back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro. good morning. sock a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. good morning. i'm jose diaz-balart. 48 million people are set to travel this holiday weekend. everything you need to know before you hit the road. heart broken family members of the 53 found dead in texas in what's believed to be the deadliest human smuggling operation in u.s. history. this amp a high stakes meeting

between president biden and governors to discuss plans to protect access to abortion. this morning the trial of wnba star brittney griner began in moscow. we'll bring you the very latest. we start this friday morning with the holiday rush. if you hit the road or the skies this weekend you will not be alone. far from it. according to aaa nearly 48 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more. that's almost at 2019 pre-pandemic levels. if you thought high gas prices would slow down traffic think again. ron allen is talking to drivers in new jersey. good morning. 42 million drivers exec expected to hit the road this weekend.

that's a lot of problems potentially. >> reporter: there they are right over there. a bunch of problems starting over there. new jersey turnpike heading south to philadelphia and beyond. yes. the traffic is already piling up. it is only what? 10:00 in the morning. the worst time is afternoon and gets worse as the day wears on. this is the first summer season where covid isn't as much of a worry. people want to have some fun. here's what motorists have been telling us. >> i think the gas prices are really high. it didn't really change our plans. >> gas prices are insane but with the covid stuff live lives any way. >> get a couple dollars of gas and travel mostly locally.

>> reporter: small local trips. one family going from new hampshire down to north carolina so they had a ten or 12-hour drive. nationally $4.84 i believe. down a few cents and down a penny overnight. if you get out there the old cliche and warning, pack the patience. it will be a slog. >> ron allen, thank you. it is going to be a slog. we are following eat deadly human smuggling tragedy in texas. we'll show you the aftermath of the case of smuggling. texas department of public safe said a driver specked of human smuggling crashed into a truck in texas 40 miles north of

laredo. the driver was air lifted to a hospital. this as the leader of an exile group says a cuban woman bled to death on a makeshift boat as the propeller shaft broke in the journey to the united states. 53 people men, women and teenagers died in texas. the driver suspected of abandoning that truck made a court appearance yesterday and learning more about those that lost their lives. two 13-year-old cousin from guatemala searching for a better future. we talk to a relative. the parents say that their son

was just looking for a better life and the aunt said they could not make money in guatemala. with us now to talk about this nbc's guad vanegas. what have you learned about the victims? >> reporter: jose, just listening to what you were saying it's difficult to think about the storys. the two young boys from guatemala, the families told the telemundo production team that they said about $6,000 each to be transported to the united states with relatives waiting in the united states. there was a lot of minors that died. there was couples that died together. today the families are waiting to get information. those that haven't received full

information or confirmation that their loved ones died and those called by the members of the government saying the family members died. it is minors or young men and women saying they wanted to go to the united states to work. stories again and again and coming from rural parts of guatemala and mexico and of course honduras. it is difficult as we learn the stories of the people that died inside that trailer. >> yeah. julia, the homeland security department said they'll end the remain in mexico policy as soon as possible. is there a timeline for when that could happen? what would that look like? >> jose, i just got off the phone with a dhs official walking me through the timeline. they can end remain in mexico, a

top priority of the biden administration. now what i'm being told is they're waiting for 20 days because the supreme court issued the opinion. but later there will be a mandate to actually end the policy so there's about a 20-day gap here. people who arrive at the u.s.-mexico border told to wait in mexico until that date. they'll stop giving out court dates and those waiting here they let them in more expeditiously. title 42 that covid-19 pandemic era public health order is still in place keeping about 40% of migrants coming to the border in mexico and talking to advocates they say that policy with remain in mexico forcing them to take

the dangerous journeys trying to evade detection. >> is there a sense of what will happen once it goes away? there's 80,000 people in the mexican side of the border with the united states waiting there in horrendous situations for months, maybe years. what's that system going to look like? >> we got a little taste of that when the biden administration lifted mpp what we know as remain in mexico. they started to shut down the camps. probably seeing something similar to that again. fewer people are in remain in mexico. tens of thousands waiting in mexico, perhaps as many as

100,000. another policy left over from the trump era ending this year and stopped by lower courts. it could go to the supreme court and perhaps yesterday's decision is a glimer of hope with a ruling from the supreme court that they followed the right procedures in line trying to end a policy that kept migrants from entering the united states. >> guad, i was struck by something you posted on instagram this morning. more than 40 years ago my dad crossed the border undocumented. i grew up listening to his stories about that journey and now here i am covering the death of migrants. migrate in search of opportunities. it is all part of the american

fabric. it is so important that we're all aware of that. >> reporter: jose, this happens all over the word. happening in china and europe and now america. things have changed since my dad crossed. right? back then you had people coming from mexico. now there ease need in venezuela and cuba. this is a story of millions of americans. the identity of america has the countries in it. where these people were coming from. when i talk to my dad about what it was like back then he said it was the same. crossing the desert, a river, a mountain. people want to work and also work in the u.s. yesterday i spoke with a representative of the government of honduras. i said, how do you fix this? he said the solution we ask for

is work permits. we have labor. all of the countries. why not come up with an arrangement between the u.s. and the countries and offer low skilled workers visas? you have people that come into the country and find work so they're asking for a system that would allow people to enter the country for the jobs with a visa because the current visas offered for countries like mexico, guatemala or other countries in latin america usually set up for people with college degrees that are wealthy. those that really need to come to the u.s. and work and offer the labor have no pathway to get the visas. these are the conversations i had with the representative of honduras yesterday.

jose? >> 40 years ago your dad did what so many parents are willing to do, risk it all for a shot at the american dream. i thank you very much for being with us this morning. anguished uvalde blast officials. took the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers. a sister of a teacher voiced her outrage. >> we are sitting hire gist listening to empty words. that's all it is. empty words. my sister died protecting her children, students. you have officers sitting there afraid to go in? and this idiot lying about trying to find the key to go in when the door was open? these kids were obliterated. my sister was obliterated.

it was a closed cass kelt. i couldn't hug her! i couldn't touch her! i couldn't say my last good-bye! >> the mayor told residents the city cannot share anything with the public. pete arredondo was absent for the second straight council meeting. he could lose the seat if he misses thee consecutive meetings. president biden takes action on abortion bans. wnba brittney griner's trial is underway in russia. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports."

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biden will meet virtually with democratic governors. the meeting comes one day after the president said he supports a filibuster. across the country court battles in individual states over abortion rights continue. a florida judge blocked a 15-week ban but the ruling won't be in place until tuesday. while klt cueto's safe harbor law provides legal protection for doctors and women who travel to the state for abortions. joining us now is josh letterman and jessica bruder. josh, what do we know about the president's meeting with governors today? >> reporter: the president announced to have this meeting in his closing news conference in spain before coming back to washington which was an effort to show that he is really hitting the ground running.

trying to address this abortion issue after been out of the country for the discussion of the country. these are democratic governors including those from connecticut, new mexico, illinois, california, oregon and washington state and states that have rushed to shore up state abortion protections. part of what the white house wants to call attention to is the need according to white house officials to take the action to the states so the states recognize abortion rights now that there's not according to the supreme court a nationwide right in the constitution to that access but there's an element here that feels like preaching the choir or virtue signaling to the democratic states because these are the states that will protect

abortion. the other major news is when the president came out in support of a filibuster carveout to codify roe v wade. democrats do not have the votes veto carve out an exception to the filibuster meaning another dead end as far as actual results from the white house which is why they're calling attention to the need for state action and volters in november to vote for politicians that will call for laws to codify roe v wade which the white house is only way to restore the right from the supreme court took away. >> you speak of groups of women who have been preparing for when roe v wade was struck down.

what did you learn? >> that the underground never really went away given that the hyde amendment made it difficult for low income women to access care and restrictions on the state level. people have always relied on mutual aid networks to help move people around and access funding and there's an amplification of that. people talk about self managed abortions and there's classes where people help each other to learn how to assist somebody through a medical abortion with pills largely accomplished at home anyway and a biggest front is people helping to access the

pills an then guiding through the process of the process happening. >> and then is there -- there has to be an increase in danger for so many women. >> it is interesting. there's always been hysteria that people hope to tamp down. bloody coat hanger. they said it's the hanger or the clinic. it's been complicated since then. midwives have oftened safe care at home so now there's a race to get legal clinic abortions and destigmatize other routes to safe medical abortions and ending a pregnancy. again, a medical abortion is 98% effective and safe and people were using it outside of

clinical settings already. this is not necessarily new. >> thank you for being with us this morning. putin's next moves in the wake of the major nato expansion. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports." it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 1 week. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks.

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new this morning wnba star brittney griner left a russian court after her trial. she is scheduled to make the next appearance next thursday. one week before russia's full scale invasion of ukraine they detained her after they said they found cartridges with traces of hashish oil in the luggage. joining us now is foreign correspondent megan fitzgerald and sports writer epa correspondent on hbo real sports. what do we know about what happened today? >> reporter: brittney griner walked into that courtroom in handcuffs. keep in mind cameras not allowed inside. she was accompanied by members

of the u.s. embassy and lasted about two and a half hours and read the formal charging for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country. we know that she did not ent every a plea and didn't hear from her today and two witnesses that were called that testified today from the airport that day. february 17th when russian officials said they found the cartridges inside the luggage. since then she's been detained. experts say this is a sham and look at the ap reported less than 1% of defendants are acquitted in situations like this and if there is an acquittal that can be appealed in russia so this is why we hear from the agent, from the teammates saying she is a political pawn and the united

states government said she is being illegally detained and working to try to free her but at this point she is still in detention in russia and not expected to appear back in trial until july 7th. >> yeah. what has been the response within the wnba and the greater sports world to the detention? >> there's been outrage frankly that she is still being detained and not negotiated. the state department is negotiating behind the scenes for an exchange of political prisoners but the wnba, nba tweeting in support of her and get the biden administration to move on the negotiations because as the reporter said there's a

99% chance she will be convicted. >> if she is convicted what is she facing? >> reporter: if found guilty she faces up to ten years in prison. to get context if this happened in the united states, federal prosecutors say if the situation prosecuted a person gets probation or pay a fine. again the disparity is why we hear from people she is wrongly detained and a political pawn in this and fick tirks charges against her. >> why do the major players go overseas regularly to play? >> especially in the wnba they don't make salaries high enough and command higher salaries in

europe and russia and so you have players on the offseason playing a second gig and fully consequence of the economic realities of the wnba that are getting better but a real conversation needs to be had about not putting the player in these situations. >> i thank you very much for being with us. joining us now is peter baker, a correspondent for "the new york times" and also author of "kremlin rising." it is great seeing you. what do you think putin's interests are in the griner situation? is he using her? >> yeah. that's exactly what this is. this is a tried and true pattern. when we were there in russia

more than 20 years ago there were a cases of several americans being held and used as a wedge with the united states. i remember a young guy accused of being a spy. the russians have a long history of doing this from time to time. taking hostages in effect. the import of the trial to get it over with and the guilty verdict to facilitate the exchange or trade or whatever outcome. they want the guilty verdict to justify what they have done and not a testament if she is guilty but political gamesmanship. >> when an authoritarian regime

controls everything look at north korea, venezuela, cuba. we hope the situation will be solved. i want to turn to president biden telling reporter that is the nato alliance is as strong as it's ever been. >> putin thought he could break the transatlantic alliance. he tried to weaken us. he expected the resolve to fracture but he is getting what he did not wanted. he wanted the finlandness of that i to. >> what do you think about the president's comments? >> finland-ization means that they wanted, russians wanted ukraine to accept the position of finland that are neutral and differential to moscow but instead nato accepted or will

accept finland and sweden as new members and it's a striking change. think about that. we know this. you are a great student of history. they didn't feel moved to join nato for 40 years. they don't think it's safe. it does indicate the miscalculation that putin made. >> sweden's neutrality is going out the window. look at the conflicts between soviet union and finland and the finland-ization of ukraine early on. now with that reality of this hundreds of mile border with nato countries in the future, what do you think putin can or is considering doing? is there anything he could do? this is a huge change.

>> it is. obviously. if you are in finland in particular, maybe sweden you worry about the retaliation to embark on. i don't think there's likely to be military action but you can look from his ri and see that they used cyber attacks on country that is they are angry at. i wouldn't be surprised if finland are bolstering the services. but look. there's not a lot to do because the military is completely tied up in ukraine and we learned that russian power is ephemeral. they could be -- they failed to take kyiv and if they hold on to

the eastern part of the country they failed the goals they set for themselves and exposed themselves as a weak country. >> i thank you for your time. >> thank you. coming up, new details about the mystery messages shown at this week's hearing. what we are learning about them this morning next.

this morning we are learning new details about reported efforts by former president trump's circle to influence people testifying. according to cnn citing three sources former white house aide hutchinson told the panel that she was contacted by an individual seeking to influence her testimony. this report has not been confirmed by nbc news. we're now hearing from a spokesman for trump white house chief of staff mark meadows.

in a statement his spokesperson said quote no one from meadows' camp himself or otherwise has ever attempted to intimidate or shape her testimony to the committee. she's cohost of the sisters-in-law podcast. what are they looking to learn? >> reporter: jose, you are right. nbc news hasn't independently confirmed this yet but three sources familiar with the committee hearings are telling cnn 1 of the 2 people that vice chair cheney said is contacted by people inside trump world to influence the testimony was cassidy hutchinson herself.

cheney said that committee members when witnesses testify asked if they have been contacted by former members of the trump administration and showed some responses. one in this message saying from a trump ally told a witness in part slonlgs i continue to be a team plir i stay in good graces in trump world and they're making sure it is not playing a role in preventing people that the committee wants to speak with from coming forward. >> look. i think the issue of witness intimidation is a very serious one and seen it in other investigations in the past and if the enablers are contacting witnesses to try to influence their testimony that is a very

serious problem and will discuss as a committee what to do in a particular case. >> reporter: two big questions is whether there's more mess messages that the committee doesn't know about. preventing witnesses from coming forward epa whether it plays a role in the committee's presentation of evidence before officials at the justice department who are watching and considered obstruction of justice to tamper with witnesses and the testimony. that's something to keep an eye on as far as those two angles, jose. >> jill, i think it would be important that the committee release evidence of specifics if they have this evidence and if there is evidence of that what is the next step?

is there a department of justice angle to this? >> absolutely. it is something that the justice department can investigate without any referral from the congress. all they have to do is ask witnesses who have possibly, for example, cassidy hutchinson, identified as someone who may have gotten these type of messages. just ask her and protect her and invest gait. it also is possible that congress turns over any evidence if they have any written documentation or selective quotes from deposition testimony. get the testimony and excerpt it to the justice department. it doesn't have to be a criminal referral but sharing of evidence. in watergate we did in reverse

giving evidence to the congress. congress can pass it to the department of justice so they don't have to re-investigate. >> i guess with a historical perspective the importance of all of these pieces brought forward publicly, the need for substantiation, for actual evidence and then that being shared with the department of justice. >> exactly. substantiating is important. we had tape recordings that corroborated everything that the major witness john dean said and proved that he was telling the truth. in this case you can have tape recordings of phone calls. you might have text messages.

you have the testimony under oath. cassidy hutchinson testified under oath and people saying it isn't true, number one, aren't challenging that donald trump wanted to go to the hill knowing that they were arped and dangerous and wanted to go to lead them. that's not challenged but to the extent she is challenged let those people come forward and testify under oath. unless they do she is credible and under oath and they are not. if they lie under oelt they can be charged with perjury. >> thank you. the decisions of the supreme court could open a slew of political ramifications for the country. they already have. that's next.

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talked about ruling but the court made dramatic rulings on a lot of social issues, gun rights, school prayer, climate change and now it's signaling it wants to weigh in on the role of state legislatures and elections. i want to bring in president and ceo for the national women's law center and former federal prosecutor. glen, what did you learn about the court this past session? >> i hate to say it, but the word that comes to mind is deconstruction. destruction of the constitution, deconstruction of the rights of the american people. i think most directly, it's deconstruction of that sort of figurative wall that is supposed to exist between church and state because there were multiple cases where the supreme court really seemed to try to tear down that wall that protects the citizens from the

state in the arena of religion. whether it is now taxpayer dollars that can go to fund religious schools, whether it's the dobbs case, the abortion case, but that has deep underpinnings in religion because we have the courtsiding with the unborn over the born. they're sacrificing the born, women, their privacy interests, autonomy, their ability to make their own health decisions, they're sacrificing those for the unborn. that's hard to see that anything but a religiously-driven opinion and something that's troubling is when they say public school teachers and coaches can basically hold prayer, student-involved prayer on public property and what that does is, it really -- it's unfair and potentially to

students who might not share the same religion with their teacher and maybe they don't want to make a public spectacle of their worship. deconstruction is the word that comes to my mind when you look at the arc of all of these supreme court cases. >> were there any cases that you think maybe kind of slid under the radar that we should be paying more attention to? >> well, obviously, everyone is talking about dobbs because it is so dramatically destabilizing for states around the country, for the lives of women in this country and we're seeing that play out both in the many, many court cases that have followed, but also the practical ability to access health care. but i actually think there are other cases that got less attention that are also destabilizing. there was a case this term that

curtailed the miranda rights. there was a case this term around the health care rights law and limited the ability to get damages. so even in cases where they were considering long-standing statutes and new statutes, the supreme court again and again narrowed the ability for people to exercise their rights under the law. and it leaves people with this sense that the question for the court isn't a question that is necessarily legal, the question that the -- for the court right now is one that feels extremely political and that's really, really uncomfortable for people in this country. >> and of course we also saw the swearing in on the court's first black female justice, ketanji brown jackson. what significance does this bring? >> i have to say it filled my

heart to see that photo of justice jackson's swearing in, the fact that we finally have a black woman on the court, you know, i know forever, generations will understand that the supreme court and the white house are places for them, that black women can sort of be anywhere they need to be. and on the other hand the stark contrast of coming this term where the court's reputation and public confidence is at a dramatic low, where people have seen that court overturn multiple decisions this term as if decades of precedent didn't exist. and i worry that the weight will all seem like it's falling on the shoulders of one -- of one new justice and that is, of course, not fair. >> fatima and glen, thank you so

much for being with us this morning. really appreciate your time. that wraps up this hour for me. i'll be back after a quick break. i'll talk about the kindergarten teacher about the controversial new law going into effect today in florida. stay with us. i'll see you shortly.

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♪ i want to rock and roll all night ♪ ♪ and party every day. ♪ ♪ i want to rock and roll all night ♪ applebee's late night. because half off is just more fun. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. as many americans kick off this

long weekend, some people may be in sticker shock. the cost of everything from gas to food for that holiday barbecue sky-high. we're going to break down everything you need to know. today in florida, controversial law goes into effect and schools are rolling out lgbtq restrictions that has some educators fearful about what it means for the classroom. this morning wnba star brittney griner appeared in a russian courtroom on drug charges. we'll discuss more with collin allred. and we'll look at the white house preparations to end the remain in mexico policy. ♪♪ we start this friday morning where millions of americans are starting, looking ahead to what should be a busy and pricey

holiday weekend. aaa expects a record 42 million people to brave those high gas prices and hit the road for the fourth of july holiday. but soaring food prices also mean this year's independence day barbecue could set you back more than usual. the american farm bureau federation says cookout costs are up $10 from last year. 17% more from last year's total. and researchers said that consumers in the united states will pay an average of nearly $70 for standard july 4th cook out fare. let's get right out to our team. we're at a chicago grocery store talking to customers and our business and tech correspondent jo ling kent is in l.a. what are shoppers telling you? >> reporter: shoppers here in illinois like shoppers across the country are blown away by high gas prices and high food prices and your cookout estimate was on point. this classic fourth of july

lineup costs us about 60 bucks, one member of our crew pointed out, you guys didn't even buy beer. it pays to be wholesome. let's show you video from inside the chicago jewel. staff posting signs advertising some relative relief for illinoisans saying that the grocery sales tax will be suspended for the next year, courtesy of illinois' governor. it's a 1% reduction in the end. does that matter to customers? take a listen. >> i'll take it. it's cheaper than what it was. but it could be better. >> we're coming out of a real big pandemic which we still are in. everyone in the world can use some kind of breaks and discounts and benefits. we want more and hopefully we'll get more. >> reporter: again, that man saying they want more because the grocery sales tax suspended, about a 1% reduction. illinoisans saying they'll take

what they can get. this bill, about $60 for all of this. we got about 60 cents off. jose? >> the stock market is, boy, reeling. the s&p 500 posted the worst first half since nixon was president. what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, jose, this has been the worst first half of the markets in 50 years and inflation is the driving force. the s&p down 20% on the year so far. the tech focused nasdaq down 30% on the year so far. and a lot of this has to do with consumer spending and how people feel about the economy. the retailer kohl's has had a difficult day so far, by the way, drops about 20% so far this morning because it announced that it's bailing out on that planned sale of itself to franchise group which owns vitamin shop and other small retailers. the reason i'm telling you all of this is because it's driven by inflation and what they say are volatile market conditions. and so you've got kohl's and other major retailers also

facing this weakening consumer confidence which dropped to a 16 month low according to the conference board back in june and overall you basically have this growing worry that inflation is going to continue to persist. we are a far cry from that transitory inflation the fed was talking about and the president was talking about last year. so you've got the fed expected to raise interest rates again later this year and concerns that that could result in a recession, but the bigger picture here is that russia's invasion of ukraine continues to roil gas prices. supply chain problems are still a major problem worldwide and you combine all of that with more expensive borrowing, you have a very uncertain picture going forward and consumers are really starting to show that in the way that they're spending. there's always a little hope there. there could be, according to cnbc, history does give us a little bit of optimism. when the s&p 500 plunged 21% in

the first half of 1970, it did turn around and gain almost 27% in the second half of that year. but that's not necessarily the trend that we saw back in 2008 and so you can choose the data that you wish to look at if you do need that hope. but certainly spending more and more expensive borrowing is really pushing the markets in a continued volatile, rocky, brutal situation, jose. >> having to go back to 1970, the stones had just written "can't always get what you want," but if you try sometimes, you get what you need. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thanks, jose. florida's parental rights in education law goes into effect today. districts and educators are preparing to comply with this new law. in orange county, the teachers' union accused school officials of verbally warning educators not to wear rainbow articles of

clothing and to remove pictures of their same sex spouses from their desks. the district denied telling teachers to remove family photos, but for those teaching kindergarten through third grade, quote, cautioned against specific discussions of lgbtq issues. joining us now with more is sam brock live from pembroke pines, florida. talk to us about this law and how is it going to change things? >> reporter: you can understand based on what you just said why there is some confusion over how this law is going to be implemented and it really tears at the fabric of florida right now. this is a law that gives parents control over what their parents are exposed or creating an environment of discrimination. in a motion to a federal lawsuit, they line out what are misconceptions about the law, what it does, what it doesn't do, specifically what it does is restrict instruction when it comes to kindergartners through

third graders and the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. what it does not do is prevent teachers posting photos of their families, answering questions from their students about their own families. and yet there is this confusion when you have orange county sending out memos to teachers saying don't wear any kind of clothing that would elicit conversations that could be conceived as that. does this feel like it's empowering parents or that it's dehumanizing certain segments of the population? >> i do feel like this is discriminatory. i feel like this is going back in time to when we did not have

the full rights that we have now. i am a gay teacher myself and we have come a long way. when i was going to school in broward county, people were not as open, i know a lot of teachers and administrators who are probably fearful and we have come a long way and i feel like this is definitely bigotry. >> reporter: and, jose, there is a point that has been made by so many educators which is the subject matter that is under the microscope right now is not what's actually being taught in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. this goes well beyond just florida. there are six other states right now that have passed similar laws, 33 of them have introduced legislation in their statehouses. there was no example of that as recently as 2020. jose? >> sam brock, thank you very

much. joining us now is corey burnhard, a florida kindergarten teacher. how are you and your colleagues preparing for this new school year with this new law in mind? >> thank you for having me and thank you for keeping this issue, you know, in the forefront in the news because it's so important. you know, to answer your question about how we're preparing, i'm continuing to do the same thing that i always do every single year, nothing has changed for me so far. i still have, you know, my pictures of my partner and i outside of my classroom and our school motto is family, memories, passion and that's what i'm going to adhere to and we all know that, you know, we -- we build relationships with our students to enhance our instruction and when we do that, we do share our families with them. so i'm going to continue with the same, what i'm doing now unless i'm directed otherwise by my supervisors. >> and, corey, sam was talking

about that this is more for many than just the k through 3 which is what this law specifically focuses on, some seeing this a -- some are saying it's almost like a bigger repercussion. >> yeah, i would agree. you know, we're not just targeting teachers, we're targeting students. if you look into the bill, it targets more into the middle and high school students with, you know, changes in their -- what they call mental health and parents have to be notified. as far as me and what i'm dealing with, it's a really small part of the -- of this larger issue. i mean, let's be honest, when i look at this bill, we are -- we're trying to take away gay rights, we're trying to dehumanize people and it's the -- our conservative

politicians' way of saying we're not okay with gay rights, with marriage equality, with diversity. we can read between the lines. >> the last time you were on this program, you mentioned a key part of being an educator is fostering relationships with students and their families. how do you think this is going to change that dynamic? >> it's going to put a lot of fear into a lot of lgbtq plus teachers. just knowing that, you know, their discussion could be translated into what parents might say is instruction is just going to open the doors for potential lawsuits against teachers and so they're scared. i'm scared for myself. but i also know that i -- i have to stay true to who i am and i

just hope that other lgbtq plus teachers can do the same and that they have supportive staff, supportive colleagues, supportive supervisors in administration and school colleagues that will be behind them. just because my family looks different than my colleagues' next door, doesn't mean that i shouldn't be able to speak about my family as well. >> corey, thank you for being with us this morning. >> you're welcome. the man who called 911 about the abandoned truck in san antonio where dozens of people died is speaking out. we'll hear what he has to say. plus, the biden administration says it's going to move as fast as possible to end the trump era remain in mexico border policy after getting the okay from the supreme court. so what is that going to look like? brittney griner in a russian courtroom today and it could land her in prison for more than ten years. we're talking to one of the

congressmen pushing for her release. e congressmen shpuing for her release.

at this hour, two more suspects are appearing in a federal courtroom in san antonio on charges related to the death of 53 people found in a sweltering truck earlier this week. this comes one day after the man suspected of driving that truck made his first court appearance and we are getting new details about this tragedy. telemundo correspondent spoke with the man who called 911 after finding the truck. here's what he told telemundo about what he experienced.

>> the man describing how the truck was open when he came across it and that he saw just dead bodies, one on top of the other when he looked inside. tell us more about the two men who are appearing in court at this hour. >> reporter: good morning, jose. so these are the two individuals arrested in connection to the case but the specific charges against them are not specifically related to the death of the individuals that died in that trailer. now the two individuals, because of the last names, we have a lot of questions whether they were related or not. we now know that it is father and son.

we spoke with the attorney of the son just moments ago who told us there is an issue with the investigators, according to the attorney, saying that the documents that belong to that truck and all of the information attached to the truck was cloned. he said that investigators went to that home using information that is not the right information. here's part of the interview that i had with the attorney. >> he had nothing to do with that trailer tragedy that we've all been talking about. it's been reported that he was the driver of the truck. he didn't even come close to that truck. didn't know it existed. he has nothing to do with this. >> reporter: so he's representing the son. he says that because he is in the country with an overstayed visa, he's in the country as an undocumented individual, he will remain in custody. once again, both of them are

being charged with possession of a weapon by an individual who is in the country undocumented or illegally, jose. >> thank you very much for being with us. the biden administration is wasting no time, apparently, after the supreme court cleared the way for it to end the controversial remain in mexico policy established by former president trump. in a statement, we will continue our efforts to terminate the program as soon as conceivable. illinois, and a professor and co-director of theso center for immigration c law and policy at ucla school of law. congressman, good to see you. what do you want to see next from the d administration? >> thank you. >> to stay true to its word and end this policy as soon as possible? >> streamline the process at the border.oo

we need a coherent, sensible, humane process for asylum seekers. let's remember, the visions of the horses and the whips, rounding up haitian asylum seekers at the border last year and shipping them back. look, for me, black lives matter, but all black lives should matter when it comes to america and asylum seekers. so we need a process. what do we need, jose? look, we need visas so that people can come to this country and be reunited with their families, so they can come and work. how about a work visa that they can come and work legally to this country? we need asylum officers who can be there at the border to processbo these asylum seekers. this tragedy is one of thousands of people who die attempting to

cross the border. we saw this inhumanity in this truck. but ini assure you, i have traveled up and down that border, through those t ridges d those canyons, and i have seen the remains of people who never made it across the border. why? because we have title 42 and remain in mexico, and we make it impossible for people to go to port ofeo entries and to legall apply for asylum to the united states. we need to structure that system. >> but how do you structure that system? there have been 60, 80,000 people that have essentially been forced to live on the mexican side of the border, targeted -- targeted, exploited while they are there with no government official helping, sometimes they are part of the exploitation. congressman, we are seeing a woman from cuba who bled to death in a makeshift boat just off the shores of south florida. we are seeing those haitians

still being deported today as we speak. congressman, what's the solution here? >> the solution here, jose, is to have a coherent plan in place to put the resources there so that the asylum seekers can get their hearings. jose, there are other alternatives. we use them even during barack obama administration. we release them into the community. they have family members, jose. they don't need to be incarcerated or remain in mexico. there are other monitoring systems more humane until they get their hearing. most of them, jose, are going to comply and show up at that hearing, because statistically, that's what is shown. they want to come to this country. until we have a coherent plan with the resources at the border, we will continue. lastly,bo jose, i think this is

very important. thank you for giving me this time. it cannot solely be looked at as a problem at the border. it must be looked at as a regional problem of central america and latin america. when are we going to get together and have our marshall plan so people can apply for asylum and seek to come to the united states legally in their country? secondly, how can we create democratic structure and economic structures so that people can be born in el salvador, live in el salvador, die in el salvador, prosper in el salvador, guatemala and south america? we have to look what it is that's pushing people to the border. >> very little has been done on that front. >> very little. talk about what the biden administration could or should be doing now the supreme court said you are able to take

away, there's also title 42. what are the things that should or could be done right now? t >> the supreme court's decisione 42 is illegal. l there's nothing now stopping the biden administration from restarting the asylum system that was effectively ended by the combination of mpp and title 44. first off, re-establish the system that the trump administration tore down. i agree with the congressman that there are ways in which the system could be dramatically improved. first, restarting it so people can properly access the asylum system in the united states is an important first step. they can file motions to end title 42 injunction today. in a matter of weeks, they could do the same with mpp, as soon as

the supreme court's mandate directed issues. also to the congressman's point about -- and your question about the numbers of people, it's important to remember, there were thousands of ukrainians who came into this country very, very quickly. we now have a process just like what the congressman is talking about where people can apply from other countries, from europe, in order to be able to come into the united states. there's no magic to the difficulty of processing people from these countries. so many of them have family members here. there are actually programs that have beentu used for children, potential americann, minors program, which allowed people to apply from central america. the political will is there. it's not difficult to re-establish theot asylum proce and have a better, meaningful process by which people can access asylum in this country.l >> congressman, i have very

little time left. i want to ask you about your efforts to make citizens -- united states citizens that respect and that contribute to this country. >> i started a new organization, our nation's future. we hadti a great meeting yesterday. we have over 100 volunteers, immigrant champions. in a nutshell, our nation's future is going to organize across this country to improve and to expand immigrant power. how are we going to do that? there are 9.2 million permanent residents who can become citizens of the united states. 7 million are latino. we are going to go out there in an aggressive program to promote citizenship. that will give more power. yes, we are growing in numbers. but we are not growing in power and influence. so our nation's future will go out there to begin to do citizenship across this country, and then expand with all of those wonderful organizations that are already out there

fighting and organize. one of the first things i'm going to do is call for a national meeting so we can have a debate. was stated earlier, we can restart our asylum system again so that people can be processed. we can have a marshall plan for latin america. we can finally have humane systems that doesn't say the richest country in the world, the poorest people back to the poorest country in the world, without ever being processed legally as the law states. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. i appreciate it. this morning, wnba star brittney griner appeared in a russian courtroom for the beginning of her trial on drug smuggling charges. a congressman, who is leading the push for her release, is here to talk about what he calls her sham trial, next. next tive c. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,...

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32 past the hour. we learned that day two of the trial of wnba star brittney griner is said to take place next thursday in russia. earlier today, she was seen in court for day one of her trial on what russia alleges are drug smuggling charges.

griner was detained in february after they said they found cart ridges of hashish oil in her luggage. congressman called on the russian government to release her. it's good to see you. i want your reaction to what happened today in that trial. >> well, trial is a word we shouldn't -- almost shouldn't use when we are talking about the legal process in russia. we would not recognize it. there will be no real defense presented. it will be a recitation of the so-called allegations. it's not really a trial. also, in this case, she's a political prisoner. we should see this as trying to put pressure on the united states in the ongoing negotiations for her release. >> how would that look? what can be done?

>> well, this is a process. we have been through this with trevor reed recently. we will have to continue to work through it. we are dealing with basically a rogue state in russia that as we all know is prosecuting an illegal and unjustified war in ukraine and that we are actively opposing them in. so we are basically in hostilities with this country. that's why we are seeing her arrested and paraded in front of the cameras. we will see. i worked with the state department. i know what the process is in terms of how they are trying to manage her release and her return home. a lot of it will depend on the russians. >> griner's wife says the rhetoric from the biden administration doesn't match their actions. here is part of what she said to my colleague. >> what i believe that the biden

administration could do differently is to actually take the words and the rhetoric that they have and match them together. my push is for the american administration, the biden administration, to do that. to make a deal for bg, because she's wrongfully detained. >> you have been in contact with the state department about their negotiation with the government of russia. what do you make of it? >> this is extremely difficult. my heart goes out to her wife, her loved ones, her team mates. we all want her to come tomorrow as soon as possible. i'm a fellow baylor athlete. i remember when our basketball team was recruiting her. goes back that far. i was at baylor when they were starting to talk about her. we all want her to come home as soon as possible. this is not something that we can just say, well, you know, russia, whatever you want, we will concede to. we're not dealing with a normal

state here. we're dealing with in many ways as i said a rogue state. there are geopolitical consequences. what we are trying to work through -- i know the team that's doing this. i have been briefed by them. they are trying to work through finding out where and how we can have some leverage to get her home. it's going to take time. it did with trevor reed. we have paul whalen and other americans unjustifiably held in russia. this is part of the problem of having a rogue state, that they may try to use prominent americans as leverage. >> congressman, i thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thanks, jose. a texas sheriff wants to sit down with president biden to talk about border policies and what's happening. he is here to explain next.

40 past the hour.

this week's tragedies involving human smuggling have asked for one texas sheriff to ask for help. this sheriff sent a letter to president biden asking to meet with him, to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. he criticized texas governor greg abbott's stance on immigration and human smuggling. he is with us now. it's a pleasure to see you. tell us about what you are asking for. what are your needs? >> well, right now -- thank you for having me, first off. right now, i'm asking for the president or a member of his administration that can make decisions to come down and talk to at least 12 other texas sheriffs from major counties in the state of texas that are dealing with this issue firsthand. i would like to see somebody from washington come down here, get boots on the ground, get eyes on the issue at hand. then talk to us, a bipartisan

group of texas sheriffs, that are taking a common sense approach, because we have to on this. >> when you say you are taking a common sense approach and that you are not having federal assistance, what is that approach you are taking? what is it that you need? >> we would like to come up with something that makes sense. i hate to have to say this. at present, we have a governor that's using this as a campaign stunt. i hate to say that. but it's a whole lot of money being poured into the border just for the point of -- just for the stance of making a point to america. right? they are putting these people into state prisons, creating a backlog in the jail system. that affects texas sheriffs. also, bussing these folks to washington, d.c. and then dropping them at the figurative doorstep of the president, you are doing that to make a point and you are wasting resources in the process. why don't you talk to law enforcement officers handling

this and let us see if we can come up with a basic no nonsense approach to this situation that needs to be handled. you can't tell me the immigration situation in this country is working just fine. >> sheriff, you have written three, i understand, letters to the white house. here is your opportunity to speak directly to the president and to the folks at the white house. cameras are yours. what are you going to tell the president? >> mr. president, we need your help. with all due respect, the perception here, what i have seen in talking to other law enforcement leaders in my precious state of texas is the perception is there's been an absence from washington, d.c. i know you have a whole world to protect and serve. here down in texas, we need your help. we need you here to talk to us and see if we can be part of the solution. we are allowing state government to control that narrative. maybe they are trying their best. i don't know. but at this point, the results

that we are seeing are not satisfactory. we are dealing with over 50 people dead. that means the approach isn't working. we need the president's help to talk to texas law enforcement. let's see if we can figure something out. >> sheriff, there are groups of people, there are organizations in mexico, in central america, south america, throughout the world and here in the united states, that are making millions of dollars exploiting people who have an american dream and are willing to risk it all to come to this country. how do you deal with something like that, millions and millions and millions of dollars in cash every day exploiting humans in our own country, sheriff? >> absolutely. that's why i mentioned being angry at the president in my letter. i'm angry. i was angry when i wrote it. i'm still angry today. pardon me if i get more angry. it makes me bristle with anger

that 50 people died in my community and i couldn't do anything to stop it. it's frustrating. i hate the fact that these poor folks, the vast majority -- not all of them -- are comingere looking for a better life. they have no prospects in their home country. right now, we are -- they are in a situation more afraid of me, who i mean them no harm. they are more afraid of me than the drug cartels charging them $10,000, cramming them into an 18 wheeler like cattle and then maybe they make it to their location, maybe they don't. the cartel has their money at that point. we have to flip that narrative. make them be able to -- maybe there's a way we can create a process where they come into the country legally. let's create a front door that they can come through legally with a process. i'm not saying open the borders and just let anybody in that wants to come in. i'm saying, create that process where they come in the front door. they get a permit to work. we tax their income. they are paid a living wage. friday night, you go to dinner with your family, you wait an

hour for a table, you wait 30 minutes for your food because there's back there to cook it and wait on you. we got people coming in that would love the privilege of doing that work for us. let's figure out a way to connect to tie those together. >> sheriff, thank you for being with us this morning. let's keep in touch. i want to know when the white house does reach out to you. i want to be there when the president goes and meets with you. many lgbtq ukrainians are openly fighting. what some of them told us next. . at some of them told us next ou e policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth.

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50 past the hour. turning to the war in ukraine. 20 people were killed after a missile strike in the city of odesa, according to state emergency services. nbc news has not been able to independently confirm these claims. we see how brave the people of ukraine are, fighting on the front lines. lgbtq+ service members are proudly wearing this patch identifying themselves as lgbtq+

alongside the ukraiian flag on their uniform. joining us now from kyiv, ellison barber. what are the service members telling you? >> reporter: this is an act of pride, of bravery, of defiance. not only are these members serving openly in the military here, they are also part of this sort of unofficial group, if you will, they call it the unicorn battalion. they proudly wear it on the sleeve of their military uniform in the form of this. a unicorn battalion patch. they say their life in ukraine, it's not perfect, they need more progress here. but they say it's not like what it would be like under russian occupation. not only are they serving their country, they are doing so in their true form of selves, despite the risk it might mean if they were to be captured by russian forces.

they say life under russian occupation would not be a life at all. listen to some of what one person, a combat medic, who has done a number of tours on the east, told us. >> for lgbtq community, it's a question of surviving, fighting for ukraine. because we haven't another choice. we can die on the battlefield until we fight for freedom, or we can die in russian concentration camps. so i prefer to fight and have a chance for good life. >> reporter: we spoke to that combat medic. we spoke to a drone pilot on the southern front lines. they say they are openly serving amongst their comrades. not only is it accepted but welcome. they say they know that life would not exist for them even at all in russia. for them, this fight, jose, it's

about so much more than just territory or borders. it's a fight for progress. jose? >> ellison barber in kyiv, thank you very much. parents still struggling to find enough formula to feed their babies. it's still a crisis. for low income and undocumented mothers, essential workers, it's harder. we will look at the challenges they are facing next.

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the baby formula crisis continues in our country. a group of people particularly hurt, farm workers. there are access issues. joining me now, the executive director of an advocacy organization for female farm workers. the reality for women, women working in our communities, agricultural work, that is the formula there has affected them particularly so. >> yes. thank you for inviting me to be part of this and bringing the light of what is our reality. through our national organization, we are representing in 20 states and we have been finding out throughout this time -- we were called essential workers first time in

2020. we knew we have been essential workers all along, because we know we are the one that work to make sure that people get food on their table. and clothing. it's so important for us to bring out to light the travel distances, the majority of the time farm worker women, we live in desert areas, desert food areas. it's so hard for many of them to get the baby formula. sometimes it's 45 minutes away. even the wic program at times does not provide the type of baby formula that their babies need. the prices have increased. convenience stores already have very high prices. it's gotten worse.

it started with $18. now it's in the upper 30s. it's terrible. some families -- i'm talking about california, arizona, new mexico and texas, have families had to ask other relatives or friends to bring baby formula from across the border because there's not -- there isn't enough over here. it's so important to bring out that farm worker women -- farm workers in general do not have health insurance, much less the type of protections. they already suffer pesticide expoure and heat stress and many other things. coming to realize that -- coming home and having this struggle to find the baby formula is a

burden in terms of the women. >> these are people who work from sunrise to sunset. they are doing incredibly difficult work, which is essential for our economy in this country. they don't have the privilege of going from one store to another, driving. they are there working constantly on the fields so that we can have food on our table. is there something that we can do to help these people that are so essential to our economy? >> yes, yes. there's a lot of things that can be done. to start with, the biden administration needs to do more. they need to investigate the supply chains and the few companies controlling the supply. ensure the baby formula is given to the most vulnerable. why? because as you were