while his 4-year-old zoo pal xin bao is more playful, little bit more mischievous. they will make their public debut today at noon pacific time. experts say that the pair like, like each other. so maybe we'll see some cubs in the future. that does it for us today. thank you so much for joining us. i'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. for now, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. we begin with the 2024 race for the white house. in a couple of hours former president trump is set to hold a news conference at mar-a-lago here in florida. it comes as vice president harris and her running mate governor walz are making their swing state blitz. they're going to hold another

event in battleground michigan as they seek to strengthen their grassroots support. brand-new polling out this morning from marquette university shows harris leading trump among likely voters 53% to 47%. still within the margin of error. in his first interview since getting out of the race, here's what president biden had to say when asked if he thinks there will be a peaceful transfer of power in january, 2025. >> if trump wins, no, i'm not confident at all. i mean, if trump loses, i'm not confident at all. he means what he says. we don't take him seriously. >> joining us dasha burns and jasmine wright, reporter at "notice." what can we expect to hear from the former president today? >> it will be interesting, jose. look, he has not been out on the campaign trail this week. instead hiss running mate j.d. vance has been doing the counterprogramming to harris and walz. vance said their strategy is,

quote, divide and conquer, when asked about why former president trump wasn't out there with him. and he has not been in the headlines at least not for anything positive this week. and recently harris and walz have been very much in the spotlight. it's something that isn't -- the former president isn't used to. so look for him today to reclaim the spotlight, to try to garner some headlines, and to try to build up a contrast that potentially makes news as he pivots has strategy to a new ticket, to harris and walz. a very different ticket than he was running against before president biden dropped out. and you have seen him, jose, in real time try to recalibrate, try to use different attacks to see what might stick for voters. expect to see some of that today. >> and jasmine, is the vice president planning on holding her own news conference any time soon? >> yeah, i think that is

actually the question of the hour. so it is not that she hasn't engaged press, but it's been on the vice president's own terms as kind of it has been for the last three years that she's been vice president. she goes back and talks to the press on the plane. those are typically off-the-record comments. if she does want to make a statement on the news of the day, we've seen her approach the press waiting under the wing of air force two to give a statement. then she turns away before questions, before answering any questions. and so i think that the public is expecting or certainly the media is expecting for her to engage more with reporters now that she has replaced biden at the top of the ticket. now i know just covering her the last really six years that her engagements with the press are varied. certainly as she's been vice president we've known that we've seen some damaging moments when her speaking to the press, particularly that first interview she did in 2021 with lester holt about her work on

immigration. so i think that that is something that's always been on the mind of her office and the vice president herself, of course, we've reported that she has been doing media training over the -- her vice presidency. i think that that's the major question. and that in time -- time is running short for her to kind of present herself in front of the media. >> yeah. although she's been doing a very good job of presenting herself in front of thousands of people in events throughout and much of these very critical states. she has -- yesterday michigan, jasmine, she was interrupted by protesters at her rally there, thousands of people there. some protesters chanted things like, you know, you can't hide, we don't vote for genocide and free palestine. here's how she responded. take a listen. >> you know what, if you want donald trump to win, then say that. otherwise i'm speaking.

[ cheers ] >> what do you make of that moment? >> yeah, jose. it's funny because after i saw that clip, i texted some of my other former inbeds and said raise your hand if you heard her with that question. she is a prosecutor, and she wants to come across strong, and she wants to have her voice heard. now before that clip happened, she actually did listen to the protesters. she has been empathetic with pro-gaza protesters since october 7th. and i think that's something you can expect to continue. it's certainly going to raise a question of potentially why she wasn't more prepared or why she didn't take a more -- agreeable route maybe with these protesters, particularly knowing how difficult it was for biden to regroup credibility with them after his actions post october 7th. really that was kind of a -- a

thorn in his side when he had those major rallies. protesters continued to prop up and disrupt. so i think that they're going to have to really calculate how they want her to respond in these moments. obviously they don't want to offend these pro-gaza protesters. but the vice president also wants to be able to deliver her message to those 12,000, 15,000 rallies where people really want to hear her speak. >> i mean, and dasha, lastly, former president trump has recently criticized harris' running mate, minnesota governor walz, over his handling of the george floyd protests back in 2020. nbc got a new audio from june, 2020. what does that audio tell us? >> reporter: yeah. this is part of that real-time recalibration i've been talking about as they're trying out different attacks. the former president has been criticizing governor walz over his response. he and his allies have been posting on line, he posted to truth social saying that governor walz, quote, let

minnesota burn in the aftermath. but we got some new audio of him praising governor walz in the aftermath and during those riots. take a listen. >> i know governor walz is on the phone, and we spoke. and i fully agree with the way he handled it the last couple of days. i spoke to the governor. the governor is, i think, on the call, and he's an excellent guy. and all of a sudden -- and i said, you got to use the national guard in big numbers. they didn't at first. >> reporter: so now the trump campaign is defending those comments. his spokesperson telling us that days after the riots began, that was when the phone call happened, and that president trump acknowledged governor walz for finally taking action to end the violence in the city and reiterating the former president's talking points, criticizing how the governor handled that and saying he let minnesota burn after the former president offered to deploy soldiers after cries for help from the mayor of minneapolis.

jose? >> dasha burns and jasmine wright, thank you both. we are also following breaking news on tropical storm debby. it's making its second landfall overnight. the storm triggered tornado watches in several states. one person has died after a possible twister touched down near raleigh, north carolina. tearing through this middle school. debby is expected to move inland, generating flood alerts, stretching nearly 1,000 miles. joining us nbc's marisa parra from wilson county, north carolina, and nbc meteorologist bill karins. what are you seeing there today? >> reporter: hey, so we are seeing the winds picking up, the rain has been picking up on and off. and we expect that to be more or less what we see here on the ground. so we're in wilson county, and this is about an hour east of raleigh, north carolina. the reason that we are on this particular street is this is where we believe a possible tropical tornado struck. there is severe damage up and

down this street. several homes including the one behind me, this particular home behind me, the second floor collapsed right on top of the first floor. there were search and rescue teams all morning that we've been here looking for a man they believed was inside. and unfortunately he was not found alive. and so hopefully you can see video of what we have seen on the ground throughout our morning, beyond where we're standing. and it's such an important reminder because when we talk about the danger of tropical storm systems, yes, debby is moving at a crawl, sometimes five miles per hour, sometimes seven miles per hour. and it was a weak hurricane when it was a hurricane. but this is still a deadly storm. we have seen that not just with the tornado. we saw, of course, this fatality here, and this has been a risk from the very start. today is the most severe tornado risk since debby first made landfall earlier this week. of course the flood risk. this is a super soaker. we've been talking about the flooding all throughout florida and of course now north

carolina. we've seen video, several feet of flooding in places like bladenboro, north carolina, two to three feet we know. our correspondent priscilla thompson has been doing reporting from there. there were several rescues. so far no report of injuries. all of this is part of why it's so important to stay off the roads if you don't have to be on the roads, and places like north carolina, there's tree branches coming down as i speak. we might have to move out of here. all of this is such an important reminder of why it is important to take these warnings seriously. as this storm continues to move north, jose, we're looking at north carolina and virginia which, of course, our weather teams can speak to. >> marissa parra, thank you so very much. let's speak with our weather team. the head of that weather team, bill, where is debby headed now? i want to ask you after this, though, about the whole heat advisory for the entire state of florida today. let's check in on debby right

now. >> okay. so the first thing with debby is the storm is finally starting to move. up to ten miles per hour. from here on out the storm will accelerate and race up the east coast. that minimizes the threat as far as the heavy rainfall, the fast moving storms, the less rain it can produce in any one area. we have to worry about the tornadoes. here's the update from the national hurricane center. it's just about done being a tropical storm. the next advisory will likely be a tropical depression. and if it gets ten miles per hour, it will cross the next two hours or so from south carolina into north carolina. all of eastern north carolina, from raleigh to the outer banks, is under that tornado watch until 1:00. this will likely be extended later this afternoon. does include virginia beach up here. probably the next update may include the richmond area. and as far as tornadoes go, we definitely had a couple strong ones last night. obviously you saw the damage from one of those. i think we had a couple. as far as right now, we don't have any tornado warnings. here's the raleigh area. as we've been watching these thunderstorm cells moving in, they can produce weak tissues

right -- tornadoes right through the afternoon. flooding has been a huge deal. many areas picked up three to six inches of rain overnight. everywhere maroon, charlotte to raleigh to wilmington, you'll number a flash flood warning the entire way. that's why they're telling everyone to stay off the road. this will move northwards. the heavy wayne -- rain will push into virginia and the mountainous areas. i think we'll have significant problems with flash flooding, worried about roanoke, lynchburg, harrisburg. that will be more from like now until probably about, you know, 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. then the storm will accelerate northwards through northern new england. by friday night, the weekend is clear for everyone on the east coast. we have to get there first. it does look like a possible one to two inches additional rain around raleigh. thereis that heavy rain in virginia. isolated flooding after that pennsylvania and upstate new york. >> and so bill, taking a look -- no specifics, but you know, we're in 8th of august. i guess the end of august

beginning of september is the peak season, peak and -- for the hurricane season. how do things look just in general in the whole area? >> there's nothing that's like heading right here. there's no storm right behind us that we're going to be like look out. i think we get a break, then two weeks, ten days or so, there's the next wave that we'll have to start watching. that's typical. when we get to the peak, usually every week or every other week you'll have something to watch. there's nothing imminent. you mentioned the thing about florida and how hot it is. you have a strong west wind. the gulf is like record high, thanks to climate change. record high temperatures. so you have huge dew points coming in. and that's why yesterday i think tampa had 118 heat index. it's been ridiculously hot. >> the whole state of florida today is under heat advisory. that's really striking. bill karins, always a pleasure to speak with you. i thank you. >> thank you. up next, breaking details surrounding a possible terror

plot targeting taylor swift, her concerts in austria. there were three concerts, they've been canceled. and how the u.s. actually helped foil this attack. later, the mission was only supposed to last ten days. why these two astronauts could be stuck at the international space station until next year. and in paris as the olympics starts to wind down, we'll tell you which olympians have been chosen to be the u.s.''s flag bearers for the closing ceremony. we're back in 90 seconds. camilla tried the new scent of gain relax flings and it changed everything. (♪♪) hey dave, don't knock it 'til you smell it. new gain relax flings. what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul.com.

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15 past the hour. to europe and new developments about a terror plot that led to the cancelation of three taylor swift concerts in vienna, austria. authorities arrested two men who were planning attacks on major events in vienna including swift's concerts. the promoter of those concerts canceled the concerts out of concern for safety. so far the pop superstar has not commented on the cancelations. as you can imagine, the news comes as a huge disappointment from fans all over the world who look forward to seeing these concerts. >> the biggest understatement of my life, all three nights at the "eras tour" are canceled. >> the women in my family have been planning this trip for over a year. >> nbc's tom winter with more. the u.s. played a royal in foiling -- a role in foiling

this. >> we're heard from our london bureau and contacts speaking with the austrian authorities and getting details from them. the austrians say that this 19-year-old that they arrested, one of the three they took into custody, and they are still looking for potentially another individual or individuals who may have been aware of the plot, may not have been specifically involved in it. but according to the information on the 19-year-old, arrested in lower austria, and you see one of the briefings that happened earlier today in vienna. this individual had purchased chemicals that would have been used to build a tatp bomb, the type of explosive. it's a high explosive, it's also high in volatility meaning that it's difficult to create and difficult to transport. it's something that can be made from off-the-shelf components, things that you can buy in a store. apparently he did purchase some of those items but did not yet have a working explosive. however, we are told from the austrians and from people that have been briefed on this

investigation that the 19-year-old was really focused on this taylor swift concert that was coming up. not the artist specifically. there was not a plot against taylor swift herself, but certainly against the concert. in fact, one of his cohorts, alleged cohorts in this one, one of the individual taken into custody, worked for one of the companies that works at that facility where the concert was going to be held. you can imagine this, jose, you've got 65,000 people that are going to go into this concert. then you've got another 20,000 to 25,000 people that would be in vienna for the taylor swift weekend concert experience. of course vienna would be busy on any saturday when there's good weather and people are out and about in some of the plazas that they have there. this could have created a serious problem. to your point, we're understanding today that the u.s. intelligence community reached out to the austrians in a law enforcement-to-law enforcement contact, that's typically how this happens, and said you have a problem, this is where you should be looking for it.

that's how the austrians were eventually able to put surveillance on that 19-year-old. >> and tom, do we know anything more about the suspects? >> reporter: right. what we know is that they were radicalized on liners according to the austrians. they say the 19-year-old pledged his allegiance to isis in late july. that's yet another marker of why this was taken so seriously. we also know that they had knives, so the idea was even if they couldn't put the bomb together, they could have taken a knife and conducted an attack of some sort outside the stadium prior to security. so again, that's another concern that they had and a reason why we're told the austrians moved on these individuals in advance of this concert using their cobra unit which is this long gun unit, highly trained, highly specialized, and highly respected in the law enforcement community there in austria. >> tom winter, i thank you very much. really appreciate it. still ahead, the harris-walz campaign launching a pricey ad blitz today in several battleground states.

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24 past the hour. today in paris 27 medals are on the line at the olympics.

all eyes will be on track where sprinter noah lyles and hurdlers sydney mclaughlin and grant holloway will be competing. yesterday team usa's quincy hall powered past three runners in an epic finish to take the gold. what an amazing race. becoming the first american to win the 400 meter since 2008. team usa brought home two other gold medals yesterday with wins in wrestling and cycling. also this morning, team usa has selected its flag bearers for sunday's closing ceremony. it's going to be swimming legend katie ledecky and rowing sensation nick meade. and there is another u.s. team making history in paris. the artistic swimming team won silver yesterday. it's the first medal for the u.s. in that event in two decades. nbc's sam brock met the team and highlights one of those extraordinary athletes who just happens to be the daughter of one of my closest colleagues here at telemundo, fernando ramirez. sam, what did you learn?

>> reporter: jose, good morning. it's obviously an incredible story. you know, we think we understand the sacrifice it takes to get to the olympics, but then someone like the ramirez family comes and helps to define it. daniela left miami and her family at the age of 15 traveling thousands of miles away to train in california. they did that for years. they built up a program, just missed out on tokyo. just missed out on paris the first time at the pan-american games. then the magic happens, and the rest is history. artistic swimming is breathtaking, beautiful, and for daniella ramirez part of her blood lines. >> i'm a third, my grandma did water ballet and my mom, that's how she met my dad, a diver in venezuela. >> reporter: at the age of 4 -- >> synchronized swimming solo. >> reporter: the miami native could execute moves like these. a precursor to making the u.s. national team years later. even if it meant going all the

way to california at 15 years old to train. >> i was crowd surfing for a while trying to find a place to live. >> reporter: before her mom joined her. >> there's no way emotionally a girl that's 15 without the support of a family can train eight hours a day. >> reporter: all of it they hoped for a crack at history. >> they didn't qualify for the tokyo olympics. >> reporter: and this magical moment -- at the world aquatics championship in doha when team usa earned its first olympic berth in almost 20 years. daniella's expression everything to parents fernando and catalina. >> it was a face that i didn't -- against all odds, sleeping on couches, moving away from her family. >> reporter: it tells your family story in a way. >> it -- to me there's no word. she makes it to the olympics, it's my dream. she made it for me. >> see you in paris. >> reporter: now soaking in the surreal scenes of paris,

daughter and family alike. >> the pride is the family pride more than -- she kind of represents everything that we've worked for our whole lives. >> reporter: arguably the glue of the ramirez clan. >> okay -- >> reporter: daniella's social media videos on the goop she puts in her hair have turned on all kinds of new fans. >> going in your hair, what is that? how do you get it out? how are you not bald? >> reporter: hear followers also learning about her role as a base. >> i'm pushing up, she's all on me. they shoulders carry a lot. >> reporter: and how she hold her breath under water for 25 seconds at a time or more. >> co2 levels here and oxygen is fluctuating. >> reporter: daniella also breathing hope into the premise of the american dream. >> a great achievement for her, for us as immigrants and this beautiful country that's given us the opportunity to -- to be who we are. and for her to get that flag and

represent the united states, bring back the united states to where it belongs, win a medal, and i couldn't be more thankful and proud. >> reporter: you can hear his gratitude. and you know, part of what makes this so special watching how the athletes reacted after they won, definitely hugging people from different countries. we watched team usa take pictures with team spain who finished third. daniella talked me about the fact that previous team usas had reached out to them for support and guidance to let them know they had their backs. now they plan on doing that for the next set of swimmers, for future generations. this artistic swimming team is now the gold standard to those future athletes are going to be looking up to. jose, back to you. >> and sam, what a beautiful story of people, exiles and immigrants, following the american dream. i've criss-crossed the world with fernando, he's been my producer for over 20 years.

i've criss-crossed the world with him, all kinds of stories. anywhere he went he was always thinking about his family, he's got two daughters and a son. this girl who followed her dreams and is so representative of what is great with the united states and the american dream. >> reporter: she's the living representation of that family's dream. but you think about what's happening in venezuela. for so many other immigrants who have come to this country, they can achieve whatever they want to. she's proof of it. >> and it's the privilege of living in this country, as fernando stated. sam brock, thank you, my friend. appreciate it. next, what donald trump is now saying about the possibility of a debate with vice president kamala harris. and overseas, fear building of an all-out war in the mideast. the new warning from israel if its enemies target israeli

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34 past the hour. to the intensifying race for the white house between donald trump and vice president kamala harris. according to "the washington post," trump is set to propose another debate with vice president harris in the next couple of days after he originally backed out of a planned debate with abc. quote, trump is likely to return to abc news or propose a debate

on nbc news with telemundo, according to people close to him who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. the "post" says trump could make his proposals as early as this afternoon. nbc news has not confirmed this reporting. joining us now, ashley etienne, communications director for vice president kamala harris, with us republican governor john kasich from ohio, an msnbc political analyst. john, what kind of opportunity could this present for both sides? >> okay, let's go back to -- >> the campaign, the harris campaign is -- i do think that it's important to not -- >> john, i've got some -- some interference on your communications. let's fix that. i'm sorry about that, john. hold on a second. so ashley, let me ask you that question then. what opportunity could this give both sides? >> well, you know, it's clear that donald trump is shaking in

his boots and is fearful of debating kamala harris, and i know why. that's because she suffers no fools. it's going to be interesting to see them go head to head. so you know, every turn, twist and turn, and some other excuse why he can't debate her. but there's one thing that's consistent about donald trump is nothing unravels him more than a woman. and the other thing is he cannot back down from a fight. it's not consistent with his brain. i've knew this debate was going to happen. he needs it, she need it, the american people deserve it. he want the debate on his own terms, that he's fearful of debating kamala harris. i'm going quote her crowd at these rallies, bring it on. >> do you think it's something that she would -- that environment feel comfortable in? because you know -- it seems as though debates are so unique, right? and i know you've been, for example -- you know, and so talk to me about that aspect of her.

>> well, this is where her being a former prosecutor is going to work to her advantage. she knows -- she's very adept at taking complex issues, breaking them down into their individual parts, and presenting them in a way that the average person can understand how it affects their lives and how she's sort of solving their problems and their challenges. she's got the upper hand in this -- in this format. not just because she's an incredible debater and former prosecutor, but all of the issues work to her advantage. and the last debate, donald trump did himself absolutely no favors. he came out of that debate with no bump in terms of the polling. so the more, the more that people actually see of donald trump, the more they dislike him. the more they're reminded of why they dislike him. and i think it's going to be an incredible contrast to see this brilliant, beautiful, young woman standing next to someone who -- who's up in age, who's

angry, who prioritizes his own retribution over the needs of the american people. so having them, that contrast side by side, will tell the entire story. it's the future versus the past. >> that's interesting. and john, i think we've been able -- i don't know what was halving. there was some weird interference. it's done. i want to get your thoughts initially on -- >> probably ufos. >> the opportunity -- probably ufos. what kind of opportunity you think, john, this could present for both sides. >> well, look, i was listening to our guest here, and kamala harris and the debates against joe biden faded away. i don't think she's some great, incredible debater. we'll have to see. again, she had one big hit where she called biden out. but after that, she kind of disappeared from the stage and dropped out of the race. look, the situation to me, jose, is the republicans --

>> there was also, john -- john, if i could, i'm sorry to interrupt you. there were also nine people on that stage with her along -- i think it was in -- >> we're seeing today -- >> no. i understand. [ poor audio ] >> uh-oh. john, i got the interference again. i got the ufo interference again. john, i'm getting this weird ufo interference. let's continue. sorry about this. i just got that. anyway, go ahead. i think -- >> here's where i think we are. i think that the republicans were asleep at the switch. they didn't anticipate biden would leave the race, which i think is -- >> john -- john, i've got -- i'm sorry. there's -- i'm telling you, the weirdest thing. this is live tv, and this is the kind of stuff that happens. not often. but i apologize, but i just -- there's just too much weird interference. so ashley, let me ask you about

going forward. you were saying that she is a different campaigner or a different debater than she was four years ago? >> i think it's all the above. i mean, you -- today she's much more fortified and competent in who she is. she now has an incredible record that she can run on. again, she's got -- she's in this unprecedented space where she's not just a challenger but she's also an incumbent. so she's got this incredible record that has resonance with the american people that she can advance. but in addition to that, i just think that she's so much more confident in who she is and the challenges facing the nation, and what she has to offer and her vision for the country, compared to then. and a primary challenge is very different than a general election debate. it's very different. in a primary debate, you're really arguing on the now this is a direct contrast between the past and the future, between an administration that added $8 trillion to the

deficit, that had -- where we saw racial unrest and violence at an all-time high. you had a president who told people to take -- to drink bleach and, you know, million people died. so there's nothing -- the contrast is really working it our advantage. this is going to be a very different debate. again, she's a very different candidate than she was and a very different leader than she was then. she's now spent three to four years in that building learning the job. and she's become increasingly more fortified in who she is and what she has to offer the american people. and she now has gotten her stride and has her voice. so i think she's just going to perform exceptionally well in that -- in that format. donald trump's a horrible debater. there's nothing good about his as a debater. >> ashley, i did want to ask you about the issue of immigration and the humanitarian crisis at the border that no doubt will be an issue. how big of an issue is yet to be determined. but it's certainly going to be -- in the top three or four

issues of concern to the american people. so how important is it for the vice president to define her position on immigration, on the humanitarian crisis at the border? and how the future of the united states should deal with immigration but also with asylum. >> yeah. i mean, i will say this -- the narrative in this story is on her side. you know, the republicans walked away from a bipartisan deal which was a wish list for conservatives. joe biden and kamala harris had to step up and take action. they implemented an executive order that now has led to border crossings being down by 40%, lower than they were under the trump administration. she has some incredible initiatives that she's implemented to address the root causes that she needs to get out into the ethos -- to the bloodstream and let people know she raised $5 billion bringing

together public and private dollars and ngos. everyone who has a stake in addressing the root causes to the table to commit and make commitments to addressing and solving the problem. that's a narrative that's not been talked about. so she'll have an opportunity to talk about that. but you know, they had to get on the offense when it comes to this issue. the other advantage that she has is she's a child of immigrants. so she can speak to this issue and the value that immigrants bring to our nation in a way -- in a way that donald trump cannot, and that i think will -- will open her up and really soften people's sort of hearts to this particular issue and humanize this issue in a way that it hasn't been as of late, you know, with republicans who are tossing people around, sending them to martha's vineyard, and democratic states and objectifying people. so i think she's got an opportunity here to tell the story, to reset the narrative, and then really ground it in her own story. >> ashley, i thank you for being

with us. appreciate your time. >> i didn't know ufos were in the universe -- >> i was going to say, right? no ufo interference on this part of the conversation. john kasich had some other thing happening. i want to thank john for being with us, and we will fix that, whatever it is. ashley, thanks. up next, tensions are rising in the middle east. what we know as the world central kitchen announces one of its workers killed in an parks parent israeli strike -- an apparent israeli strike. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports". e. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com.

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49 past the hour now u.s. and western officials are urging iran to show restraint as the world awaits a response from tehran and hezbollah to the recent killing of top militant leader. the u.s.-based aid organization world central kitchen said that a palestinian staff member was killed in gaza. joining us now is retired admiral james stravidis commander of nato and msnbc chief international analyst. it's great seeing you. the u.s. and israel and allies were able to prevent large-scale devastation back in april when iran when iran launched the attack. do you think that could happen again? >> i do, jose. the fundamental reason is that neither iran nor israel really wants this conflict to expand. israel has its hands full in

hamas and gaza. the last thing they need is a major war up north with hezbollah. iran is trying to get a new president settled into office and is bleeding cash from their economy. neither side wants this to expand. i think it will probably stay within the bounds of what we saw last time. >> the prime minister of israel is addressing what his goal will be for the war with hamas. in "time," they write that netanyahu insists the goal in gaza must be a victory so decisive that when the fighting stops, hamas can make no claim to govern in palestinian territories or pose a threat to israel. do you think that's possible? >> i think ensuring that hamas can never pose a similar threat to israel is a goal that can be achieved. to do that, you have to decommission, blow up, flood

these tunnels. that's where these attacks came from in gaza. you have to sever the supply chain from iran. in terms of simply crushing the idea of hamas, again and again, we have learned these terrorist organizations don't have seven lives, they have 7 million lives. they keep coming back. you do what you can to destroy military capability. you bring in an additional force when necessary to respond to events. >> just the cost is so, so heavy. admiral, i want to turn your attention to venezuela, a place you know so well. you served as commander of u.s. southern command. maduro is in power in no small part because of how they have been able to make the military their own. is that military in venezuela

support for maduro ironclad? >> it appears to be. whether it's permanent are two different things. as the economy continues to go into freefall, i think over time, eventually, the resistance will be able to drive a wedge between maduro and his military. let's hope so. it's going to require the u.s. and other nations in the region. here i'm referring to mexico, brazil, columbia, all of them have a role to play in ensuring that maduro does not get away with this latest election stealing. >> yeah. and yet so far, mexico, brazil and others have been implying that they want to see how they can figure out a way to keep maduro in there. these efforts must continue. admiral, it's a pleasure to see you. i value your opinion.

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55 past the hour. today marks one year since a deadly maui wildfire that killed more than 100 people, left thousands without their homes and livelihoods. the anniversary comes a day after the fire department contained a two-acre fire. joining us is steve patterson. how have things changed over the last year? how are people there doing today? >> reporter: jose, good morning to you. there's no doubt about it, progress is being made on the

ground here. if you were to compare how it looks now to just a few months ago, unrecognizable. there's a vast amount of work happening on the ground. 90% of the debris has been cleared out of the fire zone, which means permits are going out, dozens of them. homes are being built back in the zone as we speak. you can see the studs, the framing of the plots that are on the ground. it's heartening to see, of course. we spoke to an army corps of engineer colonel working on some of the projects they are working on as we speak. listen to this. >> that, to me, makes all of this effort worthwhile. they will get back on their land, the place they hold special in their heart. we're happy as the federal government under fema's authority to be here to help them realize that dream to get back on their property. >> reporter: there are 20 or so homes going up.

that's 20 compared to the thousands that were lost, which speaks to some of the problems, some of the issues that residents continue to face. permanent housing, even viable solutions for temporary housing, for large families has been difficult. we speak to residents who say there's a significant amount of red tape, a significant amount of uncertainty for the families looking for a better solution. we are starting to see more of that temporary housing, more transitional housing pop up. that's some of the video you saw. there's still so much unease, so much fear left for residents who have a long way to go before they are in a place they can call safe. >> steve patterson, thank you very much. now to big news from space. two astronauts who launched on a boeing spaceliner in june for what they thought was a ten-day voyage to the international space station may not come home until next year. with us is tom costello. what is going on there? >> bottom line, they continue to

have problems with the boeing starliner spaceship, with the thruster engines. they are not performing the way they hoped. they are dealing with helium leaks. there has been this ongoing debate within nasa and boeing. is it safe to bring them back on starliner? increasingly, the thinking is no. at least within nasa. they are preparing for the possibility that they will not come home until february. they left in june. it was supposed to be a ten-day mission. it's been two months. they would stay on the station until february with the idea that they would come home on a crew 9 spacex mission, returning to earth after dropping off astronauts on the station. boeing doesn't like this. boeing released a statement. here is what the company says about its starliner spaceship.

bottom line, they want to make -- nasa wants to pak absolutely sure the astronauts' lives are not in jeopardy. they are not convinced of that right now. the final decision is up to bill nelson. >> at least six more months? >> six more months on the space station. think about that. they have blown through july 4th. labor day. thanksgiving. christmas, new year and into february. >> tom, great to see you. thank you very much. appreciate it. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the campaign script is flipped with vice president harris and her running mate tim walz drawing huge