every week, conservatives, and republicans, and maybe i can just move a few. but, the vast majority, ali, they are gone. which is why i believe that this party will not change. my hope, and my prayer, is that, and i hope i am not too old to say this, is that something new will come along. but, look, none of that, ali, right now matters. right now it is all about saving democracy. so, right now i am on team democracy. which means, vote for the democratic party. as tough as that can be, at times. >> joe, thanks for always being in the conversation. this is not new to you even when you were not a republican, you are always engaging. we have a former republican congressman. he's the host of white flag with joe walsh. coming, up the direct flecked of more by -- nuclear armageddon is the greatest threat it has been in 60 years. are we heading towards total annihilation?

we have another hour of velshi, right now. good morning to you, i'm ali velshi. is this saturday october 8th day 227 of russia's war in ukraine. breaking news this morning out of crimea. an explosion has crippled the bridge. this is a remarkable development. take a look at this bridge. look at the multitude of fires across it. it has collapsed part of the bridge into the sea. russians think the truck bomb exploded. it set fire to several oil tankers that were traveling on the bridge by rail. now, here is the important part. you probably never heard about this. it is new. it is the only bridge connecting mainland russia and crimea. this is a pet project for vladimir putin belt after russia's illegal annexation of crimea in 2014.

north of crimea, on the battlefield front, ukraine continues to regain its land in the northeast, and east. this week the captured about 2000 square kilometers in the south near the area of kherson. it is the blue areas over here. ukraine has now captured them and it has been under russian control since early in the. roll along with a reclamation of these towns, however, comes the now routine and grim discovery of russia horrors. ukrainian officials have found the bodies of 534 civilians in recaptured territory in the east of russia. this includes the east of ukraine and 226 women and 19 children. many of them are showing signs of torture. ukrainian officials have also discovered 22 locations in recaptured towns, and i will put it up on the map in a second in kharkiv in the northeast that they say were used by russian forces. this is around here. it was used as a torture

chamber with evidence of the use of electric shock treatment, ropes, gas masks, sex toys, and severe beatings with sticks and other objects. make no mistake. the ukrainian battlefield gains come on ukrainian soil. they are not in russia. it is also a territory that putin says is now part of russia's. the recent russian losses in the surrounding areas coupled with the unpopular mobilization of troops is generating criticism within russia. it is aimed at the kremlin. it is more public and intense that in any point during this war. you cannot call it a war in russia. it is coming from a wide array of places including kremlin propagandist and pendants on tv, on radio, online. it is also from influential military figures including the founder of the mercenary group. it is a fighting force for russia in ukraine. also, the leader of chechnya, who has also been fighting, and using his troops in ukraine. in an extraordinarily hard

rebuke of russia's military leadership, this guy here, kadyrov, he heavily criticized the chief of russia's general stuff. he's the third most powerful man in the russian military. he said that another top russian general should be sent to the front lines of his blood can wash away his sins. also, he said that in the face of the outgoing defeat putin should consider using a tactical nuclear weapon in ukraine. that is deranged. it comes less than a week after putin alluded to the use of nuclear weapons during his recent angry speech. he also proclaimed parts of ukraine to be parts of russia seeing that use the united states set the president for using these back in 1945. and that he would use all means to defend land that he claims as russian. of course, the 1945 comparison is a little ridiculous for a multitude of reasons. this includes of the 1945 atomic bombs were used for

better or for worse to end the war. that is what they ended up doing. russia would be using them in an invasion of conquest in a country that putin claims is rightfully part of russia. meaning he would be using nuclear weapons on land and people that he believes are russian. still, the nuclear threat is apparently so high that during a private fund-raiser president joe biden told donors on, thursday night, but the world is right now the closest to nuclear armageddon than at any point since the 1962 cuban missile crisis. biden added that he knows putin, quote, fairly well, and he is not joking when he talked about the potential use of tactical weapons or biological weapons, or chemical weapons, because his military is, as you might say, significantly underperforming. that is a direct quote from george biden. joining me now is the national security and nuclear expert. he is the author of nuclear nightmares. he is talking about securing the world before it is too late. joe, you must be having sleepless nights over the. let me put it this.

light maybe you are not. i have spoken to people who have had sleepless nights over the comments that joe biden made last week. and the comments that vladimir putin, and joe biden made up on thursday. tell me what you are thinking about. >> i think joe biden hit the nail on the head. if you remember, he has been working on these issues since those first days in the senate. he spent decades in the senate on the relations committee during the heyday of arms control. he was trying to re-limit and reduce these weapons. many people were warned, including me, that if we did not limit these weapons we would be living in a nuclear nightmare. here we are. we did not finish the job. we left vladimir putin with 6000 nuclear weapons. they were unfettered, sole authority to launch these weapons whenever they want. for whatever reason she wants. and i think biden has an assessment that is accurate. we have had lots of new misses over the last few decades. there have been lots of accidents that could have triggered a nuclear war.

this is the closest we have been to the intentional use of nuclear weapons since those 13 fretful days in october 60 years ago. >> let's talk about the range of possibilities. there are people who are worried that if latimer putin falls for the stretch we go into world war iii. and there will be nuclear annihilation. i do not mean to the little desk but this is not the only way this could go, right? what is the least that can happen. what will the u.s. reaction be? >> sir, first, we will say that this is not probable. it is not even likely. there are formidable barriers to nuclear use. there is no real military utility to them. this will not win the war for you. here is what putin is thinking. he has the means to do that with those 6000 weapons. about 2000 or so are tactical weapons that could be fitted on the iskander missile, for example. it could be used to attack ukraine or targets in new nato or europe. he has the method to do this.

russian military doctorate says that they will use nuclear weapons first if there is a conventional attack on russia or russian territory. he has just declared that ukraine portion that he occupies is russian territory. finally, of course, he has the motive to do it. he is losing this war. the russian army looks very fragile. it is, as you point out, his face. the ultra naturalist, the right wing, they are urging them to do this. so, the least likely damaging situation is what the russians call a demonstration shot. you would shoot off a nuclear weapon at an uninhabited reach, let's say the black sea off the coast of ukraine, to demonstrate that the state is serious for you in the hopes of this would cause the west and ukraine to stand down, and to back off. it talks about the european allowance that supported ukraine. it will scare people away from the war. that is the, i guess you might say, most benign use, if there

is such a thing, of a nuclear weapon. >> and, in the movies, there is a nuclear weapon and it puts america. america sends one to hit russia. the world goes into war. that is not also the likely response. if russia does what you said, like the smaller end of this things, the response could be conventional. it does not mean an attack on russian territory but it could be a very strong nato response and probably involved a lot of the world. >> right, there are layers here. there are a dozen variations and i wrote an op-ed in the washington post detailing the four basic options. this is the first one. you know, this is a difference. the cuban missile crisis, we were there talking about immediate global nuclear war and hundreds, even thousands of warheads. now we are looking at the selective battlefield to use that can escalate into what president biden called armageddon. on the demonstration shots you immediately see a diplomatic political and economic step, maybe not even military.

you would see diplomatic isolation. china and india would head indoors. we would see economic sanctions like russia has never seen. it would be a complete cut off from the financial systems. there would be a swift system in the world, and there would be a ban on any purchase of european or russian oil and gas, et cetera. you might not even see a military measure. it is only if putin, i think, uses a nuclear weapon and ukraine, drops it on a troop convoy, or hits a city with a very low yield, say hiroshima range, which is considered small by nuclear standards, these days. then you would start to see massive aid flowing into ukraine. that would start bringing in to play the possibility of nato entering the conflict, directly. >> joe, i hate having these conversations with the. i'm glad you around to have them. this is scaring a lot of people. it is useful to have this degree of analysis that we all understand what the likelihood and the way this would go would be. so, thank you for your time, as

always. joe. a security and nuclear up spurt. the author of several books you might want to pick up including nuclear nightmares. >> my pleasure. >> joining me now is the retired colonel alexander vindman. he is working for european affairs. he is a senior advisor. he is an author of the important book, here, what matters. he was ahead of the story. obviously, he was the whistleblower about donald trump withholding aid from congressionally approved aid from ukraine and exchange for political favors. colonel, good to see you again. you have done a lot of work in your work for the administration. did you have to think about this? yes, extensively, frankly, we as an enterprise, and the defense and other surprise, there are pockets of the defense enterprise that think about nuclear on a regular basis. >> there is a strategic command that is laser focused on this. we have drills within small compartments. as a whole, we do not.

however, because i focused on russia this is a key component of the effort. how do we deter russia from going to a conventional and nuclear war? my calculation on this is that joe had some excellent points. my calculation is that there are mainly costs and very little benefit to putin taking this. that is why i say that the probability of this kind of event is, basically, around zero. it hovers over zero. it is higher than it has been. that is why the president has been think about this. that is what the president made those remarks. it is probably not the temperature that has been this high since the cuban missile crisis, but, the likelihood of the event occurring is very, very small. we are ready for it and we are continuing to prepare ourselves for the use. we are looking for contingency plans. we will send the message that this will be something completely isolating russia. i think the point about china and india should not be indoors

stated. russia would be completely cut off and isolated for a demonstration. it does not make a huge amount of sense. for something that will not have a military significance and dynamic, it will not change the ukrainian well to resist. i think the fact is yes, putin is thinking about. he's evaluating this as a possibility. that, when push comes to shove he is going to pick the option of self preservation and choose to fight another day, rather than provoke an existential crisis. >> china, and even north korea, it is a client of china. it is important. russia is getting ammunition from north korea and support for the purchase of oil from china and india. the pressure on them to not do that, it would be remarkable after any kind of nuclear activity. tell me about the military side. joe was talking about the non military response to the united states and what it can have. on the military side the united states is not going to launch a nuclear weapon in response. it may not launch any activity within territorial russia in

response. so, what can the u.s. do? obviously, in conjunction with nato and a bunch of non nato countries to demonstrate, militarily, to russia that this is not on. >> first of all, announced for teachers use of nuclear weapons, we do not believe that there is such a thing. it has strategic implications. let's say a tactical use or localized use is not something that will provoke a nato action. the reason is we have such an overwhelming superiority in conventional forces that we do not have to resort to nuclear weapons. we, primarily, when you use it in response to strategic. use what we would look at doing is, frankly, right now we are still meeting and support to ukraine. we would likely open up the floodgates. anything that ukraine needs or wants, they will receive that. we would actually implement this in fall. it would be a likely course of action. there is a higher probability and i do not think it is guaranteed that it would go

toward. that that complete embargo, it bottles up this fleet. and inside the black sea, you would isolate them from being able to move or maneuver anywhere else in the world. the pacific, the high north, through the baltic sees that, and so forth. that would be one of those things we would start to ratchet pressure on and there are a lot of non military tools that would cut off russia from trade. minus, maybe the most extremist regimes. that is probably where we would go on the scenario. it would not necessarily precipitate a symmetric response in the military sphere. that would be something we would reserve for an existential threat to nato and the u.s.. >> colonel, thank you for being with. us retitled colonel alexander vindman. we do know a lot of people who write important books on the show. but again, this one he has written, it is uniquely important given the moment we are in. it is called here, what matters. still ahead, the first sedition trial in a decade. both leave dershem including

the chief, stewart rhodes, are facing a judge and jury for their part in the january 6th riot. plus, we have a meeting of the velshi banned book club. we cover highly controversial books. some have tough language. some have concern parents who may even have a point not wanting their parents know. we girls who code book series is none of that at all and this is utterly appropriate. it got swept up in a widespread ban. that is actually the real problem. hurricane ian killed at least 130 people in florida. could that number have been lower if local officials have been better prepared? most people with the local lawmakers on what went wrong. lawmakers on what went wrong. was a story

arm your unborn baby. use effective birth control while on dovato. do not breastfeed while taking dovato. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. detect this: i stay undetectable with fewer medicines. ask your doctor about switching to dovato. in a recent clinical study, patients using salonpas patch reported reductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. that's why we recommend salonpas. it's good medicine. at fidelity, your dedicated advisor will help you create a comprehensive wealth plan for your full financial picture. with the right balance of risk and reward. so you can enjoy more of...this.

this is the planning effect. as i mentioned earlier, some

criticism of putin's war and how it is going is starting to make its way into russian state media. by no means there's a's mean we are seeing signs of major change in russia. speaking out and russia about a war that you are not allowed to call a war still carries

extreme consequences. my friend, the russian opposition politician vladimir kara-murza has been jailed for publicly criticizing the war, and including the term war, which in this show, continues to be illegal in russia. according to a statement given to russian state media by his lawyer, this week, vladimir was also charged with treason. the last time i spoke to him with an april. this was during my time in ukraine one day before he was arrested. i asked him why he refused to leave his country despite the danger. >> i think will be very demoralizing for those of us who are the public faces of the opposition movement. if we all just leave the country, i am not condemning anyone, that if you are asking about me, i am a russian politician. russia is my country. russia is my home. this is where i have to be. >> this is where i have to be. the end of that interview, i told him i was worried for his safety. less than 24 hours later he was arrested. right after the break the most significant trial in the

january 6th insurrection so far is underway. what we have learned in the first week of the infamous oath keepers trial about what members of this extremist group regrets about their actions on january six. and what they expect donald trump's rule will be. be the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet! discomfort back there? instead of using aloe,

or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h. because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it.

when dehydration gets real... ♪ hey! that's mine. i'll buy you a pony. advanced hydration isn't just for kids. pedialyte helps you hydrate during recovery. naomi: every year the wildfires, the smoke seems to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles advanced hydration isn't just for kids. on every single surface. dr. cooke: california has the worst air pollution in the country. the top 2 causes are vehicles and wildfires. prop 30 helps clean our air. it will reduce the tailpipe emissions that poison our air

kevin: and helps prevent the wildfires that create toxic smoke that's why calfire firefighters, the american lung association, and the coalition for clean air support prop 30. naomi: i'm voting yes on 30. ♪ um, she's eating the rocket. ♪ lunchables! built to be eaten. ♪ it's the subway series menu. 12 irresistible subs.

the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet! this january six the department of justice has charged nearly 900 people for their involvement in the capitol insurrection. its biggest and most serious case involving top members of the far-right extremist groups, the oath keepers and the proud boys, are just getting started. on monday opening arguments began for the trial of oath keepers founder's. they are the ones with the eye patches. four other members of this group, they are all charged with seditious conspiracy for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. it is the most serious charge the doj has given out in this investigation. it is indeed serious because sedition is just shy of treason in the criminal code.

friesen, you have to be charged with that if you are working for a foreign government in a time of conflict. during the opening arguments justice department lawyers played a recording saying his only regrets about january six is not the oath keepers, quote, should have brought rifles. in court on friday the jury was shown in an open letter that was posted on his website, in plain sight, hours after biden was rightfully declared the winner of the 2020 election. the letter urged president trump to invoked the insurrection act which would give trump the power to call up militias, like the oath keepers. the letter addressed directly to trump said if you fail to act while you are still in office, we the people will have to fight a bloody war against these two illegitimate chinese puppets. and quote. in case you are winning who the chinese puppets are he's talking about president biden and kamala harris. additionally, on thursday, jeremy petito, a high ranking member of the proud boys pled guilty to seditious conspiracy,

as well. he is the first member of that group to do so. five other proud boys have been charged with seditious conspiracy including its former national chairman, tarrio, and they are expected to go to trial in the coming months. for more on this i'm joined by nbc news justice reporter brian riley. good morning, tell me about the significance of this guy pleading guilty to seditious conspiracy. it is a really, really serious charge. generally speaking, he would be hoping that if you are charged with that you could fight it to the end and be found not guilty. >> it is, and it is bad news for the proud boys. they have this trial and these oath keepers, one of the things that prosecutors have going for them is up three members of this have pleaded guilty sue to dishes conspiracy. in the coming weeks we expect to hear from a couple of them. when you met your part of this plot it makes it a lot more difficult for the leader of this plot to say, hey, this was all a joke. this was not as serious as it

looks. but, you know, they have all these messages in the oath keepers trial that really make this seem as though this was about putting themselves in a place. that even if donald trump did not invoke the insurrection act would call upon them to step in. at that they would go forward with this, anyway. there was a second, even after january six, where there was a lot of rhetoric that they were still going to try and stop the inaugurations. they were going to try and stop us from moving forward. of course, you have that message which i think is pretty damning from stewart rhodes saying that the reporting, rather, they had wished they brought rifles that day. especially in the oath keepers trial. what they are trying to do is downplaying some of the rhetoric that they use. also, talk about these previous uses of quick reaction forces in conjunction with the trump rally in north carolina in conjunction with previous events in d.c.. this is in terms of the maga march that happened in november. and another event that happened

in december that the oath keepers attended. they said, hey, essentially these were on standby. when you have this invocation from rhodes saying that, if trump calls upon us, in fact, in this open letter he tells trump that they have mission critical gear outside of d.c., referring to these weapons they had, and this cash outside of d.c., in this quick reaction, of course, it makes it more difficult to say that this was just about protecting themselves from black life matter, or antifa, which essentially is what a tense attorneys are trying to bring forward,. here it is a complicated case. it is the justice department's biggest challenge today. they have a lot of evidence to go forward with the charges that they are bringing against the oath keepers. i think in the proud boys case it is an even more violent case. the members of the proud boys, and a lot of evidence of, this is happening in this case, as well. that is going to give prosecutors a lot to work with in terms of the seditious

conspiracy charges and the proud boys, case to, as well, ali. >> i want to make. clearly we're talking about the proud boys case in the beginning. the picture we showed you ways of two roads. that he has not pled guilty to anything and is proudly not expected to. let me ask you about the degree to which the investigation or this case relies on whether or not the oath keepers were proud boys. whether they had conversations with or connection to anybody in the administration for the white house. is that relevant to this conversation? >> it is, there was the phone call on the night of january six where one of the oath keepers has said that they heard stewart rhodes talking with the trump intermediate, essentially. what came out on trial this week is that stewart rhodes is reported to have a connection to someone in the secret service. and, you know, with that mystery, because there is so much overlap between the oath keepers and people in trump's orbit you are wondering, who is the person who stewart rhodes is speaking with on the night of january six? i think, you know, that could

eventually come out in this trial. a possibility that a raised this week was that maybe it was a member of the secret service. i do not think that because this was so clear about how they would go forward without donald trump, i think that is a political mystery and obviously very relevant to who in trump's over has residents. if you think about the charges it does not make a difference if there is guilt or innocence, whether they were directly communicating with donald. trump although, prosecutors made clear for jurors that donald trump did not, in fact, invoke the insurrection act at any point during his presidency. >> good to see you. thanks as always for great reporting on this. ryan riley is nbc news justice report. he is covering the oath keepers and the proud boys. he's doing this very closely. still ahead, we cover controversial, bucks books was tough language, books were concerned parents where they might have valid concern about how and when certain ideas are introduced to children. the book series we are looking at today, girls who code, it is

literally none of those things. cell, why remove the series from the shelves? the answer is going to shock you. $9. up to half off fireplaces and heating, kitchen must-haves up to 65% off... and dining deals you don't want to miss. plus, free shipping. on everything at wayfair. now that's a deal you can feel good about. shop five days of deals now through october 11th! only at wayfair! ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ it's the subway series menu. 12 irresistible subs. the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet! bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place.

latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms. and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. my name is wendy, i'm 51 years old, and i'm a hospital administrator. when i talk to patients you can just see from here up when you're wearing a mask. and i have noticed those lines beginning to really become not so much moderate but more severe. i'm still wendy and i got botox® cosmetic. and i'm really happy with the results because they're very subtle, and i feel like i look like myself, but just less lines. botox® cosmetic is fda approved,

to temporarily make frown lines, crow's feet and forehead lines look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness maybe a sign of a life threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history. muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins. as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. see for yourself at botoxcosmetic.com ♪ ♪ as th discover sound that risk of can truly move yous. in the 2022 grand wagoneer.

awarded best driver appeal by j.d. power. north korea is now blaming the united states after a recent spate of missile tests in the region. north korea fired six missiles in just 12 days. as of this week including one on tuesday that flew over japan, without any warning, prompting tokyo to issue an evacuation

warning for residents of the northern part of japan. japanese prime minister fumio prosciutto blasted these on thursday saying that they absolutely cannot be touched by tolerated. they say they were in self-defense against direct military threats. let me explain that, for a second. the u.s. and the south korean military began a new round of naval drills off the peninsula's east coast, this week. those drills and the redeployment of the uss ronald reagan aircraft carrier came in response to north korea's missile tests, earlier in the week. an emergency un security council meeting was called on wednesday and ended with no resolution as chinese and russian officials accused washington of provoking the launches were those military exercises with south korea. in response, u.s. ambassador to the u.s., linda springfield, accuse beijing and moscow of empowering kim jong-un saying, make no mistake, the two council members that are blocking us from taking action, they are enabling north korea. so, still ahead, almost half

the deaths attributed to hurricane ian came from lee county. that is by fort myers beach. is what months wrong with the preparation and response to this catastrophic storm? we will have lawmakers who join us next to discuss. ext to discuss what will you do? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. [daughter] slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide.

it's the subway series menu! 12 irresistible subs... like #11 subway club. piled with turkey, ham and roast beef. this sub isn't slowing down any time soon. i'll give it a run for its money. my money's on the sub. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. the hurricane that devastated

parts of florida and the carolinas the shaping up to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in american history. nbc news reports that the end

is the second deadliest storm to hit the u.s. mainland this century. behind hurricane katrina, in 2005, our team has confirmed at least 135 deaths caused by the storm. it is going to take billions of dollars that many years for southwest florida to rebuild. perhaps, the worst part of all of this is the fact of the storm did not have to take so many lives. it did not have to be this. that is the low lying florida cities start to rebuild some researchers are asking should they? the l.a. times reports, no city has a greater percentage of homes in peril than this rapidly developing florida metropolis. flood data found that the city has more than 90,000 properties and substantial risk of flooding. more than los angeles, chicago, houston, or new york. all of this is to say that officials have noted that tens of thousands of people in these areas were in danger of dying if a major storm or to come through. now it more than 135 dead, local authorities and heart that hits lee county are facing

tough questions about why they delayed evacuations until less than one day before the storm hit. lee county, which includes fort myers beach, which hit especially hard more than a week after the hurricane swept through more than 64,000 people. they are still without power. as of yesterday lee county residents were still being told to boil water to eliminate the potential for contamination. as always with disasters like this, marginalized communities are the most vulnerable. assistance usually gets to poor neighborhoods much more slowly. last week i was in fort myers beach and spoke to a handful of residents in a small shrimping community, there. their situation was bleak. n was bleak.i don't to see it, m worried about sanibel, god bless him, they earn their money and everything. but you fly around here and you look at this devastation right here nobody's worried about a little people. that don't make millions of dollars of year. i could've made $25,000 a year

you know. and right now everything i've got is wet from having to keep that boat floating and going out and 105 mile winds, hundred 50 mile an hour winds. but today, we need basic sanitation before we can get wiped out out here. and we've got nobody we don't know who to call. >> joining me now from st. petersburg is michelle rainier, she represents the 70th district which includes -- various counties which narrowly avoided the worst of hurricane ian, but was still drastically affected. she's been on the ground ever since, handing out supplies and taking inventory of what the communities in southwest florida need representative rayner, good to see you again. thank you for being with us. you and i talked on thursday, and things, actually was last thursday, i'm losing track of time. it's really, really bad down there. and there are a lot of people

who may not have been subjected to the worst of it how the known earlier. what's your sense of why people weren't warned as early as they could've been evacuated as early as they could have if they could've been evacuated? >> well, ali, it's good to see you again. unfortunately, i've whatever i say you were always talking about could've, should've would've. i think a couple of things. we knew that the storm was going to hit west florida somewhere, weather was in my district st. petersburg tampa, or whether it was in lee county where ultimately it hit. so one of the things i think is that we need to ask the hard questions of the county. of why they did not have people evacuate earlier. but also, and i've always said and i want to preface this, evacuation ability to evacuate is a privilege. there are a lot of people, even if they have gotten that notice that they would not have been

able to evacuate. because of an ability to travel because of work or whatever. but also, i've been hearing just anecdotally people who are in the county, win that notice came, i think it was about a little a day before less than 24 hours before the storm hit. it came to communities, it came to people's phones that are mostly spanish speakers or creole speakers, and they didn't understand, they weren't able to read it. so, they didn't know to evacuate. i think we have to look at a couple things, one, when we're getting that notice, the ability for folks to be able to evacuate. and then also, making sure that information is accessible to who non english speakers. >> there's also an issue when i was there, you are not talking about the ice i talk to those shrimpers, they weren't far from where helpless, but they had no way to know that because their phones just weren't working. and fort myers beach cell phone service wasn't good. people had lost power things like that. we don't seem to have

methodology to deal with marginalized communities, whether they are spanish speakers or other language speakers or poor communities which tend to live in places that will be prone to flooding. we haven't figured out some of the basic stuff, we figured out high-end stuff, fema there, we can get people in church companies, they can get to start to repair their homes. but on the low, and we have not figured this out anywhere. not just a florida problem. >> yeah. ali, i don't think it's that we haven't figured it out, we know what to do. it's the intentionality behind it. it is the intentionality of making sure that all of us are protected. we are able to get information to whomever we need to get information. two it is the intentionality behind it. and that's what, you know, from day one, when i viewed this storm had hit, you and i had talked and other colleagues of yours and i had talked about making sure that this recovery is just. making sure that this recovery is recovery for all. so for me, once again, it's about having an intentional

focus and unintentional as to making sure marginalized folks, not just marginalized, but working families, our teachers, our bus drivers, the folks that maybe can't afford to miss a paycheck, and god knows in florida, with the educational system in the low rate of pay we pay our teachers, they can't afford to miss a day of work. making sure that they're taking care of. and that they are looked out for as well as folks who are on the high end of the economic spectrum. >> thank you for what you've been doing, i know you've been out there helping with getting help to people who otherwise aren't getting it. we appreciate it. one day you and i will actually talk in good times, and i look forward to that. >> yes. >> florida state representative michelle -- the book club is back in session, we're featuring girls who code books, and unequivocally a good series for middle schoolers which was brought blindly swept off library shelves in one district in pennsylvania. it is kind of. it is kind of.

for your full financial picture. with the right balance of risk and reward. so you can enjoy more of...this. this is the planning effect. it's the subway series menu! 12 irresistible subs... like #4 supreme meats. smoky capicola, genoa salami and pepperoni! it's the dream team of meats. i've still got my uniform. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. the girls who code book series

is not contentious at all. it's written in collaboration with the girls who code nonprofit organization, which aims to close the gender gap in technology jobs. there's just no debate, no need for close reading, no potentially alienating topics. these books are simply non controversial, and yet, this babysitters club meets a pea

computer science series for middle school aged girls has faced a ban in pennsylvania and generated an intense backlash. there are four titles in the girls who code book series. the friendship code, teen bff race to the finish, lights, music, code and spotlight on coding club. it follows a group of girls who become best friends at their after school coding club, just look at the covers, you'll see girls with all different backgrounds who share of course, a love of coding. they're enduring, they're engaging, they're utterly appropriate for sixth graders in up, the gravel of sisterhood the power of kindness, the importance of learning, the acceptance of others. more than anything else though, their message is one of empowerment for girls. for its part, the central york pennsylvania school district has called reports of the ban, quote, categorically false. the district says that the books were merely banned in classroom instruction for a short period of time. girls who code, along with many other titles, have been featured on the velshi banned book club was featured on the

comprehensive resource list that was given to teachers in the aftermath of george floyd's murder in 2020, it was a list of things you might want to use to teach or students. later the school board mandated the entire list was not permitted to be utilized in the classroom. now, that order has since been revisited, it's been reversed actually, because there's been some stupid things that were on. girls who code may not have been individually targeted for a ban, but was banned anyway. and it may not have been held up in a school board meeting as some example of harmful books for students, nonetheless, the series was swept up as an insidious casualty in a culture war that is damaging american children and american girls. in one person, if even one person wanted to and was unable to access girls who code for any amount of time, the district has failed in its duty. the founder of girls who code -- wrote different forwards that appear in the fierce view pages of all four books. at the start of the first book she writes in part, quote, i always say you just can't be

what you can't see, and that's true for books to. we need to read stories about girls who look like us in order to be inspired to try something new. i'm thrilled to be joined by this author right now, she's the ceo and founder of girls who code, she's the author of numerous books including pay up, the future of women and work. thank you very much for being with us, really appreciate having you here. and i have to say, i definitely wasn't expecting to speak to you as one of the people on the velshi banned book club's, but that's the absurdity of it, right? it's crazy, why are these books in any way thought to be a threat or a problem? >> well, you know, book bans are about preventing access of information to our children to have them learn about opportunities that they can have. and that is particularly true for girls. and i think in this case, you know, girls who code books were part -- got swept up in this nationwide

agenda of groups like moms for liberty, that are trying to control our girls. and what they have access and information too. look at the, they started coming for a bodies by controlling a reproductive rights, and now they're coming for our minds. and we got a wake up. and we gotta get engaged and we gotta get involved, because girls who code books can get banned, any books that are promoting opportunity and education and giving girls access to economic independence, they're coming for those two. >> did anybody give anybody any reason about why girls who code is a problem? is there something in it that they didn't want? girls to read? >> well, i think there was some discussion when the ban originally came about that we don't want activists stem books, but it wasn't just the girls who code books that were on that list, they also banned a book about grace hopper the queen of code. it wasn't just a mistake, you know, i think in many ways, it was intentional, but they got caught. i think the most insane thing about what happened in the past two weeks, which in many ways

is a mirror towards what's happening in our country, is i watched a school district deny that they ever banned the book in the first place. and then after we tracked it because parents and students and teachers fought back. and they're denying history, which is the problem with book bans in the first place, they're trying to rewrite history. and secondly, i watched moms for liberty come out and call books pornographic. again, this is what deeply problematic about all of us, why -- we are actively involved in this fight, because we have to stop it. and we gotta stop it now. >> the books, girls who code, feature a diverse group of friends. the representation was as important to you as the idea that it's girls who should be involved in step. >> absolutely. i mean, listen, less than 18% of the technology workforce is female. and we know that these -- on the daughter of refugees. and we know that these jobs and

coating their good paying, they enable you to march up into the middle class. and in 2015, we launched our girls of code after school programs, i was visiting communities all across the country, poor communities, economically disadvantaged communities, and what i heard from teachers and parents and students is, i don't have wi-fi. or it spotty. or of one device. you know at our school. are there other ways we can learn had a code? and that's why i wrote these books. to make sure that no girl is left behind. and i intentionally made sure that the characters were diverse, like i said, you cannot be what you cannot see. and not only less than 19% of women in technology, of those in technology female, but hardly any black and brown technologists. so, now, almost whatever eight years later from that, we have 10,000 girls who code clubs, we've taught 500,000 girls to code. half of which are underserved communities in our black and

brown. we made our mission, and these books were essential part of how we teach. and so, to me, to take that away, to take away those opportunities from girls so they can go find a cure to climate, covid, cancer, be our next president, be a technologist, a scientist that's the point. that is what all of us want. for all over girls, and i think that's why ali, there's so much outrage by this book been, because it is so deeply, fundamentally un-american. >> so, when i talk about book bans, when i talk to other audiences about it and it really asks, what do we do about? how do you actually fix it? i think actually civic involvement is the only answer, right. start by going to school board meetings. go to actual school meetings, you know the things that the petito meetings that -- the pga meetings that you don't need to go. to or run for office. which by the, way you did. it is -- you don't expect to be a political, idealogue to run for office.

this is where it starts. this is where you actually save democracy. by showing up at the local level and trying to fix these things. >> absolutely. we have a lot of teachers on the. ground in our district, it was these brave teachers and students that were fighting for all of us, fighting for our democracy. and so, you have this group of vocal parents on the right, they're small. but they're intimidating. and there. police and so, other parents kind of silently just don't do anything. and that's part of, again, what we need to do with the -- is create the real parent agenda. which is fighting against bigotry. fighting to protect public education. but also making sure that moms say the things like neither paid leave affordable childcare, pay equity, so they can join their school board. they can get actively involved because there's not so exhausted. and so, this movement that you've seen on the right to infiltrate our school boards, you know, it's been very intentional. and school board elections are coming in 2023, and we

democrats got a real vocal, and we got a real involved. because first it's book vince, but if you look at their agenda, they're coming for sex education. they're coming to make sure that our girls do not have access to education, so that they can have control over their bodies. and that is coming at a period when we are in -- forcing birth in a nation that doesn't have paid leave, doesn't have affordable childcare, all of these things are interconnected. they thought through this agenda. and we are asleep at the wheel. and so we got a wake up. and fight back. >> everything you say is right, i just wouldn't thought it would've been based around a few books vocal girls who code, i would've thought that appeared on our radar. but in a way i'm glad it did, because allowed us to have this really important decision and welcome you as a member of the velshi banned book club, thank you for your time. you are the founder of ceo of girls who code. that does it for me, thanks for watching, i'll be back here tomorrow morning after 10 am eastern on velshi, don't forget, by the way, if you can steal the show, velshi is available

as a podcast, you can listen to the entire show on the go anytime, subscribe and listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. stay right here cross connection with tiffany cross begins right now. right now all right, good morning everyone. welcome to the cross connection. i'm tiffany cross. listen, maybe just, maybe some accountability might actually be happening. this week, five members of the oath keepers, including founder stewart rhodes, went on trial for alleged conspiracy and a member of another far-right group, the proud boys, pled guilty to seditious conspiracy. but, it's been over 600 days since the insurrection. and the volume of dangerous rhetoric is still at an all-time high. and that's to make me worry. you should be worried. to wear it a point now where lawmakers, particular lawmakers of color, need armed security to protect them from actual