good morning 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. hymn jose diaz-balart. we have a busy day for president biden as he continues the visit to the middle east. right now president biden is about to receive the israeli presidential medal of honor. the country's highest civilian award. this meeting comes after he heldmeetings with israel's prime minister talking about several topics including iran and ending the israeli and palestinian conflict. the president was also asked about the visit to saudi arabia later this week. >> when i see the saudi leadership tomorrow, i'll be carrying a direct message. message of peace and extraordinary opportunities that a more stable and integrated region could bring

to the region and quite frankly the whole world. >> the israeli leader also talked about the president's visit to the saudi kingdom. giving him a message to pass on to the leaders he will be meeting there in his trip. >> mr. president, you will meet with the leaders of saudi arabia, qatar, kuwait and oman and iraq. i would like you to pass them all a message from us. our hands are outstretched for peace. >> with that talk more about this nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander and jane harmon and president emeritus of the wilson center and author of "insanity defense -- while why the failure makes us less safe." so peter, what more do we know about what president biden's expected to do and talk about when he is in saudi arabia? it's quite an accomplishment, a president of the united states

going from israel to saudi arabia. >> reporter: yeah, that really says as much about the changing landscape here in the middle east as it does about anything else. the first u.s. president to travel from israel to saudi arabia. the israelis looking to develop stronger relations with the saudis as part of the sort of growing partnerships they've begun to develop with arab states here. including formal relationships, relations with the uae and united arab emirates and morocco and bahrain as well. but when the president gets there, he'll travel there tomorrow i'll be aboard air force one with him. on saturday he will meet with the king as well as the crown prince known as mbs who the u.s. blames for ordering the murder, the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi. the president is going to be highly scrutinized for that meeting. he is pressed specifically on whether he will bring up the killing. what he leads with mbs. the president wouldn't specifically say that he would

bring up khashoggi by name. says his position on the murder remains very clear but he hasalways brought up human rights abuses when he travels overseas and this would be no exception of but saying his visit to saudi is more broadly about promoting united states' interest across the region. among them obviously, his desire that saudi arabia will produce more oil going forward to help with the skyrocketing gas prices at home. one other take away here, the u.s., white house specifically, announced that the president would be steering clear of handshakes when he landed in this region. they said it was due to covid. but it would have given them an excuse for why there wouldn't be an awkward handshake-type photo-op with mbs. but he has shaken many hands here so regardless what happens, there will certainly be that moment that a lot of americans a lot of the world will be watching between the president and mbs. president biden saying he would

treat the saudi kingdom as the pariah that they are if he were to become president. >> and peter, today, before he heads out to saudi arabia, the president of the united states is receiving quite a recognition in israel. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right. it should be happening momentarily and you can see speaking now, the israeli president. the ceremonial presidency here. isaac herzog who will be delivering the highest civilian honor. the president just moments ago at the presidential residence met with herzog. the president here. and benjamin netanyahu. the opposition leader, the former prime minister who is expected to be in the hunt for that prime ministership again with a new election scheduled for november after the coalition in this country broke down. and obviously the sort of -- the fundamental issue that's been overriding all other conversations while in israel is the topic of iran. president biden earlier meeting

with the prime minister here, and the two men discussed this joint commitment now to make sure that iran is never allowedto have a nuclear weapon. there are some ditches, israel has a different view on this. the president has been calling for dip romesy saying he wants to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. israel opposes that. they want to hear outright from the u.s. it would use military force and a credible military threat if it saw the development not just of a weapon but a nuclear program. so while the two were certainly aligned in their efforts to communicate a public message towards iran, there are still some significant differences here. jose? >> indeed there are and jane, you know, iran clearly as peter says, a major topic of discussion in israel today. certainly will be an issue in saudi arabia. yesterday, i talked with senate foreign religiouses committee chair bob menendez who said

this about iran and the president's middle east visit. take a listen. >> iran is a nefarious actor not only in its march to seek to acquire a nuclear weapon. but also working with other rogue actors. the president's trip is important to create a coalition within the region that can work to counter iran's attempted influences in the region. >> and i guess the question, jane, is that nefarious actor, according to the senator menendez, iran, is not a government that should be trusted by many. the president, very clearly wants to continue pushing for diplomacy. is it possible to have some agreement with a nefarious actor as senator menendez refers to it? >> reporter: we had many agreements with nefarious actors in the past. some have worked and some haven't. its a supporter of the jcpoa in

2015. which was a containment deal. it didn't go far -- the obama administration in my view was naive to think it would also lead to warmer relations and the discontinuation of iran's use of proxies to engage in terrorism in the region. that did not happen. this time, the biden administration has tried hard to get back into the jcpoa which the last administration pulled out of. but the terms that iran is offering now, i think are way too -- poor for this agreement to be entered into again. and the deadline that were in the ohm agreement are too soon. i think probably this effort in diplomacy is dead and i think that i heard biden say they would try more diplomacy but that we would engage or be prepared to engage, in some form of military response if

iran develops a nuclear weapon. let's understand that iran has proceeded after we pulled out unfortunately of the jcpoa to develop and improve its nuclear enrichment and it's now at break-out which means it has enough enriched uranium to build a bomb if it intends to do that. and there's no question i agree with israel, that iran is a existential threat to israel. and our interest is, if biden says, in aligning with israel. we recognized israel's existence. we were the first country recognized by democratic president harry truman to recognize israel in 1948. and one of the things biden just did today that i love is he reaffirmed the bipartisan support for israel. the last administration made it -- seem like it -- only republicans. >> he certainly did -- and jane, i'm just wondering i mean, just in the last hour we were speaking with congressman gregory meeks and he was saying that -- he feels that the end of the summer is kind of the

end period at which something should or could be agreed to with iran. but then we're seeing jane, iran is now -- and this is a report -- willing to supply russia with armed drones so they can use that in ukraine. next month, they're going to be holding iran military exercises with among other venezuela in venezuela. is it too little, too late right now, jane? >> reporter: well, this -- pivot by biden had been panned by some because of the optic of meeting with mbs in saudi arabia and frankly think that optic is dreadful. i don't understand why the meeting with the gulf cooperation council couldn't have been in a different country. but be that aside, geopolitics is crucial right now in the region. china and russia are surging influences, that's what just said, jose, and we have to push back. we have to show that the u.s.

is not leaving the region. and in spite of the messy exit from afghanistan we're going to stay and we're going to build friends and in that respect, the abraham accord agreed toby the last administration are a positive development and biden should be in israel and should -- well, to the gulf. i wish it weren't saudi. to meet with all the interested parties and try to build a coalition to push back against iran and certainly push back against iran's new alliances supplying drones and meeting with some i'm sure this appalls you, jose, in venezuela. to show affiliation with that country. >> yeah, jane and peter, i thank you so much for being with us this morning. appreciate your time. today marks two months since ten black people were killed in a racist massacre in a grocery store in buffalo, new york. two months ago today. and today, a moment of silence will be held at tops friendly markets. the supermarket that became a

crime scene that day. the store has undergone total renovation and will reopen to the public tomorrow. and in washington, d.c., the trauma is still fresh for the survivors of gun violence who gathered to protest assault weapons yesterday. one family there was from uvalde and they say they want action and they want action now. >> action now. not later. we don't want any other families to go through the same thing we've been going through because my grandson was in room 112s which their class and we've been going through a lot. >> the event was held on the heels of new surveillance video showing uvalde police waiting for over an hour, 77 minutes during the mass shooting it took 21 lives at robb elementary. joining us now is democratic state senator roland gutierrez

representing the uvalde area. always such difficult times we have to talk about. just wondering senator, how are -- the folks in uvalde doing? how are you doing today? >> doing okay. jose, doing okay. the best i can. unfortunately i contracted covid today. so i won't be able to go to uvalde tonight like i had planned. so you know, the we have to keep going for people and just try to be there as best we can. >> it's a community that is forever scarred by what happened there at robb elementary but still so, so recent and then we have the video that was just released. and i know you have seen it, senator. you know, this, three minutes after the shooting begins, five officers total. four initially. three go right up to the door and get some return gunfire and two of them by the way have long guns, one has an m-5. the other has like an ar-something.

from that encounter on, for the next 77 minutes, senator, nothing was done. what do you see when you see these images and i know, i know that you have seen these and i know you have talked to officials who have described to you in detail what happened inside those two classrooms. 111 and 112. what do you see in these videos, senator? >> well, it's unfortunate, jose, but what we obviously we can all see and what we all surmise prior to even seeing this was just inaction. lack of urgency. as you play on that video into the 20 and 30 minute mark, that they're there, you just see more officers talking to one another. i presume trying to strategize what their next step is. here's the unfortunate thing about this. the next step was simply what should have been the first step which is what the training book manual tells you to do. active shooter, you go in. and the guy continued to shoot and there was no excuse for

them to do all this. for them to be waiting around. mo excuse whatsoever. i also don't see arredondo in the videos. i see two dps troopers in the videos which leads me to believe that we're only seeing part of the video footage. we know from their own admission that there was 12 dps troopers in that hallway. and so there is also police on the other end we have not received any video footage from at all. on the other end. >> which by the way, i mean, to have police on each side either side of a hallway where in the middle there was a shooter that could come out is defies any kind of logic. why senator, is it taking so long to get answers? i know you have been fighting so hard to get answers. what's going on, senator? >> you know, we have a trial date set for august 4th on what's called a mandamus here in texas. we're going to demand the

release of in information and also subpoenaed the colonel and we will be subpoenaing the colonel to be at that particular hearing. the families don't want the half truths and half answers and they don't want to be placated. they want the entirety of the truth. there was a video i saw about a week out from one of the dps trailers and i was asked to leave but i saw three minutes of that video. but you can see the construction material flying over the officers' heads. and so it was a little bit further down that hallway the angle of that particular chimera. the importance of that is, it's the awesome power of this ar- 15. the sheer dangerous, dangerous power. and all of their dialogue and all of their narrative, we've never seen an ar-15 prop. but every one of these officers knew what they were up against. and the unfortunate part is, that those little babies inside

that room had to be able -- were dealing with all that when the officers couldn't. >> you know, i keep thinking senator, of the day after the massacre, when you and i spoke right at robb elementary. and i just -- you know, i can't stop, senator, thinking about what you were told and i'm not in any way going to give up any information that is insensitive. but just how those little boys and girls you know -- experienced what happened to them. those that survive. the few that did. but the ones that lost their lives and just how they were -- how they were in that classroom, it's just -- i don't know, senator. i mean, how do you just go forward you know? >> it's been very hard jose. i mean, you and i shed some tears together.

and i had just gotten to know a lot of the members of that community. and their parents. and now i can count on them as friends. and i have told them that i'm not going to leave them and i'm not going to leave their side and they have a friend for life. i called many of them daily. i still am meeting a few of the parents that i have not yet met. it's a long list. and every day, i try to reach out to someone new to let them know i'm here for them and we're going to find the resources they need. the nightmares have stopped and this is just from a casual observer you know. from somebody that represents them. could you imagine what those parents are going through daily? for the rest of their lives. they'll have to -- the pain. that's it. >> and very quickly, are they getting help? are they receiving financial assistance? are they being cared of? >> well, oddly enough, the mayor and i penned a letter to the governor jose, asking for the removal of the district attorney from the trauma

victims' assistance funds last week. the county commissioners' court removed her and gave the services to a medical nonprofit. and in addition to that, you know, i'm asking for an analysis and will be asking for an analysis on both the funds and how we distribute it to the families. most families are getting two weeks of lost wages which i think is an insult. the maximum benefit is like $50,000. per complainant if you prove out the lost wages. i'm trying to get the families some help there. but it has been really a disservice how government has treated them. up including until two days ago, when the release of this information came out and they were promised they weren't going get it until saturday. so it's just -- disturbing to know where we're at right now. >> say senator gutierrez, i thank you very much. this news that you just got positive on covid. i hope things turn out well for you. i thank you for being with us. take care. >> thank you so much. bye bye.

still ahead, we're following new developments in the horrific rape case in ohio that became a focal point in the debate over abortion rights. but first, americans are not happy with president biden's handling of the economy. we've got exclusive new polling numbers from cnbc about how some people think he's making things worse. you're watching jose diaz- balart reports on msnbc. watch- watch- balart reports on msnbc.start ay with trelegy. ♪...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ no once-daily copd medicine... has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

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23 past the hour, we have breaking news on the contempt trial for steve bannon. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams is here with that information. >> reporter: jose, once again the judge denied a request from bannon to delay the start of the trial right now scheduled for monday. if this has a sense of deja vu for you it's because we've been through this once before. earlier his lawyers said because his name was mentioned in some of the january 6th

hearings that could taint the jury pool. the judge denied that request and then the lawyers for bannon renewed it again this week after tuesday's hearings saying that bannon's name was mentioned again. and they say cnn plans to run a documentary about bannon on sunday night on the eve of the trial. and that could also influence potential jurors. but the judge said -- the government opposed that by the way. the government said number one the mentions of bannon were strictly factual in the hearings and didn't amount to much and number two the cnn documentary is going to be about bannon's attempt to influence republican party politics, not about the charge at the heart of the case which is of course contempt of congress. as it stands right now the trial is still scheduled to start on this coming monday. jose? >> pete williams in washington. thank you so much. >> you bet. president biden's facing intense pressure to do something about prices of gas, groceries, and other items that

continue to rise at the fastest pace in 40 years. according to government data, prices were 9.1% higher last month than they were in june 2021. prices rose more than 1% between may and june driven by increases in the cost of gas and food. even though gas prices continue to fall and they fall constantly now, they have for the last couple of weeks. and the latest cnbc all america economic survey is telling us more about how people are feeling about the fate of the economy and how they are coping with the rising prices. cnbc's senior economics reporter steve leesman joins us now with the latest on that. steve, it's great seeing you. take us through the key findings here. >> reporter: so politically i'd say the big finding is the drop again in president biden's both economic and overall approval rating. he's now at just 30% on approval on the economy. that's the lowest of his

presidency. lower than donald trump ever fell and it's lower than barack ever fell in the nbc "wall street journal" fell. economically, is the really sourmood of the american public. just 22% think the economy is going to get better. we have not seen numbers like this outside of a recession and speaking of a recession, about 62% think we're going to have a recession. 6% think we're in one already. again, these are not numbers we have seen outside of an actual recession. >> so steve, how are these inflated prices changing consumer behavior? >> reporter: so, people are doing a whole list of things, in fact many are doing a lot of these things. they're cutting back 65% on -- on entertainment including going out to the movies. restaurants. they're buying fewer groceries. and one of the things that really concerns me the most is

an economics reporter is they're using their credit cards more. why is that a problem? because a., interest rates are going up as you may know. but b., it creates problems down the road. potential defaults and also financial problems for people that are stretching to make ends meet and using their credit cards. so what may be pain now could be even more down the road. we found that something like 47% are doing at least four of the things we asked about in order to make ends meet including like driving less. all of that is going to show up we believe in the economic numbers in the months and quarters ahead. >> steve leesman, i thank you so much for being with us. up next, the new dominant strain of covid is driving up cases around the country. we're going to talk to a doctor about when you should be getting your next booster. you are watching "jose diaz- balart reports" on msnbc. watch- watch- balart reports" on msnbc.

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i could've waited to tell my doctor my heart was racing just making spaghetti... but i didn't wait. i could've delayed telling my doctor i was short of breath just reading a book... but i didn't wait. they told their doctors. and found out they had... atrial fibrillation. a condition which makes it about five times more likely to have a stroke. if you have one or more of these symptoms irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or lightheadedness, contact your doctor. this is no time to wait. 31 past the hour, we're following flu developments in a case that's gained national attention. the 27-year-old man appeared in court for the first time wednesday as he faces charges for raping a 10-year-old girl in ohio. the young girl reportedly traveled to indiana for an

abortion. after ohio made it illegal to get an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy with no exception for rape. joining me now is nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez. gabe, what more do we know about this case? >> reporter: well, as you know, this has become a national flash point in the abortion debate. and yes as you mentioned, this originally started with a report in the "indianapolis star" earlier this month based on a single source and ob/gyn in indianapolis saying that this child had traveled from ohio to indiana in order to get this abortion. now it really went viral. president biden cited this case and then republican politicians over the last couple of days have been casting doubt on it. but then as you said, yesterday, news broke that this suspect was being arraigned and according to court documents, obtained by nbc news, he confessed to detectives raping and impregnating this 10-year-

old girl. again, he was arraigned yesterday in ohio. since then, though, some of these republican politicians have backtracked a bit and we want to put up a statement from the republican attorney general of ohio. saying my heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child and i'm grateful for the diligent work of the police department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the streets. still, of course, no mention of the fact that he cast doubt on that story. and we want to also put up the new response from dr. cay lynn bernard. she's the ob/gyn in indiana who was the original source of this. she has just tweeted saying my heart breaks for all survivors of sexual assault and abuse and i'm so sad that our country is failing them when they need us most. doctors must be able to give the medical their they need when and where they need it. one more notable reaction, jose, the "wall street journal" editorial board earlier this week put out an editorial

questioning this story. they've just put out another editorial correcting the record. jose? >> gabe gutierrez, i thank you for that. now to the growing number of monkeypox cases. as hard hit places like new york city are running out of available appointments. according to the cdc, there are now more than 1,000 confirmed cases across the country. 1,053. joining us now is dr. patel, former obama white house policy director and msnbc medical contributor, doctor, always a pleasure to see you. anyone can get monkeypox, but is it disproportionately affecting the lgbtq community because through history we've seen kind of like less urgency around certain viruses when they affect only some groups? are we seeing that again now? >> yes, that's right. i think there's a mistake this is somehow limited to specific groups and people are attaching

unfortunate discrimination and stigma. yes it has been true that a majority of cases have been traced back to incidents where they have identified either higher sexual practices and higher numbers of contact of sex specifically in men or people who identify as men having sex with men. but it is a mistake and we're already seeing cases affecting children and then in fact, in cases in africa where it's endemic, it is mostly amongst heterosexual couples. stigmatizing it eliminates people coming forward and as clinicians for myself to appropriately screen. anybody can get monkeypox, not limited to particular populations or types of activities or behaviors. just need to have contact with somebody who had monkeypox. >> and you know, people can get appointments to get the vaccine. turning now to coronavirus. people are wondering when they could receive their next covid- 19 booster. who needs a booster now and why haven't officials opened it up

to everyone yet? >> yeah, so this is what i'm hearing jose, that there's actually going to be action on this in the next several days. probably mid to late next week. we will see the fda which has to fake first tip to allow and authorize for people of any age probably over the age of 12 to get second boosters. that's the timing which people need second boosters. this then frees up millions of americans who have been wondering to get a booster now the answer is yes, if it has been more than four months you should get a second booster. until then over 50 is really the limitation. talk to your doctor. the other question about that corner is if you get a booster now, will you be eligible for an updated shots in october and november? n the answer there is also likely yes because we won't likely need a long interval between a second booster and an

updated fall booster. so good news. maybe we'll all be able to get it probably by next week. we'll keep you posted. >> dr. patel, thank you for joining us this morning. up next, as we get closer to the midterms, new poll numbers are showing just how close the race is for control of congress. what they're suggesting. you're watching "jose diaz- balart reports" on msnbc. watcz balart reports" on msnbc. yeah, we got that. it's easier to be an innovator. so you can do more incredible things. [whistling] hepatitis c? don't just treat it. crush it with mavyret. conquer it with mavyret. cure it. with mavyret. mavyret cures all types of hep c. in only 8 weeks. the virus multiplies daily and can damage the liver over time. mavyret stops hep c and cures it.

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0 past the hour, we have breaking news related to how i.c.e. is dealing with unaccompanied children. joining mouse is julie inslee with the exclusive report. >> reporter: just obtained a memo today from acting i.c.e. director tate johnson to all i.c.e. agents taking another step for the biden administration to make sure there are not unintentional separations of parents and children. of course, this is coming off of the trump administration

separation of over 5,000 families during 2017 and 2018. these newsteps include directives to agents to make sure they affirmatively ask parents crossing the border with children or anyone they may encounter during arrest to make sure they understand the legal guardianship between the adults and the children and also takes a step in terms of recording information. that's key. because we know that so many parents who were separated during the trump administration could never be found. or reunited with their children because they were simply lost track of. they separated parents and children and couldn't reunite them. now they will take a note of the relationship and put it in their files and one more thing. also going to allow participants who have been deported to come back to the united states for court hearings that may have to do with them getting custody of their children. that's really key for parents who have been deported and are still fighting for legal guardianship. this is to make sure that there

aren't unintentional separations and that children have access to their parents and to any welfare they might be -- able to get. >> so julia, does that take effect immediately? how long before this gets to the folks that are dealing with the people on a daily basis? >> reporter: it went out today and one question i do have for dhs and still reporting on sit the same guidance being give on the border control? we understand i.c.e. encounters a lot of immigrants but borderer patrol agents is the same guidance going to them? that's a question i have. also another thing is that this is only when they are doing arrests in civil cases. in other words the only thing the immigrants have done is come into the country illegally. when there's a criminal referral for some reason a parent needs to be taken into custody and sent to federal prison, for example, they would still be separated just as any american would be separated in

their child. >> thank you very much. looking at those images in eagle pass, texas and people and entire families crossing. it's reality happening every day in our country. this morning, new numbers foreshadow what could be an incredibly competitive midterm season. 41% of voters say they would prefer democratic control of congress. and 40% want to see republicans in charge according to a "new york times" and sienna college survey within the margin of error. but the report also notes quote, the confluence of economic problems and resurgent cultural issues has helped turn the emerging class divide in the democratic coalition into a chaos. and a chasm as republicans appear to be making new inroads among non-white and working class voters. joining us now is eugene daniels white house reporter and playbook co-author at politico. and also an msnbc political contributor and also with us

nbc news senior national political reporter, mark caputo, thank you both for being with us this morning. mark, what do you see is the big issues that seem to be giving some concern to folks who see a possible change in the balance? >> reporter: well, there's a variety of things. remember, ronald reagan -- and i'm just talking about hispanic voters here. reagan famously said lots of hispanic voters are republicans they just don't know it yet. and there's just been a confluence of events that we've seen certainly here in florida. and the nationwide. where republicans have had better candidates and better campaigns and better messaging to latinos. and then overlaying all of that i first wrote about this in 2020 before others did is hispanic voters by and large, and the hispanic population by and large, scores out classifies as working class. and republicans have increasingly been able to message themselves and attract working class voters. and in the end, hispanic voters are working class voters. just like a lot of working

white working class white voters are. and everything really kind of came together that we really saw in 2020 where it broke. donald trump didn't win the hispanic vote. but nevertheless you had a variety of things that democrats did that republicans harnessed. for instance, a lot of latinos didn't like the fact that democrats were messaging against goya foods merely for the president saying something nice about president trump. you know, it's a feeling -- the democrats and progress everies increasingly embraced thiphrase, this word latinx. what is that? >> 98% of them never heard of it. >> reporter: 2% prefer to use the term. democrats increasingly have been using or been identified with using the language of the faculty lounge. and they used to more commonly use the langage of the unionhall and even though republicans are financed by corporations and it's you know, it's branded as the party of the wealthy and the 1%,

nevertheless, they've done a more successful job increasingly i should say of messaging the hispanic voters and saying look, we're more like you, you are not like the democrats. >> meanwhile, what can we expect the president's presence to look like this midterm election season? will me will spending much time on the campaign trail and is he going to be part of the message for november? >> yeah, mark is right on latino voters. another thing we hear just quickly is that democrats -- when you hear from voters, they say that democrats constantly tell them and make them feel like it's a monolith. and the latino vote is all over the place. when it comes o -- the kinds of things they want the constituencies that exist. so that's part one. when it comes to how president biden's going to be used the administration wants him out a lot. he want himself out there a lot. the question is, will some of these candidates want him out there a lot? when you talk to some of the folks who are running in different states, different districts, you know, sometimes

when the president is there, they are very busy. which is very interesting the leader of their parties in the state and they have something else to do and that cannot be moved and that's happened in ohio. you saw -- stacey aprograms in georgia not be able to attend something with president biden. the white house has pushed back that that shows anything but what it does tell you is you are seeing folks running on some of the successes of the biden administration. you see people talking about lower unemployment and more jobs that are out there. but when it comes to inflation, when it comes to higher gas price, all of those things, that has not been great messaging from the white house even though they can't change a lot when it comes to inflation. they want the president out there. will he be the candidates? it's unclear. but the dnc has been leading a lot of this and they have also promised the president and the vice president, i should say, will both be out on the trail sharing the message. will that work with voters?

we have some polling just this week that 46% of voters in the generic ballot chose the democrat with 12% not having an opinion. and so despite all the historical you know, head winds that democrats face, it does show that this race is i think a lot tighter than folks think. and when you have the complicating factor of donald trump meddling in the republican primary. how bad the people feel of the economy is right now. when it comes to how much money they have left to spend at end of the day. it's -- it's very much looking like a toss-up. >> yeah, mine and eugene, back to the issue of the latinos. i there are only latino voters. mark, so coming up in november, what are -- and you have been researching this -- what are the issues that voters are going to be prompted to go to the polls on? >> well, mine if you look at the polling i think some 62% say it's inflation and the

economy. and then abortion and guns has come in like distant you know, third or second and third. education a smattering of other things but bill clinton famously said it's the economy stupid. the complicating factor here is donald trump's involvement. there's a report in the "washington post" today now looking at september and kind of -- >> announcing running for president. >> which is highly irregular. chase the rabbit thing with donald trump because he might to it july 4 and it might be september. but he's inserting himself in the process and the fact is that by and large donald trump is not a popular figure and donald trump was one of the best things that joe biden had going for him. while donald trump is itching to run and announce his bid for president again, democrats are as well. they see donald trump as being a very effective person to message against. >> mark and eugene, thank you so much for being with us this morning. appreciate it. up next we're going to go live to ukraine and get the latest on the newest round of

deadly missile attacks in the central part of the country. you are watching "jose diaz- balart reports." you are watching "jose diaz- balart reports."

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53 after the hour. this morning in central ukraine russian missiles struck houses and a medical center according to president zelenskyy. the state emergency service of ukraine says that 21 people were killed and dozens more were injured. joining us from din dnipro is nbc news correspondent ellison barber. what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: a spokesperson for the general staff for the armed forces of ukraine says russia fired five missiles. he said two were shut down by

the defense system. three of them hit the sit stay center directly. according to state emergency service, 115 people have now sought medical assistance. 54 are hospitalized, 34 of them in serious condition, five in critical condition, 21 people at least are dead. in one horrific photo you see what appears to be a child dead lying in the street next to a stroller, her tiny little velcro shoes covered in blood spatter. president zelenskyy has said this is an open act of terrorism. right now at least 47 people are still unaccounted for. earlier today we were visiting a hospital here in dnipro and we met people who survived previous missile attacks. one of the people, you should be able to see him on your screen. he has burns all over his arms, his head, the back of all of his neck. attacks like the one we saw

today they happen a lot in ukraine, but they are so much more than a headline. the people who survive these, the pain, mental and physical, it stays so much longer than just when the rubble is cleared. these are happening all the time. the people who survive it are dealing with the ramifications well after the rubble has cleared. jose. >> indeed they are. ellison barber, thank you so much. up next, the latest on devastating flooding in virginia. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. take a look at that. take a look at that. can you guys start calling me snake? no, bryan. -denied. -how about we all get quotes to see if we can save with america's number one motorcycle insurer? approved.

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58 past the hour. multiple people are still missing and more than 100 homes are damaged after at least six inches of heavy rain pummeled rural virginia overnight. nbc's kathy park is in virginia with the latest.

>> reporter: we are are here in the disaster zone in buchanan county. we've been here on the ground for several hours. it's devastating to see some of the damage left behind. so officials are saying that the rain started late tuesday into wednesday, and several inches of rain in a matter of hours can do a significant amount of damage, as you can see right here. this is the dismal river, and the floodwaters got so intense, it actually pushed some of this debris right onto the bridge. also behind me there are several homes up on this hill, a lot of them actually shifted off their foundation. you go over here, you'll notice, even trucks could not stand the power of the floodwaters, pushed nearly off the banks into the river. we also talked to a lot of residents here in this community. they are just stunned and shocked by what they are seeing today. they say they have weathered a lot of storms in their lifetime,

but have never seen anything quite like this. >> kathy park, thank you so very much. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can wech me on twirt twitter and instagram. thank you so much for the privilege of your time. the great andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. good day. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington, as president biden and israel's prime minister took opposite stands on iran today, the biggest issue dividing the two allies. israel is sticking to its policy to take action to slow down the nuclear program. president biden saying military force is a last resort but insisting on diplomacy first. >> words will not stop it, mr. president. diplomacy will not