out of congress. and so, you know, has anything really changed to move the president to a place where he would be willing to get fully behind an issue, and this is something that would really take presidential leadership to get, you know, many republicans to come onboard. a lot of them are concerned that they would be primaried, if they went too far out on an edge on gun control. >> well, jonathan, you have the recent quinnipiac poll that showed once again there is wide support for gun control measures. 93% support universal background checks. 82% say you should have to have a license to purchase a gun. 8 in 10 are for the red flag law. 6 in 10 are for a ban on assaul why hasn't this public support translated to laws? >> i think one of the things,

chris, you know, when i talk to gun owners and conservative gun owners who talk about the second amendment as a right, a lot of them tell me that they look at the question of background checks is something where they're supportive in theory of the idea of universal background checks, but they are unsupportive of kcandidates who would vote for them because they worry about a slippery slope of other restrictions on gun ownership. basically, they don't trust that if those were put into law they wouldn't end up having, you know, what they look at as confiscation of all weapons what the nra would look at and say is the future of liberalism on guns. >> but those people -- those conservative gun owners who believe in a slippery slope are such a small number. when you look at the overall voter population, am i wrong about that? it's a small number, when you look, even at the breakouts in these questions, even

republicans, even gun owners, support most of this. >> what i'm saying, chris, actually, is that you can hold two ideas in your head at once. you can tell a pollster that you support universal background checks and you can also hold accountable or vote against a lawmaker who votes for those background checks that you say you support. in addition to that, the energy on the side of those who are against background checks and some of these other restrictions is huge. and so, as ken points out, these republican lawmakers are looking at potential primaries. the president of the united states, who is running a base-only strategy for re-election, is concerned that if he does anything on gun control, he's going to lose people that he needs to show up and support him in his re-election, i mean, you've seen his rhetoric change from right after this shooting and right after previous shootings, i should say, you know, within 24 hours at times. >> yeah, i'm not sure it's not the other way around, ken. one of the most effective groups in this fight has been moms

demand action and the back-to-back shootings in el paso and dayton definitely struck a chord with moms, with people everywhere. so much so that even a recent fox news poll asked what people think is a bigger threat, a mass shooting by a fellow citizen or an international terrorist threat, even trump voters said they were more worried about a mass shooting, they thought that was a bigger potential threat. does anyone look at that, at the white house, and say, if we have any chance with swing voterssubo something about this, ken. >> yeah, when you're on the trail, you see women in those red shirts at every event, raising the issue of gun control. i do think, though, with this white house, it's such a base-driven strategy going into 2020 that they just see such a downside to being on the wrong side on this issue, with very conservative voters. and so, even though, you know, the polling shows and enormous

amount of support for some of these approaches, and even in this odessa case, it looks like the assailant, you know, failed a background check. so, it -- you could make the argument that this could have, you know, had an effect on this case, but there's just such a downside for the white house to go full throttle on this issue. >> and a bunch of articles out there today, jonathan, i'm sure you've seen them an it happens every time, just about, that there's a mass shooting, that there's new pressure on republicans to advance gun legislation. speaker pelosi called out the republican senate on saturday, saying, quote, enough is enough, but realistically, do you see any sign that mitch mcconnell is under anymore pressure today than he was a week or a month ago? >> not at all. and you said it, sadly. brutality. chris, every time there's a new mass shooting, and, you know, there's a new story about the urgency in congress.

it's just -- it's just not bourn out by the facts. we see this urgency, we see discussion around it and then the folks who -- the folks who prefer not to see any legislation know that that's going to subside and it does subside. the -- the folks that want to keep the laws as they are have a backup plan if president trump loses. he is not their be all and end all. they have neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh, they have a filibuster in the senate, backed up by mitch mcconnell. even if democrats got rid of the filibuster, they've got the courts backing up, i mean, there is a huge sort of block on this that is very deep for the folks who want to do some gun control and if they want to get that done, they are probably going to have to figure out how to work with second amendment supporting gun owners and breck them apart from gun manufacturers and gun

retailers and groups like the nra. >> all right, guys, when we come back, we're going to talk about the politics of hurricanes. stay with us. you're watching msnbc. is that snapshot rewards safe drivers with discounts on car insurance. -what? ♪ -or maybe he didn't know. ♪ [ chuckles ] i'm done with this class. -you're not even enrolled in this class. -i know. i'm supposed to be in ceramics. do you know -- -room 303. -oh. thank you. -yeah. -good luck, everybody. ♪ ♪ applebee's handcrafted burgers now starting at $7.99. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood

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♪ go where my baby lives b[ growl ]olle♪s good boy. hey. hey. you must be steven's phone. know who's on your network and control who shouldn't be with xfinity xfi. simple. easy. awesome. i'm not sure that i've ever even heard of a category 5. category 5 is something that i don't know that i've ever even heard the term. never seen a category like this come in, because it came in really at a 5. it was a category 5. i never even knew a category 5

existed. got hit as a 5, category 5 storm which it will really never happened. it actually touched down as a category 5. people have never seen anything like that. this has been a category 5, which few people have ever even heard of. a category 5. nobody's ever heard of a 5 hitting land. category 5 hurricane. category 5. never heard about category 5s before. category 5 is big stuff. >> that was a brief history put together of president trump's experiences with category 5 hurricanes. back with us, ken and jonathan to talk the politics of natural disasters. look. this is one of the times when we look to our president, we don't look for a democrat or a republican, we want to know that the federal government, the state government, the local government is going to work for us. so, the president did what presidents should do, arguably, which is, i'm not going to go to poland, i'm going to stay home and monitor the situation.

but then he went golfing a couple of times. he tweeted, by the way, something he criticized president obama fornd he put out all this sort of, like, i am a weatherman information, some of which was incorrect. so, staying home from poland, who is that going for him? >> i think that, you know, we saw those clips where the president was playing branding agent for hurricane dorian, it seems very unusual. it's a category 5, it's the greatest hurricane ever, it's a very unusual thing for a president to do. he's been tweeting, he's warned residents of alabama to be careful, even though, as we've seen the national weather service said, the hurricane's not coming anywhere near alabama. >> yeah, can i just say -- i want to stop you there for a minute, because the national weather service was so concerned that he was putting out wrong information about alabama that

they actually tweeted back, "we repeat, no impacts from hurricane dorian will be felt across alabama." >> yeah, i mean, so, the president is actually putting out misinformation in addition to selling the positive qualities of the category 5 hurricane, how big and great it is. i'm not sure that the messaging here coming out of the white house is necessarily particularly helpful to anybody. on the other hand, i'm not sure that's hurting anything. there are a lot of professionals in the federal government that deal with emergency management, you would expect that a president would essentially be in a leadership role of trying to direct at some level direct the agencies, give an idea of what they should be focused on or, you know, perhaps, you know, yell at somebody if they're not getting something done in the aftermath, we haven't gotten to that point yet. in this case, with the exception, of course, of the u.s. virgin islands, you know, in this case, i think you sort of hope that the professionals

at the agencies at fema and other u.s. agencies and at the state agencies, are able to do their jobs without terrible interference from anybody else. >> and ken, i guess there is a certain level of predictability with this. the president was supposed to have been somewhere else, no surprise he didn't have anything on his schedule. but to tweet since saturday 122 times? that's a lot. >> yeah, and in so much of the tweets are focused on the size of the storm, you know, there's almost an awe that he places on some of these weather events. we've seen it in past storms, as well. he's often also very congratulatory of, you know, the federal response and what he's struggled with, with a lot of these storms, is showing empathy. and, you know, hugging people and, you know, going to these

places and, you know, expressing, you know, support and the promise to help people recover. and, you know, in the end, i mean, this is all about the buildup to dorian and in the end, it will be about the follow-through, and how the administration responds to whatever the damage is and what other states are in need. i mean, what's interesting about this one is that, you know, through a 2020 lens, you know, the states involves could all be heavily -- of a big focus in the election. i mean, obviously florida, but you know, georgia is a state that's going to get a lot of attention next year and, you know, even north carolina is a state that democrats certainly want to bring back into their column. so, you know, how he -- how he addresses this and follows up, you know, could be a factor. >> ken thomas, jonathan allen, it's great having both of you guys on. thank you so much. >> thanks, chris.

and we are coming up on 1:00 here in new york. i'm chris jansing. we are still tracking hurricane dorian as it bears down on the bahamas. the dangerous storm has already devastated parts of has already devastated parts of the island chain. at least five people are known to have died. new video shows severe flooding inside a home on grand bahama island where the powerful storm has basically stalled over the past 24 hours. other videos show the catastrophic damage where there are homes nearly fully sub merged from storm surge. the prime minister of the bahamas said the devastation is unprecedented. officials in the bahamas say they are getting a tremendous number of calls for rescue but in too many places in the bahamas, cdc too unsafe for rescue crews to respond. we're also still closely tracking dorian's impact on florida where storm surge is expected.