a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. right now, all eyes on washington, d.c. the grand jury investigating former president trump's role in trying to overturn the election is at the courthouse. sources tell nbc news trump is bracing for possible charges as early as today. meantime, legal problems for hunter biden are not over. why a judge rejected his plea deal and what happens next. new concerns this morning about senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. what we know about his frightening healthcare on the hill. plus, more than half the country right now is suffering from a relentless heat wave that is especially dangerous for people working outside. we'll go to a farming community in florida. and later this hour, president biden is expected to announce new protections for workers and communities. and an nbc news exclusive, why the number of migrant families with kids crossing the southern border has almost tripled in the last two months.

we begin with breaking news on the investigation surrounding former president donald trump. nbc news learned that members of the federal grand jury in washington that is investigating interference during the 2020 presidential election are at the federal courthouse today. this comes as donald trump's legal and political teams are preparing for the possibility that the grand jury could vote on charges against him as soon as today. that's according to three sources familiar with the thinking of trump's inner circle. with us now to talk about this, nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian, and jacqueline alemany, congressional investigations reporter for "the washington post." she is an msnbc contributor. so, ken, what more do we know about how trump world is preparing for the possibility of another indictment? >> good morning, jose. here at the justice department, the special counsel's office is

not commenting on a report by abc news that trump lawyers are meeting with jack smith's team at his office, which is separate from here, as we speak. nobody from trump's legal team has responded to our request for comment about that. but, trump's legal team appears to be reading the same tea leaves that we all are, and it starts with the fact that the former president got a target letter which meant he's almost certain to be indicted. only question is when. the grand jury didn't meet on tuesday as we expected that it might. they're in early today and there is some signs of signals pointing to today being a very important day. and just stepping back, you know, there was a time when people were criticizing the justice department for being slow to investigate what they saw as the -- to overturn the 2020 election. they have heard from hundreds of witnesses, gathered thousands of documents and appears to be on the verge of a historic indictment. >> nbc news caught up with mark

meadows yesterday who told us he doesn't talk about anything related to january 6th. now, republican presidential candidate and former new jersey governor chris christie told andrea mitchell he thinks the video -- this video -- shows that meadows is now cooperating. take a listen. >> the witnesses told as they leave, you don't have to answer any questions or talk about it, but you're free to do so if you like. the only time you can't do it is when the government has a cooperation agreement with you and they say, no talking about this. the only time we want to hear you talking is when you're on the witness stand. and that, to me, mark meadows looks at me like a federal witness under a cooperation agreement and my guess is that's what we're going to find out he is. >> what more do we know about where things stand with meadows? >> yeah, jose. at this point that is surely speculative, but something that a lot of people in trump's circles and outside of trump's circles and reporters as well have been asking. is mark meadows cooperating with this investigation? it caused quite a bit of

consternation with some of the outside groups and the right wing think tanks that mark meadows works with, because if he is cooperating, obviously there is a joint legal defense fund going on here, and would, you know, some of that money be going to meadows and as he is potentially working against trump? of course, again, this is purely speculative. we don't know the status of mark meadows, nor a lot of the other key witnesses who have -- who were involved with former president trump's scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and whether or not they're targets, if it has been communicated to them, if they're targets, whether or not they're also going to be indicted. but mark meadows is someone who would potentially have a plethora of information, text messages to emails and communications leading up to january 6th. and on that actual day he was someone who was intimately involved with the day to day,

had tons of interface with former president donald trump, especially on january 6th. and we do know the special counsel has been asking witnesses lots of questions about things that involved mark meadows. for example, text messages as we reported last week. there was a text message that mark meadows had sent to white house counsel eric hirschman, sort of joking around about that even the fact that his son blake meadows was not able to find the -- any evidence of the election fraud that trump was claiming. i think meadows is going to be a consistent point of interest, all along the way. and hopefully we'll learn soon whether or not he is cooperating or if he's someone who also might be indicted. >> and, jackie, i mean, the fact that we learned, nbc news learned that members of the federal grand jury in washington investigating interference are now back in session, what are you looking out for today? >> yeah, right now we are all trying to answer the same questions. there is very little information

about what is actually going on in jack smith's office at this moment. we do know the trump lawyers as ken noted are meeting with the special counsel's team. it is unclear what exactly this meeting is about, though. we do know that historically and previously trump has been extremely reticent to cooperate, hasn't wanted his lawyers to make the case about why he shouldn't be charged with the mar-a-lago documents, for example. his lawyers at the time, they had -- instead of advocating for the special counsel not to charge trump, they went in there, in their meeting with jack smith, and actually tried to argue that there was prosecutorial misconduct. and that the case overall, what was unfair and because of this misconduct they had claimed that he had acted inappropriately to a lawyer representing a trump ally, that there should be some repercussions there. so it is -- something big is in

the air, jose, and we're watching and we're waiting. >> ken dilanian and jackie alemany, thank you, both, very much. this morning, new fallout after a twist in a delaware courtroom, when a plea deal involving president biden's son hunter literally just fell apart. in an unexpected development, hunter biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges wednesday after a judge raised issues over the parameters of his plea deal

with the justice department. joining us now with more is nbc news investigative correspondent tom winter, and catherine christian, a former assistant district attorney of the manhattan d.a.'s office. she is an msnbc legal analyst, so, tom, what is next for the hunter biden case? >> well, jose, you might remember it was about 24 hours ago i came out of the courthouse and said to you there was no deal. but they were going to take a ten-minute recess to try to determine whether or not there could be an agreement on some of the issues that the judge raised and some of the clear differences that the defense for hunter biden, led by chris clark and federal prosecutors had. they were, in fact, able to come to an agreement, but ultimately the judge says i'm not going to accept or reject this deal. she had some different concerns than what we were talking about yesterday morning. as far as what's next, the two sides need to try to figure out here whether there is a way to address her concerns to redraft the language of the agreement

and some of the paragraphs that she had a concern with, including the pretrial diversion agreement, and get to a point where they think that will satisfy the judge, and if so, get right back in that courtroom, right back where the sketch was taken yesterday, and try to do this all over again. now, there is, of course, a chance, even though it probably is not very likely, that they don't come to an agreement and then the trial process starts here. and the trial clock begins. so, it will be interesting to see where things go over the coming couple of days and weeks. it could take some time. we have to watch the docket carefully. also try to get a better sense of what's going on with this ongoing investigation. prosecutors had said it before, we have seen no signs of it based on our reporting, but yesterday they were quite concrete that they're continuing to look into some things and i think with the benefit of time and the fact we're able to get a transcript, it is clear that from 2014 to 2019 on matters related to tax, drug use and gun

possession, those crimes in those years, if this plea agreement is expected, you know what, jose, i think we need to go to you on another -- >> yes. if you would. i apologize for the interruption, tom and catherine. we have breaking news in the special counsel's election interference case. i want to bring in nbc news' correspondent garrett haake. what do we know? >> reporter: well, jose, we're able to report now from two sources with direct knowledge of the situation that two of donald trump's attorneys have just been meeting with the special counsel here in the office building behind me. we saw very similar meeting a few days before the announcement in the classified -- the announcement of an indictment in the classified documents case came through. as tom and others have outlined, this is the kind of thing you see with attorneys coming in to try to do a last minute negotiation, convince prosecutors not to make charges against their client. we don't know the specifics of this meeting here, but it was widely reported that the attorneys were seen arriving

here, shortly around 10:00 this morning. we believe -- we believe we just saw them depart about 11:00 today after what we know was a meeting with the special counsel's office to discuss the possibility, the strong possibility of an indictment of their client later today. it is our understanding that these lawyers have been told, have been told to expect an indictment against former president trump related to the elections investigation possibly as soon as today. jose? >> garrett, thank you. i want to bring back catherine christian, former assistant district attorney at the manhattan d.a.'s office, msnbc legal analyst. just hearing this, this confirmation now by garrett haake, what does it tell you? >> well, as you said, sort of a last minute please don't indict my client meeting. i'm surprised it didn't happen earlier, right after he received he, meaning donald trump, a target letter. typically, that's when you --

you know, you try to plead your case on behalf of your client. so, you know, this is -- they should have done this, they're doing it now because you want to make sure as a defense attorney you can tell your client that you have done everything you could to prevent, you know, the inevitable from happening and it didn't work. so i think the inevitable will happen in this case, but it hasn't happened yet, so i don't want to, you know, make a prediction, but i think this is the last-minute attempt. >> and so, catherine, we don't know if necessarily the -- any of the trump legal team did in fact meet before this morning with smith's team. could it be that there have been more than one meeting? because it does seem unusual for this meeting to be the only one carried out, just moments before, possibly, the indictment is revealed. >> i agree. as i said, i would be surprised

to find that it took this long to actually have a meeting. now, there may have been conversations over the phone, exchange of letters, and shockingly it wasn't leaked that we didn't know about it. so, as you put it, there may have been other conversations and it wasn't just today at the last minute that this occurred. so, you know, hopefully the reporting will let us, you know, find that out, because i would be surprised if they waited this long to actually speak to the special counsel. >> and, remembering that, of course, all this information comes out of donald trump, who is the one who said i received that target letter, that sunday. garrett, is there any confirmation that the trump team should be expecting an indictment? >> well, look, that's what we're hearing from our sources here now, three sources saying that was conveyed during this meeting today. but obviously the transmission

of a target letter a week ago is the strongest confirmation of an expected indictment as all of our contributors and prosecutors indicated. it is exceedingly rare for someone to receive a letter like the one donald trump said he received more than a week ago and not have federal charges follow thereafter. so, that's been the north star in guiding how we have approached this. i should say also that, you know, people close to donald trump, his allies, both politically and legally, have been make the case to their colleagues, and sort of more broadly that they expect this is coming. it has become part of his campaign message. donald trump, since several months ago, but especially since the receipt of this letter, has been running on the idea that he is being targeted and he expects to be indicted. and he's using it as an opportunity to argue that he's being indicted on behalf of his supporters. i think the trump campaign and the kind of broader orbit of his allies in congress and politically have been expecting this for some time as a matter

of when, not a matter of if. >> and, catherine, just thinking on your vast experience, traditionally normally the process of a target letter being sent out, and then meeting the defendants' lawyers meeting with the grand jury folks or at least with the doj in this case. what is the process as far as the days, weeks, hours? >> it depends. it could be you meet and then the next day the same day, the next week, the prosecutor goes into the grand jury and says at this time, members of the grand jury, i leave you to liberate and vote. that's typically how it's done. you do a long-term investigation, you want to make sure you have crossed all your ts, dotted all your is. if you've given the defense an opportunity to speak, you can make sure for justice sake we spoke, you know to the defense, we decided we're still going to

proceed with an indictment, and now we're going to ask the grand jurors to deliberate and vote. so it could happen today. it could happen next week. i can't imagine there is anything that mr. trump's defense attorneys would say that would stop the special counsel from seeking the indictment. stranger things have happened, but i think it is inevitable that they will seek and vote out this indictment against mr. trump, no matter what his defense attorneys tell them. >> tom winter, garrett haake and catherine christian, thank you very much. up next, scary moments on capitol hill when senator mitch mcconnell froze up during a press conference. we got the latest on what happened. we're back in 60 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. u diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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mitch mcconnell, the 81-year-old senate minority leader was addressing reporters when he froze midsentence for about 20 seconds before being walked away by other lawmakers. here's that moment. >> this week has been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of -- >> joining us now from capitol hill is nbc's ali vitali. good morning. this happened yesterday. we're also learning of another fall he had earlier this month? >> reporter: that's exactly right. you can't look at yesterday without seeing the last few months in their totality in regards to senate minority leader mitch mcconnell's health. you'll remember, of course, back in march that he fell leaving a fund-raiser, that resulted in fractured ribs and a concussion. he was out of work for several weeks as he recovered from that. then we recently reported that in recent weeks while he was

traveling, he fell during that time. and, of course, it comes now in the culmination of yesterday, that really concerning moment in a weekly press conference that he does with reporters, he did come back and aides tell us he was feeling light headed, so he left, he came back, he did question and answer with reporters. he seemed like himself and told reporters then, i'm fine. he reiterated that last night too. watch what he told us. >> the president called to check on me. i told him i got -- >> how you feeling now, sir? how you feeling now? >> i'm fine. >> have you seen a doctor or anything? >> any idea what happened? >> what? >> any idea what happened? >> i'm fine. >> dehydrated? >> got to watch those sandbags. >> reporter: sense of humor there in tact, jose. he's referencing the fact that president biden himself fell or tripped over a sandbag, in the last few weeks. the fact he's now making a joke of that i think speaks to the tone and tenor he's trying to

apply to this situation now that it is clear he is okay. nevertheless, there is still some lingering questions including whether or not he saw a doctor and whether or not this is an indication of anything in the future that people should be concerned about. i'll tell you, in talking to senators and talking to sources here publicly, his colleagues are certainly projecting confidence in him, saying that in the words of ted cruz he is as stubborn as a mule, he'll be around the halls continuing in his capacity as the top sitting republican. i think sources will be a little more candid and recognize the fact this is someone who over the last few months seems to be showing signs of age and that is something that i think is weighing on his conference. look, publicly, a lot of confidence behind mcconnell as the top republican in the senate. >> and, ali, he's back on the floor today. >> reporter: back on the floor today and, again, seeming like himself. you saw in that clip there he has this sense of humor, he's still clearly talking with reporters. i think, again, the question we have and it is unclear that

we'll get any kind of an answer to this is whether or not he saw a doctor and what exactly happened yesterday. again, the explanation we were given in real time after that incident is that he felt light headed. you see there too, as he was standing at the podium, he was gripping on to it, you watch his colleagues come to his aid and ask are you okay, do you want to keep talking to the press? it is important to note he came back and he does seem to be fine. >> ali vitali on capitol hill. thank you very much. up next, we'll break down the latest gdp report coming a day after the fed's decision to raise interest rates to the highest level in more than 20 years. we'll speak with congressman ro khanna about that. plus, the hearing about ufos on capitol hill. some pretty amazing discussions going on there. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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26 past the hour. positive news about the state of our economy. new growth figures released this morning for the second quarter of the year show the economy expanded by an annual rate of 2.4% between april and june. yesterday the fed raised interest rates to their highest levels in 22 years. cnbc's dominic chu is with us this morning. great seeing you. what do these numbers mean for us? >> what it could mean is all kinds of different things for consumers, us, jose, good and not so good. from a bigger picture

perspective, it is outright good that the economy continues to grow. the country is obviously better off when americans are working, spending, saving, investing. that gross domestic product growth shows there has been a balance being struck. that figure is the initial read on second quarter gdp, three separate figures in initial ones, which we got this morning, a revised one later on down the line and a final one. now, here's where things get trickier. when you juxtapose that data with the fed's rate decision yesterday, by a quarter percentage point higher, it shows that the economy and inflation are still running hot enough where the fed has to stay vigilant on tapping those economic breaks by way of raising interest rates. and by the way, by doing so, you raise the cost of borrowing and anyone that uses credit or debt, that means any potential credit card balances, home loans, auto loans, are going to go higher in costs, so if you're in the market for a car, a house, looking to make a bigger purchase you need to finance,

you will be paying more in interest. but the good news here is raising interest rates can also help lower the cost of goods and services, so when the rates rise, cash gets taken out of the economy, lower activity, it means food may cost less, gasoline may start to cost less, so trying to figure that balance out, jose, is what it is all about. keeping the economy growing, modestly, while making sure lower to middle income americans are not disproportionately affected and burdened by the effects of higher goods and services costs, jose. >> the price of oil has been going up, right, the last couple of months? >> gasoline has been going up. there is seasonal factors out there, more demand out there as well. it remains to be seen whether that inflation starts to tick up again. that's the reason why the fed has to stay vigilant on these types of things because if we do start to see fuel costs rise, which, by the way, has been deflationary over the course of the last year, if food costs are

to rise again, then the fed may have to start looking at whether or not future interest rate hikes are at least appropriate some time down this fall or winter. >> dominic chu, always with great explanations, thank you very much. with us now to continue our conversation is california congressman ro khanna, he sits on the armed services committee and is a member of the select committee on the strategic competition between the u.s. and the chinese communist party. congressman, always a pleasure to see you. i thank you [?k25ñ for your time. we are just hearing from dom, tell us about this good --

>> so the pentagon reacted.

>> there are a lot of unanswered questions, i don't know. i have humility to say i don't know what is out there, and whether there are aliens or not, but we need to just continue the human inquiry and the more research into figuring out the universe. it is a complex universe and a lot of questions. >> do you think that the government has responsibility to be more transparent about what they do and do not know, what they do or do not have in their presence or is this kind of just science fiction? >> i think the government should be transparent. i assume they're transparent. certainly any briefings i've had, classified or unclassified, i don't have any more information on this topic than any other american. but, if there are people with higher level clearance that know things, they should be transparent.

it is a huge question for humanity. and i would say be as transparent as possible. >> congressman ro khanna, i always appreciate your time. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, thank you for always having me. >> thanks. up next, new this morning, scientists now say that this july is on track to be earth's hottest month ever recorded. and this relentless heat has turned deadly. we're going to also hear from farm workers who say they have been collapsing in the fields. we have been talking about this. i think it is important we refocus on this. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. n 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 so i didn't think i needed swiffer, until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that!

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25 heat-related deaths so far this year. the brutal conditions are particularly dangerous. folks who spend the day outside, like farm workers, this month a farm worker in arizona and another one in florida died after working under severe temperatures in the fields. they were both in their 20s. nbc's guad venegas visited the agricultural fields in homestead, florida and saw the conditions, firsthand. these men and women do such essential work for our country, for our economy. what is it like for them? >> reporter: jose, i should say one of those workers you just mentioned was working in an area nearby here in south florida. so i should start by saying, jose, that as we reported throughout july and beaches, tourist areas around here, downtowns and, of course, now here in the fields, state authorities here sent alerts to floridians and tourists to make

sure they took breaks in the shade and drank enough water if they were exposed to the sun or doing outside activities. now, you can see behind me, this is a nursery out here. there is no shade. and the fields where we recorded video this week, of course, there is no shade. so during the exact same time when state authorities were telling people to stay away from the sun, if possible, these workers were out here from 7:00, 8:00 a.m., to 4:00, 5:00 p.m. working in that extreme heat. i spent all week talking to some of the workers and this is what they had to say about what it has been like for them this past month. >> reporter: she covers, this protects her back.

>> reporter: now, both of those workers and some other workers that i spoke to also told me that the most common symptom from this extreme heat are the headaches, jose. they say there is an increase in headaches at the end of the day. i should also add that the farm workers association in florida paired up with health experts from emory university in 2015 and 2016. now, they conducted a study with farm workers here in the homestead area, and they found during these two years that at the beginning of their shifts, about 53% of the farm workers would arrive dehydrated. at the end of the shift, 81% of them would be dehydrated. now, here's what they also found. they found that with every increase of five degrees in the temperature, jose, there is an increase of 47% in the odds that these workers suffer acute

kidney injuries. so the science is there of the dangers that these workers are exposed to. and you and i know that the biggest issue with this industry is that many of these workers unauthorized or undocumented and scared to speak up and ask for the right working conditions that could make things safer for them. jose? >> absolutely. guad, a lot of these places like where you are today actually run by people who at one time had different immigration status. they're all working together on this, but is this such a dangerous reality? guad venegas, thank you for bringing us this very important subject. appreciate it. up next, back to our breaking news in d.c. former president trump's attorneys have met with the special counsel team. we'll have a live update next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. u diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. (bridget) with thyroid eye disease i hid from the camera. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help...

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ get it with gurus. cargurus. breaking news moments ago, nbc news learned former president donald trump's attorneys have been told by special counsel jack smith's office to expect an indictment against the former president. back with us, nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian. what is your latest hearing, what are you latest hearing on all of this? >> jose, it is starting to look like today is going to be a very important day. obviously, you know, we can't say anything with certainty as we learned yesterday in the hunter biden situation, the best

laid plans, federal prosecutors can blow up in their face, depending on how things transpire. this is a secret process. what we do know is trump attorneys, todd blanche and john laurel did go to the special counsel's office, away from the justice department where i am, and meet with jack smith and his team today and they were told to expect an indictment of their client, former president donald trump. and we know that the grand jury is meeting today, grand jurors were spotted quite early, actually, this morning, at the courthouse in washington, d.c. and so it is very possible and many people are expecting that they would vote to indict today and then we may see that indictment today. and what i find interesting about this whole process is that it appears that the special counsel is operating differently than the way they did with the mar-a-lago indictment where they clearly informed the trump team that it was happening. and trump made it public on truth social. in fact, after the indictment was handed up, trump was the one that announced it to the world.

it seemed like the special counsel doesn't want that to happen this time. but we'll have to wait and see, jose? >> so, how would an indictment be announced? do we know? >> well, there are a lot of ways it can happen. you know, every day at the justice department news releases are issued announcing indictments. and they generally -- they land in my inbox and there is a summary of the case. and then there is a copy of the indictment that is posted for everyone to see because that indictment was just unsealed. so, what would happen, though, you know, technically is the grand jury would vote, and then that indictment would have to be handed up is the term, handed up. that has to happen in open court. generally happens before federal magistrate. so, a member of the special counsel's team would walk over into the courtroom and hand up an indictment. in d.c., i'm told the practice is to announce the initials. they'll say, do you have an indictment and the grand juror, usually the foreperson, would

say, yes, we have one against d.t., for example. it is not clear they'll do that in this case. whether that's a custom, not a rule. and it is very possible that they would find a way to do this in a courtroom with reporters wouldn't discover. we're watching for that. at that point there would have either been a request by the prosecutors to seal the indictment, in which case it would be dealed, or not. it is very possible that that indictment could be unsealed and in which case it would quickly become a public record as soon as the d.c. clerk makes it public and posts it to the electronic federal court website known as pacer. and also puts it in the clerk's office for anyone to see. so, that could happen. or it could be sealed for some period of time. if it is sealed, it has to be unsealed by order of a judge, so we'll, again, we'll have to wait and see. >> ken dilanian, thank you for that explanation and that is certainly the legal aspect of this. i want to talk about other aspects as well. i want to say hello to former

rnc chairman michael steele, who is an msnbc political analyst. good to see you, my friend, always. michael, your reaction to this moment. >> you know, it is profoundly sad in so many respects, you know, that, you know, we had a president, now former president drag the country to this point. and, you know, you have a lot of people in my party that want -- don't want us to focus on that. they want to blame everybody else except the guy that's the center of the indictment. the guy who is the one being brought up on charges. the individual whose behavior is the reason we're having these conversations. no one told donald trump to hide them and prevent the documents from being returned, except donald trump. and so the reality of it is, for the country, it is a profoundly sad moment that we have been brought to this point, to this precipice for yet another

indictment of a former president. and so i think what we have to do collectively is wrap our heads around the idea of how we move on from this. republican party clearly has no way to do that. they don't have anyone who is positioned to take him down. they won't give the mantle to someone like chris christie, who is prepared to go against trump. they tried with an individual like ron desantis who is not built for the moment. here you are. so now we have to look to see how else we move beyond this moment. that's what this upcoming election is going to be about, in part, is how we move beyond this moment when you have one party that's stuck on keeping us here by standing behind someone who clearly is unfit for office. >> and yet, michael, we are seeing that -- i'm thinking, trump save america fund-raising is actually raising money off this. this is something that is

incentivizing or at least causing some people to support the former president because of what is going on. >> yeah. >> how do you explain that? >> it speaks to the effectiveness of donald trump's hold on the party. which is why all the other machinations notwithstanding are just a joke. at the end of the day, i guarantee you this indictment comes, his numbers will go up among republicans. you will have the lineup of candidates running against him who will give him cover, who will defend him, because they want a piece of those dollars that are coming in from those voters who are supporting trump. they ultimately want those voters to support them. here is the rub. why would they? why would they move off of trump if they're giving him their

vote, giving him their money, what makes you think they are going to come off of him by another indictment by the deep state and support you? that's the conundrum the party finds itself in. it's not the donors. this is not a donor-driven party anymore, it's not establishment-driven party. this is a raw party that's driven by a base that's really wanting to move in a different direction. how do you peel off of that when they want to go this way and everybody else wants to go that way? >> michael steele, thank you very much. >> take care. coming up, new reporting, the number of migrants with children crossing the southern border has nearly tripled in the last two months. i will have the details next. tide is busting laundry's biggest myth... that cold water can't clean. cold water, on those stains?

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turning to an nbc news exclusive. the number of migrant families are children crossing the southern border into the u.s. has nearly tripled in the past two months. the data reveals that while single adults make up the biggest group of arrivals, families with kids are the fastest growing demographic of undocumented people crossing into the u.s. joining us now with more is homeland security correspondent julia ainsley. good morning. do we know why we're seeing the increase in families with kids? >> reporter: actually, it was predicted. i remember when i was down there when title 42 was lifting. i was asking people at the border, is it time you can sleep well at night, you no longer have this crisis? watch the families. that's what we did. it shows that since early june, the family numbers have nearly tripled. they have gotten higher and

higher. i have talked to some ngos who see this from a 30,000 foot view as well as shelter workers who say a lot of the families who have been waiting for appointments for asylum have grown desperate in the heat, being outside, not being able to get shelter, and also with the violence going on in northern mexico. they are the ones who feel that they are the most vulnerable and it's time to come. families were kept out under title 42. many families were blocked or returned back to mexico while they allowed unaccompanied children to come in. people say, now families are no longer incentivized to break apart. that's a good thing. you will see more families. some conservative critics say it's because the biden administration is not detaining families while they are detaining single adults. that could incentivize people to travel with young children. the biden administration, although bringing that back, they decided it was inhumane. the numbers at what the levels

we saw pre-title 42. this could lead us back to high numbers at the border and it could impact a vulnerable population because they have young children. >> the justice department filed that preliminary injunction in the texas buoy case. what do we know? >> reporter: that's right. what they are asking the judge to do is to order texas to remove those buoys while this case plays out. it's unclear if that will happen. they say it's posing such a problem, both to the operations at the border, mainly to public safety. they think it could lead to more drownings along that 1,000 foot area in the rio grande. >> julia, thank you very much. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can watch highlights from today's show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with

more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," indictment watch. could today be the day that special counsel jack smith brings charges against donald trump on accusations he tried to steal the election? the grand jury meeting behind closed doors right now. courtroom drama. how the hunter biden plea deal unraveled. 143 million people under a heat alert from california to maine. the new steps president biden is about to announce to keep workers safe as the temperatures rise. growing questions about mitch mcconnell's health after the 81-year-old freezes mid-sentence for 19 seconds during a live news conference yesterday. fellow lawmakers ushering him away.