try to give meaning to it, and the meaning that i'm going to try and give is that jordan can be a symbol of what was wrong with the city as well as the chokehold. >> you always do bring meaning to these moments and comfort the families, and it means so much. so thank you, rev. mika, thank you for your patience with me specifically today. isn't she -- >> willie, can you please tell joe what time the show starts? i'm closing it now. we're over 10:00 a.m. it's ana cabrera's time. >> 7:20 eastern i'll be here. >> 6:00 a.m. >> ana picks up the coverage right now. thank you, mika for that nice handoff. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. i want to take you right to the white house where president biden is awarding the medal of valor for acts of heroism and

bravery to nine public safety officers including two who died in the line of duty. the ceremony is underway, let's listen in. >> we're incredibly proud of all of you, skpi mean that, incredibly proud of all of you, and we're going to have your back as long as we need to, as long as you're engaged. in just the past two weeks, our nation has observed a national fallen firefighters memorial weekend, national police weekend, national peace memorial officers day. and i've also hosted this event several times as president and vice president and cosponsored a bill that created the medal of freedom when i was a u.s. senator, the medal of valor when i was a u.s. senator. these are the same -- these are some of the most meaningful things that i do as president because knowing you, meeting your families, looking in your eyes, seeing your courage gives me so much hope for the country.

this is not hyperbole, you represent the very best of us, you represent the best of who we are as americans and god bless you all. may god protect public safety officers and their families. it's now my honor to award these medals and ask my military aide to read these citations. thank you. [ applause ] >> now presenting the medal of valor to corporal jeffrey farmer. corporal jeffrey farmer of the littleton police department for his rapid action to save the life of a fellow officer who had been grievously wounded, persevering through his own injuries and under grave threat to his own life, corporal farmer displayed courage, poise, and uncommon loyalty to his fellow

officer. >> firefighter justin hespler. firefighter justin hespler of the new york city fire department for the absolute courage he displayed as he rushed into a burning house and crawled through thick smoke and

extreme heat despite an evacuation order to find and rescue a newborn baby. his undaunted determination under punishing conditions and willingness to put himself at grave risk saved the child's life and embodies the strength and spirit of new york's bravest. [ applause ]

. >> lieutenant jason hickey. lieutenant jason hickey retired for his fearless resolve and quick thinking. his heroic actions cap a 27-year career of decorated and selfless service to his colleagues and to the people of new york.

[ applause ] >> gabina accepting on baf of her son, mora, dominique rivera accepting on behalf of her husband, jason rivera and detective sumit sulan detectives jason rivera and wilbert mora and detective sumit sulan put themselves in the line of fire. officers rivera and mora positioned themselves between the assailant and the other occupants of the house. they were ambushed, shot

multiple times and died from their injuries. he ensured the safety of the civilians on the scene and shot down the gunman with the service weapon, bringing an end to the deadly episode. officers rivera and mora's sacrifice will never be forgotten. [ applause ]

[ applause ] >> deputy bobby hau pham.

deputy bobby hau pham of the clermont county sheriff's office for his resolution determination to fulfill his mission diving into frigid waters to save a drowning woman despite being unable to swim. he demonstrated clear thinking and ingenuity and maintained his composure as he risked his life to save the life of another. [ applause ] [ applause ]

sergeant kendrick simpo. sergeant kendrick simpo of the houston police department whoa demonstrated unflinching bravery as he fearlessly confronted a man carrying an assault-style rifle in a shopping mall who appeared intent on inflicting harm. sergeant simpo acted discreetly and decisively placing the safety of others above his own and restraining the heavily armed suspect with his own hands. [ applause ]

[ applause ] and firefighter patrick thornton. firefighter patrick thornton of the new york city fire department for diving instinctively toward danger to save a man trapped beneath a capsized boat and pulling him through treacherous water to safety. his courage saved the man's life and demonstrated a commitment to the highest traditions of public service. [ applause ]

[ applause ] well, let's give one last round of -- big round of applause. [ applause ] >> we've been watching the medal of valor ceremony at the white house honoring those nine amazing heroes. and now i want to turn to the other major story at the white house this morning, there is new urgency in efforts to avoid a historic and catastrophic default. new negotiators for the white house were on capitol hill last night. we have fresh reporting on those talks and the white house's

decision to cut the president's overseas trip short. but will it all be enough to get a deal done in time? joining us now is nbc news white house correspondent allie raffa and nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake. so garrett, what do we know about the new talks on capitol hill with these new white house negotiators? >> reporter: well, ana, not a lot, frankly, about the details, but the fact that they picked up as quickly as they did last night speaks to the urgency both sides in this debate feel to get this solved. you don't get to vote on a deal or framework. there's a lot of work to be done. we know these negotiators, including the three appointed by the white house, the name i've circled is sha lon da young, the omb director who used to work on capitol hill, has a very good relationship with a number of republicans. garrett graves, a republican congressman from louisiana who has no official leadership role

but has become one of kevin mccarthy's most trusted lieutenants. mccarthy has long wanted a smaller group who can sit down and hash this out. now he's got that group. are they close enough to bridge the gaps that both sides say exist politically and policy-wise between what they want to get accomplished in the next 15 days. we're going to find out in realtime. >> so allie, the president's cutting his trip short. talk about that and the white house's current posture when it comes to a deal. >> reporter: yeah, the trimming of really what was more than half of what was supposed to be this historic overseas trip for the president just shows you how concerned he was about getting all of this done in this very tight two-week time line. and because all of the principals and the president agree that that time line, that so-called x date of june 1st still holds, we did see some incremental progress yesterday. as garrett mentioned, you saw the tightening up of who was going to be involved in these

negotiations, essentially speaker mccarthy saying there were just too many cooks in the kitchen to get any substantive progress done. that group now consisting of omb director shalanda young, and director of legislative affairs, louisa terrell. that group met with speaker mccarthy's negotiators hours after that meeting at the white house yesterday. they met at the capitol. in the meantime, while the president is away, the white house says he's going to be updated daily on the progress that these negotiators make. he's going to have a call with them in a few days to check on progress, and he's hoping to get a meeting a third meeting between the big four congressional leaders and the president on the books when he returns from japan on sunday. as far as what happens in the meantime, you know, there is still room for common ground on things like permitting reform, clawing back of unspent covid funds, but we've talked so much about these work requirements for some federal programs. that remains a sticking point at

this point. speaker mccarthy saying that's a red line for him. the white house not saying definitively where they stand. we saw how much this pressure of this time line could change something as monumental as a presidential trip. the president's certainly hoping that that same pressure, that same time crunch is felt by these negotiators as these talks continue in the meantime. >> allie raffa and garrett haake, we know you'll both keep us posted. thank you so much. turning to breaking news in north carolina where a new abortion ban is now set to go into effect. late last night the state's legislature overrode the governor's veto of a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks. it was a consequential test for the slim but powerful republican super majority in that state, and you can see it was an emotional scene with protesters on both sides of this issue at the state house. those opposed chanting shame after the vote.

nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster is live in raleigh. walk us through what happened last night and the broader reaction there? >> reporter: the reaction that you're hearing is fierce, and it's coming from the white house, from the governor's mansion, even as you saw those pictures from inside the chamber as protesters yelled shame, shame, as the legislature voted to override the democratic governor's veto. what does this bill look like? well, it puts restrictions on nearly all abortions in this state, but bans them after 12 weeks. the majority of abortions. it extends that limit to about 20 weeks for cases of rape and incest, and then it extends it to 24 weeks for cases of what the bill calls life limiting fetal anomaanomalies. planned parenthood saying this is a bill that could result in some clinics being closed here. you have the governor and the republicans saying this is the result of a compromise, that it's not as restrictive as some other states even in this

region. the concern that you're hearing from democratic lawmakers is how this bill came to be, and that was something that you asked about. this is a bill that came to be because a democratic lawmaker changed parties giving republicans in the legislature a super majority allowing them to push through this legislation despite that veto. i want you to listen to the concern you're hearing from democratic lawmakers, one we heard from yesterday right after this bill passed. >> more to come. i mean, that's what we're also worried about like guns, education, private vouchers, environmental rollbacks. it's maybe just the start. >> reporter: more to come, and that is a concern from so many democrats that this is not just about abortion, that this is going to expand to so many other issues in this state, ana. >> okay, shaquille brewster, thank you very much for that reporting, and this afternoon the future of an abortion pill is the focus, in a federal appeals court in louisiana, a three-judge panel in the fifth

circuit will hear arguments in this case that could help decide the future availability of mifepristone, the most commonly used abortion pill in the united states. this after that judge in texas sided with challengers who wanted to block access to the drug. remember, that was last month. here we are again, nbc news senior legal correspondent laura jarrett is here with us. i know you'll be monitoring these arguments this afternoon, laura, what exactly is the appeals court considering today? >> today's case is all about whether that federal judge got it right last month when he invalidated the fda's long-time approval of the drug. remember the plaintiffs here are a group of antiabortion activists who have said the drug is not safe. the fda has maintained it is especially safe, less than 1% chance of complications and side effects from the drug. now, remember no matter what happens here, the judges are not writing on a clean slate, right? this case has already gone up to the supreme court once, and the supreme court put that judge's

order on hold. so as of right now, access to the pill is maintained, status quo as normal, and even no matter what the fifth circuit does, whenever they decide to rule, access will still be maintained because of the way the supreme court framed their order. they said until you come back to us and we decide what to do, the pill stays on the market. >> they're holding off on that texas judge's ruling until it makes it all the way through the judicial system. >> today's arguments are still important. it frames up the debate for the supreme court. it frames the issues for them in terms of how they're going to decide what to eventually do. >> can you give us any sign of how this may go. i know this is a conservative court, right? >> it's always risky to read the tea leaves. based on what these judges had to say in the past, largely upholding many abortion restrictions. you have two trump appointees, one appointed by george w. bush.

we'll see what they do here, but if you're the justice department, you're not that happy with the panel you pulled. >> thanks so much, laura jarrett, let us know what happens. when we're back in 60 seconds, intruder alert, new questions for the secret service after a man was able to enter the national security adviser's home while he was sleeping. plus, putting pen to paper, inside the new lawsuit just filed minutes ago against florida's book banning spree. one of america's most banned authors, george m. johnson, joins us ahead. also, election losses for republicans and big gop bastians of power, ahead. , ahead. ffled t] -can't hear you, jerry. -sorry. uh, yeah, can we get a system where when someone's bike is in the shop, then we could borrow someone else's? -no! -no! or you can get a quote with america's number-one motorcycle insurer

and maybe save some money while you're at it. all in favor of that. [ horn honking ] there's a lot of buttons and knobs in here. and we're back with a stunning security breach at the home of president biden's national security adviser. the secret service is now investigating how an intruder somehow got inside jake sullivan's home, and according

to "the washington post," this incident happened two weeks ago in the middle of the night without the agents who were posted outside sullivan's house even noticing. it was also sullivan himself who confronted the man who entered his home and got him to leave. nbc news capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles joins us now. ryan, how the heck did this happen? >> reporter: ana, you're asking the same question that secret service is asking right now, they said that they have started that investigation into how this massive security breach took place. they said that they've actually already started to change their protocols as a result whale the investigation continues. it's important to point out, though, that from what we know about this particular incident, according to "the washington post," that the intruder that got into sullivan's house appeared to be intoxicated. he didn't even know where he was. when sullivan approached him, he left the house, but those secret service agents that were guarding the house had no idea that he had gotten in and that he had gotten back out and

sullivan had to actually tell them that the intruder was in his house. there was no sign of forced entry, no physical altercation, and it didn't appear as though sullivan or his family were at risk at any point in time. the secret service is taking this seriously. in a statement they said any deviation from our protected protocols is unacceptable, and if discovered, personnel will be held accountable. the white house right now not commenting on this security lapse. we should also point out, ana, the person at the center of this was never questioned by secret service because he was long gone before they ever even knew he was there. >> still a lot of explaining to do, ryan nobles, thank you. and now to a new wide ranging interview with elon musk, the tesla and twitter chief sat down with cnbc's david faber for a conversation that touched on growing u.s./china tensions, his own controversial tweets, which he defended and why he has allowed former

president trump back on the platform. >> president trump is allowed back on the platform. is that something -- i assume that's not something you believe? >> i -- well, i think the answer -- the answer is nuanced. like, do i believe biden won? yes, i believe he won. >> and you voted for him. >> i did actually. >> do you regret that? >> i mean, man, i wish we could have just a normal human being as president, that's what i want. >> and you can watch more of that interview over on cnbc.com. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," we are getting closer perhaps to two presidential announcements from these two big name republicans. plus, democrats have introduced a resolution to expel

indicted republican congressman george santos from the house. a number of republicans have called on him to step down, will they come on board? oard identical twins bethany and stephanie both struggled with cpap for their sleep apnea. but stephanie got inspire, an implanted device that works inside the body. there's no reason to keep struggling. inspire. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. asking the right question learn more and view important safety information can greatly impact your future. - are, are you qualified to do this? - what? - especially when it comes to your finances. - are you a certified financial planner™?

- i'm a cfp® professional. - cfp® professionals are committed to acting in your best interest. that's why it's gotta be a cfp®. [♪♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. i was born on the south side of chicago. it has been a long road, but now i'm working for schwab. i love to help people understand the world through their lens and invest accordingly. you can call us christmas eve at four o'clock in the morning. we're gonna always make sure that you have all of the financial tools and support to secure your financial future. that means a lot for my community and for every community. ♪ so, you found the no7 then... it's amazing! hydrates better than the expensive stuff i don't live here, so i'm taking this

and whatever's in the back. it's already sold in the us. but i'm not taking any chances. the uk's #1 skincare has crossed the pond. i will be a travel influencer... hey, i thought you were on vacation? it's too expensive. use priceline, they've got deals no one else has. what about work? i got you. looking great you guys! ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters ♪ go to your happy price ♪ keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. the first time you made a sale online with godaddy was also the first time you heard of a town named dinosaur, colorado. we just got an order from dinosaur, colorado. start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. start for free at godaddy.com subway's still upping their game. show us how stephen. italian style capicola brings sweet heat to subs like supreme meats.

is it hot in here or is it just me? it's definitely not you. no, it's me. try the subway series menu. their tastiest refresh yet. introducing astepro allergy. try the subway series menu. now available without a prescription. astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid-free spray. while flonase takes hours, astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can [ spray, spray ] astepro and go. ♪ ♪ start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand.

we're back with breaking news from the white house. in just a few minutes, we expect to hear from president biden, he is now scheduled to give remarks about the debt limit fight just before he leaves for his trip to japan and the g-7. we'll bring those remarks to you just as soon as it begins.

and new moves in the 2024 race for the white house, former vice president mike pence isn't officially a candidate yet, but he's acting like one with several stops in new hampshire. he's expected to make an announcement soon. and florida governor ron desantis is reportedly adding more advisers to his inner circle bringing more people in with presidential campaign experience. joining us now is nbc news senior national politics reporter jonathan allen and former florida republican congressman carlos curbelo and former maryland congresswoman donna edwards. let's start with our new reporting on a potential pivot for desantis. before people would make suggestions, but he'd still call the shots. this is according to a republican donor briefed by a desantis adviser on next steps. he's beginning to take advice from people who know what they're doing. given what you know about how desantis operates, what will you be watching for? >> it's a great question, ana.

he has been known for being extremely insular, making his own decisions particularly with his wife casey desantis. that has rubbed some of his donors the wrong way. they look at him working in a small laboratory in florida and having tried to take that model national and having stumbled out of the gate. they're really demanding to see some changes. i'm expecting to watch what those changes actually look like. that one donor talked about handing things over to the professionals. it will be interesting to see whether the professionals he's letting in, some of the donors he's letting in to talk to him, whether he has a positive impact on a slow out of the gate operation. >> and congressman in elections last night, desantis backed candidates lost in kentucky and even in his home state of florida. this was that big upset with a democrat winning the jacksonville mayoral race. so what could this mean for

desantis's appeal and influence on the national stage with voters? >> ana, that's right. last night was one of the first nights in a long time where florida democrats got to celebrate because they did pull off an upset in duval county. ron desantis used to represent an area south of duval county. it is kind of a big deal. i think what this perhaps points to is that some of the policies that the florida legislature passed in recent weeks and that desantis has signed into law on abortion, on guns, they're popular among republican primary voters, but with a general election audience, some of these policies go too far and what we could be seeing in florida specifically in that duval county area is swing voters, centrist voters, rejecting some of these policies. so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. desantis has built an impressive resume for a republican primary.

does this end up hurting him in a general election if he can get past donald trump? >> congresswoman, what do you think about that big democratic win in jacksonville? obviously democrats were trounced in florida in the 2022 midterms. do you think florida's in play again for your party? >> well, i think it's always hard to know. florida is a big state, but what i will say is that i think that this is really a sign, as carlos has described, that there may be some really significant pushback on the extremism that ron desantis has embraced in his efforts to secure the republican base that is the donald trump base of the republican party, and i think that this portends really bad news across the country. as we see ron desantis and other republicans going far right in order to appeal to trump's base, but clearly alienating the center of the country and

alienating independents. so ron desantis needs a reset in his campaign. i don't know that that's going to be enough either for him to win the nomination or for him to win over centrists and independent voters. >> jonathan, you have some interesting reporting on desantis versus trump endorsements and the possibility that some have flipped, specifically in new hampshire. i know there have been several twists and turns here. what's the latest? what's the scoop? >> basically donald trump went up to new hampshire in late april. released 50 plus endorsements from state legislatures. desantis released a list of 50 some odd republicans that were backing him. it turns out there were crossovers, there were four people who endorsed trump in late april that then endorsed desanti. the desantis folks portrayed them as momentum. i talked to one of the state

legislators who said, no, i didn't flip. i'm endorsing both of them, which is unusual in politics, and then another one came out with a statement and said she wanted to have nothing to do with ron desantis and actually was sticking with trump. so those four flips in desantis's direction came back to two. now, what's really important here, i think, is this just tells you how ugly things are going to get, right? you're talking about new hampshire legislatures, there are like 400 of them. they represent about 3,500 people apiece, for these two campaigns to be going so heavily at each other at this point in the process portends an ugly fight between desantis and trump for the nomination. >> congressman curbelo, what about former vice president mike pence, no announcement yet, but he's been holding several campaign style events. he's been polling in the single-digits in recent polls. do you see a path for him to breakthrough, if he's having to share the gop voting base with trump and desantis? >> it would be difficult, ana. a lot of people think mike pence

feels he has a duty to run for president so that he can make his case to the american people about what he did during the four years of the trump presidency, the way he conducted himself towards the end of the trump presidency where he was challenged and pushed and obviously went through a very difficult situation on the 6th of january. so the pence campaign might be about trying to win, but it might also be about clearing his name for history, leaving it known where he was, what he stood for, and what he believes in. >> okay. former congressman carlos curbelo. got to leave it there right now. thank you all. got to get to this breaking news we just have in, prince harry and his wife meghan and her mother, we are told, were all reportedly involved in a, quote, near catastrophic car chase with paparazzi last night. we want to be clear at this time we are not aware of any injuries to harry, meghan, or her mother. this is all according to reuters

that the incident happened yesterday after meghan and harry attended an awards ceremony in new york. a spokesperson for harry told reuters in a statement, quote, this relentless pursuit lasting over two hours resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two nypd officers, so again, a near catastrophic car chase is how this has been described. reuters quoting spokesperson for the couple. nbc news has not yet independently confirmed this story. we're working to gather more information. we'll bring it to you, of course, as we get it. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," a new chapter in the battle over banning books. there's a new lawsuit against one florida school system alleging unlawful removal of books. i'll talk with george m. johnson, one of america's most banned authors. are we at an inflection point when it comes to free speech? sph

>> woman: why did we choose safelite? >> vo: for us, driving around is the only way we can get our baby to sleep, so when our windshield cracked, we needed it fixed right. we went to safelite.com. there's no one else we'd trust. their experts replaced our windshield, and recalibrated our car's advanced safety system.

they focus on our safety... so we can focus on this little guy. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

at pnc bank, you can find us in big cities and small towns across the us, where our focus is to always support the people who live and work there. because you call these communities home, and we do too. pnc bank. so, you found the no7 then... it's amazing! hydrates better

than the expensive stuff i don't live here, so i'm taking this and whatever's in the back. it's already sold in the us. but i'm not taking any chances. the uk's #1 skincare has crossed the pond. hi, i'm todd. i'm a veteran of 23 years. i served three overseas tours. i love to give back to the community. i offer what i can when i can. i started noticing my memory was slipping. i saw a prevagen commercial and i did some research on it. i started taking prevagen about three years ago. i feel clearer in my thoughts, my memory has improved and generally just more on point. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv wayfair has nice prices now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. so you can have nice things.

hah! kelly clarkson, we have a kid... and harold. wayfair's got just what you need... performance fabrics, stains don't stand a chance. no chance! -woo! dog friendly and wallet friendly... pug-proved. get nice things with nice prices at wayfair. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ welcome back. new this hour, a lawsuit has just been filed in florida challenging one school district's practice of banning and restricting students' access to certain books. since last year, the escambia county school district in florida's panhandle has placed more than 100 titles under review for, quote, questionable content. and according to pen america, the district has actually removed 15 books from its libraries to date. this morning, lawyers for pen

america have filed a lawsuit on behalf of several of those authors and two local parents alleging that the district is in violation of the first amendment and the equal protection clause. joining us now are nbc news correspondent antonia hylton and george m. johnson, a plaintiff in this lawsuit. he's also the author of "all boys aren't blue," a book that has been removed from the escambia school district. thank you so much, good to see both of you here. antonia, why don't you lay out the arguments of this lawsuit for us and how it fits into the bigger picture. >> ana, what they're arguing is that this school district, escambia county schools in florida, that they've systematically removed books from the shelves, from access to students there and in some cases have not followed their own district policies. that's what pen america has laid out in this lawsuit, and penguin, a number of authors and two parents in the district who ark in the lawsuit that the removal of these books has harmed their children who should have the right to read different

viewpoints. the other thing pointed out in the lawsuit is that the majority of the books that have been removed feature people of color and lgbtq characters and stories and experiences in their lives. and that's part of what the parents say they want their students exposed to, different experiences, different viewpoints in the world, and so what we're seeing is them moving forward a first amendment and 14th amendment equal protection clause argument here. i was able to reach one of the school board members who is named as a defendant in this suit, bill slayton, and what he told me is that he was under the impression he was just following state law, that they've removed books that have been flagged to them as inappropriate, as pornography. that was a word that he used, and that he believed he was just following what's expected of them from the desantis administration at this point. in fact, he told me he was surprise that had this lawsuit has come to his school district because so many districts in the state are engaging in this kind of book removal at this time. >> any other kind of raeks from the school district itself? >> interestingly we saw last

night the school board move to fire their superintendent in a 3-2 vote. one of the reasons listed for that was that some community members felt that the superintendent hadn't removed enough books that they found inappropriate from the school district. bill slayton, that school board member that i talked to said he found this ridiculous. he defended the superintendent. this is kind of a hallmark of what we're seeing happening not just in florida but communities around the country. school boards have transformed from pretty run-of-the-mill business quiet meetings to these all-out conflicts that have become politicized. >> george, your book "all boys aren't blue" has been banned or challenged in dozens of schools and not just in florida, but in eight different states. let's boil it down here. why do you think your book has had this kind of reaction? >> we know the current state of the country and we know that the demographics are quickly shifting in the country. my book sits at the intersection

of blackness as well as queerness among a myriad of other topics, and my book also tells the truth, which we know that this country has an issue with. so when you have a book that is telling a firsthand account of what it is like to grow up in this country being black and queer and giving representation to a community that rarely gets to see themselves seen in books, seen on television, it creates an empowerment for those students. so what we are watching is that the history of this country in which most books were white, like the books i had to read, are starting to shift to match the demographics of the actual students in classrooms, which is building empathy, which is empowering generation z and also giving them the truth in a way that books of the past didn't, ask as we see what continues to happen in florida, this push back or this culture war, our books are getting caught up in it because we are writing to the actual population of students who exist, not the population of

the students that people only want to think should be seen or heard in books. >> so i'm curious, antonia, what do you hear from advocates of banning george's book among others, in response to that argument? >> one of the words that comes up all the time, and george's book has been at the center of controversy for a couple years now. the word that keeps coming back up is pornography, and it's a word that often we hear parents or advocates or some school members use in reference to books that involve lgbtq characters or kids who have crushes or are experiencing their first loves and in the case of george's book, and george can describe this much better than i, describe personal experience of abuse or mistreatment in their lives. topics that many of us were exposed to in public schools, but usually involving straight people, straight characters or straight families. but it seems that many community members find that grade school or even high school is too early

to introduce those themes if it involves lgbtq people. that's the pattern we're seeing in our reporting. >> george, you've described your intention for this book. you've described what you see as the benefits are of having this type of literature for people to read. talk to us about what you see as the harm that's caused by removing books like yours? >> you know, i grew up not knowing in many ways that i existed in the world, and so when you grow up and you're having questions about yourself, your personal identity, you're looking for anything to latch onto that says, hey, you, you do exist in this world, and you do have history in this world, and your presence deserves to be in this world. we also deserve to have road maps for our lives so that we don't make the same mistakes that many of us had to go through in the past because we didn't have any resources. so when you remove these books, what you are telling students is

that, one, you don't matter. your stories don't matter, and your existent doesn't matter. two, you are not allowing them to have the road map that they need specifically for the things that they are going to go through that the student who sits to the right of them and the left of may never experience. and so once we start to remove those type of resources, we also remove the truth. the truth about how to navigate these systems of oppression, the truth about what the forefathers actually were versus what was originally taught in american history and we remove the ability for them to become adults who then operate in a world with empathy for people who don't look like them and for people who don't come from the same places as them. >> well, thank you so much for joining us to have this conversation. i really appreciate your time, your perspective. george m. johnson and antonia hylton. now back to our breaking news on prince harry and his wife meghan reportedly being involved in a, quote, near

catastrophic car accident with paparazzi last night in new york city. at this time, we are told -- at least not aware of any injuries to harry, meghan or her mother. and according to reuters as we're learning more about the circumstances of this, this incident happened yesterday after meghan and harry attended an awards ceremony in new york. meghan was honored with a women of vision award, a spokesperson for harry said in a statement, quote, this relentless pursuit lasting over two hours resulted in multiple near collisions, involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two nypd officers. let's bring in nbc's ali arouzi covering for this story for us. what more are you learning, ali? >> well, we're just getting details coming through right now. but it seems like this was a two-hour pursuit of meghan, harry and meghan's mother across the streets in new york.

it was a few near catastrophic collisions while the paparazzi was relentlessly pursuing them through the streets. there were as many as six blacked out vehicles in this pursuit of the couple and the couple accepted a heightened level of attention when in the public, but this, they say, was the unacceptable amount of intrusion into their lives and into their safety. and a statement from a spokesman for the couple said last night the duke and duchess of sussex and mrs. raglan were involved in a near catastrophic car crash at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi and, of course, that brings up memories of prince harry's late mother, princess diana, who was relentlessly pursued by the paparazzi and it all culminated in the fatal car crash in paris. so this is obviously a very sore subject for them and we know how prince harry is very keen on his privacy for himself, his wife, and his family and he's been a

champion of keeping the media at bay, to keep some of his own privacy. we have seen him in the court case in london, just recently, against some of the tabloids here because they were so intrusive in his life and this all goes into that complaint that he has with the media. most of the complaint with the media here in the uk, but obviously that is also being re-created in the united states where he's been pursued relentlessly as he's such a figure. but that's all we have right now. we haven't directly gotten a statement from harry's spokesperson. we're waiting for that. when we do get that, we will bring that to you. but, obviously from everything we're hearing, this was a very close call last night that involved a near catastrophic accident. it was pretty bad as it is, but it could have been a lot worse. thankfully nobody was hurt or there were no fatalities. >> as far as you understand, ali, i know you don't have a lot of information, we're still

trying to get all of the details ourselves, but was there an actual car accident or was this just a car chase that involved a lot of close calls? >> from what we understand, it involved a lot of close calls. it was a pursuit over two hours and there was a near collision from what we understand. so, i don't think there was actually an actual accident that happened or anybody was physically hurt. that's why they're calling it a very close call. >> and i was also just thinking about, you're right, what happened with princess diana, that was the first thing that popped into my mind as soon as we got word of this particular situation. do you know if there have been any new protections put in place to try to avoid a similar fate? >> well, i mean, he does have security protection and that was one of the bones of contention with the family that they wanted to take away his security protection. and that really goes towards what harry has been saying, that

he needs security all the time because of incidents like this. not just because of the possible terrorist attack or something like this, but because of the relentless media interest in him. so he would definitely have been traveling with security, but because this was an ongoing chase, they can't just stop in the middle of the road and stop the paparazzi of the it had to be done, i presume, in some safe way. but he would definitely have had security with him. how much they could have prevented that chase is another question altogether. >> do you know if the security or the paparazzi situation that the royals face here in the u.s. is different than what happens in the uk typically? >> yeah, i mean, look, it is not going to be as intensive as it is here. they're based here in the uk so there is an awful lot of media attention around them. now, obviously harry and meghan are big celebrities in the states and there is a lot of interest in their lives there.

but i don't think they're sort of relentlessly pursued as they are here in the uk and that's one of their bones of contention. that's why harry is suing one of the big tabloid newspapers because they just don't allow them any privacy in their lives or anybody who is involved in their lives. they say that anybody he's had a relationship with, that person, all of their friends and family come under intense scrutiny from the media here. and that's just not the case in the united states. there is an interest in their lives and they move on. but they're not just relentlessly pursued as they are here. and that's been the case for harry since he's been a young boy in this country, since we saw pictures of him behind his mother's coffin, there has been intense media interest in him there, through his schooling, through his military career, and his social life. so it is very different here for them. >> and i want you to stay with me here, ali, i want to bring in nbc news royal commentator daisy mcandrew now. first, your reaction to what we're learning.

>> i think it is really shocking. i mean there are so many things, comments about this. firstly the -- >> daisy, hold on just a second. we need to fix the audio. obviously there is a terrible echo we're all hearing. it is probably very distracting for you as you're trying to think and speak at the same time. ali, before we go back to daisy, i know there has been this big rift between harry and his family, given what transpired in his move to the u.s., leaving his royal duties, any reaction yet from the palace? >> no, no, no reaction from the palace yet. none whatsoever, just from harry's spokesperson. as you mentioned, there is a very, very acrimonious relationship between him and his family and it has been really played out on the public stage. we saw when he came for his father's coronation, it was a very quick visit in, out, just for the ceremony, on the plane, on the way back, there was no

interaction with his brother, who is now the heir to the throne. this makes the whole situation very difficult and it does raise questions about the security and how much of it he needs. they were trying to lower his security detail, but he made an argument that this is very necessary, that he has this security detail. and that's quite evident from what has happened today because it is not just, you know, sort of terrorist threats or antiroyals, there is this incredible media interest which can be extremely dangerous for them as we have seen on this occasion and obviously the most famous of them all, his mother being pursued by the paparazzi in paris which ended up in that fatal car crash. so, it is going to be interesting to see what the palace says about this incident, if they mention any of his security or if there is going to be any enhanced security for him going forward because the interest in him certainly isn't going to dwindle anytime soon. it just seems to be peaking as

you hear more and more palace scandal in the papers and on tv. people seem to be more interested in them and that's why you're going to see paparazzi pursuing them in the streets because stories and pictures about meghan and harry sell newspapers. >> let's try to get back to daisy mcandrew now. i think we have audio fixed. your thoughts, daisy. >> well, obviously my initial thought is shock and terrible sadness that this has happened to meghan and harry and meghan's mother. not just because of how frightening it would have been, but also because the memories it would have brought back to harry about the way in which his mother died and the huge impact that has had on his life. you only have to remember the bits in his book "spare" and the interviews he gave on his netflix documentary where he talks about that and how it constantly hangs over him and his mental health, to realize the full impact that this will have had.

and to understand why they felt the need to issue this very strongly worded statement. and i'm guessing they'll have to be an investigation and they'll want some reassurances from the press and the paparazzi this won't happen again. >> all right, thank you so much, daisy mcandrew, thanks to ali arouzi as well. that's going to do it for us today. i'm ana cabrera reporting in new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. and good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm jose diaz-balart. we're keeping a close eye on the white house, where president biden is about to make a statement on the debt ceiling and the talks that have been going on now for some days. this comes just before he is set to leave for a trip to japan for the g-7 summit. president was also supposed to visit australia and papua new guinea, but he called off that part of the trip so he could return home and focus on the debt limit. it also comes one day after the president and the top four congressional leaders held another meeting at