what recovery looks like right now, already tens of millions of dollars in aid have been approved by fema. that number is expected to go up as people continue to fill out applications and make phone calls to them or visit them at community centers, and the governor says that by today, as much as 90% of the power could be back on, ana. >> thank you for shedding that light and reminder to all who want more information, you can go on to fema's website. they have a rumor response page there for you. that is going to do it for us today. you can come back tomorrow. i hope you will. same time, same place. we will be here. catch our show online and around the clock and be sure to tune in noon today for a press conference with alejandro mayorkas for a news report.

jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. hurricane milton is bearing barreling toward florida as one of the recent hurricanes in recent history and dangerous category 4 storm is churning north of mexico's yucatan peninsula. milton is set to make landfall in florida late wednesday in to thursday and it's expected to trigger a life-threatening storm surge and it could be the worst storm to hit the tampa area in more than a century. the mayor saying if you choose to stay, you're going to die. joining us is our meteorologist. how are people preparing there? >> you can probably see some of those preparation efforts happening as we speak.

this is outside of -- this is normally a busy wharf and completely shut down. flood protection barriers are outside of these businesses. people bracing so that they can protect the businesses that are here. we are seeing these kinds of efforts all around tampa. i want to take you to some of what we saw in treasure island that is outside of pinellas county. we saw people picking up debris, homeowners shoveling their prized belongings and possessions, things once inside of their home are now pieces of trash that could become dangerous and could become lethal projectiles in wind so you don't want them surging in a storm surge. there are efforts around the area to get the debris and secure it so it doesn't become deadly during hurricane helene. one thing i noticed speaking to people on the ground is the fatigue and shock. it was under two weeks ago they

were making all of these preparations for helene and here they are again. here is what we heard from one resident. >> just overwhelming. >> yeah. two hurricanes back to back. it will be a war zone. 160-mile-an-hour winds hitting the shore, 12-foot surgery, for me it's come back and rebuild. >> kind of sounds like you're in a state of shock. >> i am. we have been dealing with this for a week now. right? we are still trying to clear out stuff. it's devastating. >> reporter: i am seeing that is different from what we were noticing right before hurricane helene versus what we are seeing right now are the evacuation efforts. we are seeing those clogged highways and interstates, slow moving traffic on the way out ironing further north, further south to safer and higher ground. we are hearing from first responders, the people that are doing the door knocking and those particularly those low lying areas, zone a, they are

saying they are not getting the same pushback that they were before. i've even reached out to people that i knew who were hunkering down during hurricane helene were sending me devastation inside their home and one woman decided to ride out helene from her mobile home. the last image she sent me was a couple of inches that made it to her elevated mobile home. she reached out to me two days later saying she was okay. i asked her are you staying for hurricane milton? she said, no, we learned our lesson from helene and we are making our way out and that is what i'm hearing on the ground. >> thank you very much there in tampa. let's go over where milton is right now and where it's expected to go. >> we haven't seen a lot of change and messaging the past couple of days with how dangerous and serious this storm is as it approaches the coast of florida. the latest update from the

national hurricane center, category 4. a strong category 4, a weaker cat 5 is not really the same kind of impacts are going to ensue the next 48 hours. it's moving a little slower and northeast at 9 miles per hour but we are still talking about 500 miles from tampa. here is the latest track. notice keeping it a category 4 but i don't want you to focus so much on that category because the impacts are going to remain the same. it's going to go over some really warm water here in parts of the gulf of mexico. we could see strengthening and see potentially maybe some weakening but that focus on the weakening isn't going to change the fact that we still got the storm surge and really strong winds and where exactly the center of that system is, is going to make a big difference on how impactful those kind of scenarios are for folks across parts of west florida. the timing stays the same. wednesday, late into the day, we will start to see things deteriorating across the west coast. unfortunately, when we get after dark into the overnight hours is

when we likely will see landfall somewhere on that tampa bay area, maybe sarasota. a couple of things have changed the past 24 hours. we saw how rapidly the system intensified yesterday. it underwent an i wall replacement cycle. that means it's taking a breath and restructuring and then it gets going again. when that happens, we see that wind field expand and this is why most of the state of florida is under these hurricane watches and warnings because we have the potential to see some really strong damaging winds. yesterday 200 miles -- today, rather 200 miles wide. as we get closer to the approach to the coast, 375 miles for the tropical storm winds and impact across the state of florida that that regard. when it comes to the center of the system goes onshore maybe a difference of 60, 70 miles who could see devastating historic storm surge up to 15 feet in

some spots and some less than that. still life-threatening and the tampa bay area and down towards sarasota. whether it's a cat 4 or 3, either way the big push of water will not change. we are still going to get historic storm surge and 10 to 15 feet some the highest there. the high tide is peaking for tampa bay around 6:00 in the morning, 7:00 in the morning on thursday. that is not going to make a big difference when you see the landfall overall night but it makes some difference when it comes to that push of water adding on to the massive amounts of water shoved against the shore. here is what we see as far as storm surge. this is our most concerning situation and what kills the most amount of people in situations like this. you can see the st. petersburg area. if this track goes across the sunshine skyway bridge along 275 from st. pete to bradenton up to 6 to 9 to 15 feet. if it takes a southern track and

goes a little farther south where the right side, that right front quadrant of the system is impacting bradenton the worst of the storm surge will be there. we are splitting hairs and why we are not trying to restructure exactly where we are in this region. if you are in these evacuation zones, you essentially need to leave. the time is kind of ticking for that. when it comes to the inland flooding, it's a little different than helene and not quite as significant as we saw with helene but 5, 10, 15 inches of rain and spread across this region and we will seal the potential for these strong winds as well. 90 to 100-mile-per-hour winds and especially wherever the center of that system comes on show system comes on show. following the evacuation warns and impact will impact in across the state of florida and isolated tornadoes as the system works across the state is going to be impactful as well through your thursday.

>> so very quickly. this looks like it could very well still be a hurricane as it crosses the entire state of florida heading out and passing near the orlando area. the i-4 corridor looks like it's one of the areas that this storm could take. if you take to "uss a little bit about that. for the folks who don't know, angie has deep studies in hurricanes. she has been really focused on that in much of her career. and so what is it that you see in this hurricane, angie, that is different from all of the others? then, if you would, refer to the whole i-4 corridor area. >> to be perfectly honest with everybody, i went to school in florida. i spent seven years at the nbc station in miami and i grew up going to a home i still have property on one of the barrier islands in pinellas county. to put it lightly, i have been very impacted by the situation that is unfolded with milton.

jose, you're exactly right. we do see those -- notice how these hurricane-force winds are spread across the entirety of the state. florida not that wide so it's not hard to see some of those destructive winds but you're right with it maintaining that category 1 strength as it goes across the state of florida. so that means that, yes, the storm surge is a major concern along the coast for the west coast of florida but if you live in orlando, the space coast, melbourne, satellite beach, all of those locations will likely see the potential for strong winds, at least hurricane force. 50 to 70-mile-per-hour winds you see trees coming down and they can fall on homes, fall on cars. we don't want you to be on the road at those points. those are impacts. the tornadoes are something we have to deal with across the region and, jose, we saw some of those additional watches and warnings tropical storm watches and warnings issued for jacksonville and points north of that. on the back side of this system, once it goes over out over the

water, we start to see those wrap-around winds. that is going to make a major difference for the storm surge and the flooding and rainfall we see there on top of those strong winds. a multifaceted event and historic one at that and no signs of any improvements honestly with this forecast. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it, angie. >> joining us now is javon graham, emergency manager for clearwater, florida. thank you very much for joining us. how are you preparing for milton? >> we are doing the best we can. this is a very large storm and it could have disastrous effects so we are trying to take every mitigation effort we can and clear the debris from the last event which is still on the ground and push the messaging of evacuation. we want people to get out of this area. it could be a life-threatening and death dealing threat and want people to take it serious. >> how much of helene's

aftermath are you still dealing with at this hour? >> oh, a lot! like we said earlier, there is a lot of vegetaive degree for our beach area and barrier islands. we have sand 6, 12, 15 feet high! a ton of debris on the ground and we are afraid it can become projectiles that we are trying to clean and get rid of, however, it's still there. a lot of sand and a lot of debris and items still on the curbs and on the streets that we are still trying to get out of the way today but it's just an impossible task. >> i mean, when you say up to 12 feet of sand still there, you know, talk to us about storm surge and the danger for the entire area. >> well, that is a good point to make because we still have a lot of sand, even a lot of our storm water systems that were cleared are still blocked up. so if you went through helene and dealt with that storm surge, this is twice as bad so the flooding will be twice as bad. a lot of our systems are still compromised and are not ready in time.

we want people to take this serious because this could be -- this will be worse than what we dealt with ever before. >> so, you know, what you all do and what you all have done for so long, your level of service and your level of concern and your level of even after effects is so extraordinary. what is your message to your residents at this hour? >> heed the warnings. if you had damage during helene, don't stay. we have ordered evacuations a, b, and c. if you can't go to a shelter, leave the immediate storm. this storm is disastrous and will kim people and take it seriously and evacuate the area. >> so a lot of people are saying, oh, boy. you know, how far do i go? how, you know, i don't have gas. the gas stations have mile long lines and i don't have enough gas. they don't have to necessarily evacuate 400 miles. >> correct.

we are pushing tens of miles, not hundreds of miles. get to an area that is out of the evacuation zone and get to a hard structure. streets are blocking up. gas stations are running out of fuel. you just need to get out of the storm surge because storm is the biggest thing that will kill you but we have the high winds. get to a hardened structure definitely out of harm's way. >> thank you very much. i know you have not slept and you have not slept for many, many days now. i very much appreciate your being with us this morning. all of the best to you and all of the residents that you serve. >> thank you very much. coming up, as we continue to track milton and the recovery efforts from helene, scientist bill nigh joins us to tell us why the storms are more intense and devastating. we are four weeks from the election. we got new revelations about the relationship between former president trump and vladimir putin. what trump allegedly secretly

said to vladimir putin at the height of the covid pandemic and what vice president paris had to say on "60 minutes" when asked about the border policy. we are back in 90 seconds. you're watch "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ports" on msn. ooh, those suds got game. dawn powerwash. the better grease getter. when was the last time you checked in on your heart? with kardiamobile, the personal ekg device, you can check it from home using your smartphone. i use kardiamobile every day. sometimes twice a day. every morning i check, make sure i'm in good shape. and it makes me feel pretty good about my heart condition. it's a complete game-changer. i mean, you might as well be in a doctor's office. there's a way that i can communicate with patients now

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leadership vladimir putin. in the last few minutes, msnbc obtained a copy of bob woodward's latest book entitled "war." joining us now is msnbc correspondent von hilliard. what does this book say about the relationship specifically between trump and putin? there is a lot more in this book. >> right. we just god our hands on a copy of it and currently reading it in real-time and making our way through. two different parts as it pertains to russian president vladimir putin. bob woodward said a republican 2024 nominee has spoken with vladimir putin seven times since leaving the white house in 2021 and it is not clear exactly when those specific seven phone conversations took place. i want to note that we have reached out to multiple trump

officials here in the last half-hour about that specific claim and we are not heard anything back at this time. another part really to vladimir putin going back to 2020. bob woodward details in this book that former president trump, the then sitting president account, secretly sent putin avid covid test machines for his personal use as the virus spread rapidly through russia and he said, quote, don't tell anybody i sent these to you. he said, fine. putin said, no, i don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. they don't care about me. this is from bob woodward in his null released book that has been published. we are still making our way through. i do want to know the trump team and campaign has issued a broad denial of the statement in which they write, in part, quote, none of these made-up stories by bob woodward are true and the work of a truly and demented and

deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of trump derangement syndrome. the reporting that trump had seven conversations with vladimir putin, they have denied that. >> president biden discussed with prime minister benjamin netanyahu a whole series of issues in that book? >> exactly. distinct frustration earlier this spring in which he used pejorative or a bulgarity to describe netanyahu. him referring to netanyahu as a bad guy. this has played out into the "60 minutes" interview we watched with kamala harris last night when she side-stepped the

question about the ally to the united states. in the frustrations between the biden and harris administration and the relations with the actions and the decisions coming out of prime minister netanyahu's office. >> any reaction that we know of from the white house as to these statements? >> at this point in time, you're asking me and i have not seen a statement at that time, but we will come back to you if we get one, jose. >> von hilliard, thank you very much. appreciate it. election day is four weeks away and both candidates are wrapping up their campaign pushes. harris has appearances on "the view" "howard stern show" and "late show with stephen colbert." new polling out this morning shows the vice president three percentage points ahead of donald trump nationally among likely voters. it's within the margin of error

and what continues to be a deeply competitive race. joining us now is kayla gardner, white house correspondent at bloomberg and former governor of ohio, john kasich, a republican, also an msnbc an lit. what is the message for harris today as she continues on this media blitz? >> yeah. the vice president is doing back-to-back interviews in new york city today. she just joined "the view" moments ago, one of the most watched talk shows in the country. she will be "the late show with stephen colbert" and they are trying to tune into people that don't tune in day-to-day. as we are in the final stretch here, she also did this, call her daddy podcast, really an audience with a large number of young women and people really in the middle of the country, the

midwest, that the host alex cooper is from pennsylvania which is, of course, a very crucial state so they are really trying to get their message out to a broader number of people and people maybe not attending hearing about that's rallies but still tuning in. >> last night's "60 minutes" interview the vice president was pressed on the administration's border issue. listen. >> was it a mistake to kind of allow that flood to happen in the first place? >> i think -- the policies that we have been proposing are about fixing a problem, not promoting a problem. okay? >> but the numbers did quadruple. >> and the numbers today, because of what we have done, we have cut the flow of illegal immigration by half and we have cut the flow fentanyl by half but we need congress to be able to act and to actually fix the problem.

>> what do you think of her response in this or her response, you know, plural to these questions? >> well, i think that it's consistent with something that kamala harris has ahead verbally a long time which she is not a big fan of people complaining about a problem. she wants to know how you are going to fix it. and when you have a bipartisan bill that was negotiated by folks in the republican party and the democratic party that could have been put up for a vote but wasn't because donald trump wanted to run on talking about the problem, that is an issue that american voters need to understand in this particular moment. there was an opportunity to fix some of these issues and the congress did not act because donald trump wanted to play political football with the issue. i would also add, in my opinion, the focus on immigration as one

of the most important issues and i think it's almost cyclical, people are saying immigration is an important issue and as media folks were talking about immigration every single day, it's a proxy for something else. when people think about the issue of immigration, there are people out there who immediately think of somebody who is not white and i think that donald trump really saying the quiet part outloud recently saying that those folks that are coming in have, quote, bad genes, we really need to be talking about in the way that donald trump is exploiting some folks' fears about the changing demographics in this country towards a minority where the electorate is minority nonwhite -- white, excuse me. >> i'm sorry to interrupt you. i want to go to the white house. president biden is just been

speaking about his -- all of the efforts that are under way for this upcoming hurricane. let's go right to the white house. >> direct the team to do everything they can to save lives. thanks for your patience. as you know, i put out a statement this morning. i'm cancelling my trip to germany and to africa. we are going to try to rework those out later. but i just don't think i can be out of the country at this time. number one. number two, we -- we're going to stay focused on what is ahead of us right now. i've been briefed by senior leaders of this administration and we are driving up preparedness for hurricane milton which could be one of the worst storms in a 100 years in florida. and continued efforts on hurricane helene.

i directed this team to do everything it can to save lives and our communities and help our communities before, during, and after extreme weather events and that is being done. that is being done. i've spoken to all of the political leaders in the region, some of them more than once, and they -- i've told them anything they ask for, they can get. they have been given and we have gotten a positive response from everyone from the governors of florida up to north carolina. and mayors and leaders and local leaders have expressed their sincere gratitude for the work of fema and to the work of my entire administration. now, i've also surged thousands of personnel on the ground across the southeast already and deliver every available resources as fast as possible. and my priority is to increase the size and presence of our

effort. as we prepare for another catastrophic storm to make landfall, i've been in constant conversation with ken graham who has kept me informed the last several days what to anticipate. you never know until it happens but very engaged. he made clear to me just how dangerous this storm is, indicating that winds had reached up to 180 miles an hour. that is not guaranteed it could hit the shore at 180 miles an hour but they have reached up to 180 miles an hour. possible storm surge, as it hits the coast of florida, of 15 feet which could be devastating. the current path is to affect the tampa bay area and cut directly across the state east-to-west across the state for the potential of the storm to enter florida as a hurricane and leave florida as a hurricane on the atlantic coast. this could be the worst storm to

hit florida in over a century. god willing, it won't be, but that is what it's looking like right now. i immediately approved a pre-landfall declarations in the state of florida. second one in a week. second time in a week. there were two before that, by the way. and i sent fema administrator chris well down to florida yesterday to work intensively with the state and local partners as prepare to employ more resources and to continue their work between florida and north carolina the coming days. i'm calling on the airlines and other companies to provide as much service as possible to accommodate evacuations and not to engage in price gouging. just do it on the level. last night, i spoke again with the governor of florida desantis and tampa mayor caster and i made it clear to them, they should reach out including to me

directly with everything else they may need as they see the storm hits. i gave them my personal number to contact me here at the white house. most importantly, i've urged everyone, everyone currently located in hurricane milton's path to listen to local official and follow safety instructions. you all have been reporter on the highways and shoulder is open and everybody is heading out. if you're under an evacuation order, you should evacuate now. now, now. you should have already evacuated. it's a matter of life and death. that is not hyperbole. it's a matter of life and death. fema has provided 300 ambulances of those people who can't 34506 themselves out of health care facilities and while we prepare for hurricane milton, we are surging resources in north carolina and georgia and south carolina, florida, tennessee to responds to hurricane helene. and it's real. the impact is still there. we are going to leave -- we are not going to leave until the job is done.

it's going to take time and before it's all over, it's going to take tens of billions of dollars to get it done. and kamala and i are keeping all of your in our prayers. there is a lot of people. the good news before we called you in, obviously, information that number of missing persons has been significantly reduced, a loss from the first hurricane. but we will have more information on that later. so that is the situation and we are not going leave until the job is finished and it will take a whim. >> sir, what is the risk of political figures sharing misinformation during this time? >> the pass -- is real but the fact of the matter is i think we have -- i've been able to contact all of the governors. they are sticking up for what they have asked for and pointing out that they are satisfied with everything they are getting. but i can't speak for others on

the internet. look. those who do it, do it to try to damage the administration. well, let us take care of ourselves but it misleads people. it puts people in circumstances where they panic, where they really, really worry. they think we are not being taken care of. it really is, it's going to sound in all phases, un-american. it really is. people are scared to death. people know their lives are at stake. all that they have worked for and all that they own and all that they value. it's just -- any way. [ inaudible question ] >> thank you. >> wait, wait, wait. plenty of time to talk about.

plenty of time to talk about what is going on and latin america and south america, in terms of amazon, and i'm talking today with my friend the chancellor of germany and we are going to try to work that out. we have contacted all of these people, okay? but i'm going to be on the phone today. i'm heading shortly when i get up from here, i'm heading out to wisconsin, to milwaukee, but i think we can -- i'm still planning on visiting all of the places i said i'd be and all of the conferences i said i would participate in. [ inaudible question ] >> the governor of florida has been cooperative. he says he has gotten all that he needs. i talked to him again yesterday. i said, no, you're doing a great job. it's all being done well. we thank you for it.

and i literally gave him my personal phone number to call. so i don't know -- there was a rough start in some places, but every governor, every governor from florida to north carolina have been fully cooperative and supportive and acknowledge what this team is doing and they are doing an incredible job. but we got a lot more to do. [ inaudible question ] >> thank you for your time. the press conference has come to an end. let's go. thank you. [ inaudible ]. >> just moments ago at the white house, the president of the united states with some comments and information on what has been the federal response to hurricane helene, as well as all of the things that are being already put in to place preparing for hurricane milton.

back with us is zirlina and the governor of ohio, john kasich, who is also an msnbc political analyst. john, you know, this is the kind of information by president of the united states that is so important and significant, and it's something that, quite frankly, needs to be seen and heard every time there is a natural disaster or anything else from the leader of the free world. >> yeah. absolutely, jose. i think he did a good job today. i was listening intently. could you imagine -- well, you know about these kinds of things. you've lived in the middle of these kinds of horrible storms. i just talking to somebody this morning. they were living in st. petersburg. they lost their car, a lot of storage that they had. they were on the fifth floor so they didn't lose that but now

they are worried about their building. she says now i'm in for another hit. it's just amazing. my wife and i were talking this morning, where are these climate deniers? what we know is that when the co2 ends up trapping things and creating a blanket on the atmosphere, it creates for more volatile, more violent, more frequent storms. and, you know, i'm not going to say that is all of this because these hurricane storms, you know, have been around forever. but they seem to be more violent and to have the president out there speaking clearly is great and to have political leader, somebody running for president to try to trash that and it does scare people. it causes confusion. we have to ignore that and we need to focus how we are going to help our friends and neighbors when this storm hits. let's say a prayer that somehow is looks loses its potency. we are all waiting to see what is going to happen here. he did a good job today.

>> yeah. i think he did as well. and, it's so important to just take that beat and if one prays, one should pray for the people there in that part of florida because, john, i mean, this. this is a hurricane that is not going to be taking a side glance to florida. it looks like it's going head-on as a 4 or more right in to, you know, tampa bay or bradenton or venus beach. you know, all of that area that has already been affected. i'm wondering even in this, there have to be that play politics? even in this? >> no, it's a very important point. i think, also, i want to say as the daughter of two pastors that i have prayed today for the people that are in the path of this hurricane. i think it's a reminder to all of us that while we tend to view

most things through a political lens, there is just -- we want human beings to be able to survive and live and thrive and be safe with their families, and that is why you shouldn't play politics with things like this. it reminds me of the moment during the trump administration when he shark beat over the poster to change the path of a hurricane. we are talking about incredibly important issues. it's literally life and death in certain circumstances and we need our leaders to believe in science, to believe that climate change is real, and to address these issues with humility, frankly, and just listen to the experts and make sure that people have clear and accurate information to keep themselves and their families safe. jose? >> yeah. >> jose, one other -- if i could. >> go ahead.

sure. >> one other point. the issue of public health where you're now having a debate everything about public health. the answer to, that the key to that is to make sure that science is there and up-to-date and policies carried out is what we know from science. but, you know, this is all because we become so polarized. people have become -- many people -- not everybody -- have become cynical that we are, you know, looking to attack something else. and when we are talking about candidates and all that, that is one thing, but when we are talking about the lives of our people, that is at whole other issue. jose, it's important that the voices are out there telling the truth and being strong in terms of what they have to say. >> thank you both so very much. very much appreciated. >> thank you. up next, what appears to be a coordinated attack against israeli a day after memorials for the more than 1,200 people

killed on october 7th, one year ago. we will also speak to the father of a u.s./israeli citizen still looking for answers about what happened to his son that day. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. c diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. hayden: the fact st. jude will take care of all this, this is what's keeping my baby girl alive. chelsea: it's everything for us. we wouldn't know what to do.

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we are following new developments out of the middle east. one day after the first anniversary of the october

massacre. earlier today, sirens rang through israeli where hundred rockets were identified crossing into israeli territory. this morning israeli's defense minister announced that hezbollah's presumed leader is also probably dead. forces are expanding their ground operation there but hezbollah's deputy leader said they search for reach a cease-fire with israeli. joining us is erin mclaughlin. what do we know about all of these developments, erin? >> reporter: they are potentially significant. the deputy chief of hezbollah and he is one of the few surviving leaders of the militant group. today, he released a statement that aired on lebanese television and in that statement, he said that les blah

-- hezbollah is open to the lebanese government to secure a cease-fire and perhaps most significant is what he didn't say. he did not say on the condition that there is a cease-fire in gaza. long seen as a sticking point in this conflict. and it comes on the very same day that israeli announced an expansion of its ground invasion, currently concentrated in the west, now expanding east for the first time deploying israeli reserves to that end. we also heard from the israeli defense minister say they likely killed hassan nasrallah last week. rockets are fired the last 24 hours toward northern israeli and three making it through israeli's defense system and striking an area but no casualties from that attack. collectively all of these developments sort of raise the

question -- how long will israeli's ground invasion last? how far are they going to go until a potential cease-fire is reached? now that the deputy chief of hezbollah is signaling that he is open to it. jose? >> erin mclaughlin, thank you very much. joining us now is ruby hen, father of idf soldier who was dual u.s. citizen, one of the seven u.s. hostages held by hamas. thank you for being with us again. i know what is a very difficult week for you and your family and an impossibly difficult year that one can't even fathom what you have been going through. how are you today? >> well, that is a difficult question. i don't think you would have thought that we would be doing in itay's absence.

i'll try to answer it in a different way, if i may. i listened yesterday at the one-year anniversary to the state department vice secretary, matthew miller. the first thing he opened up his opening comments was stating the seven u.s. hostages by name, including my son. and then there was an hour of questions and not one question was about the u.s. hostages. and the feeling that makes us feel is invisible, less of a priority, and i would maybe even challenge and say, you know, israeli from day one has said the way they get to a cease-fire is to release the hostages. and that hasn't changed and where are we on the hostage deal? >> ruby, it's so interesting what you tell us about, that

press conference appearance, right? because it says a lot about the -- sometimes, there is a lot more said about the silence than the questions that are asked. and so i'm just wondering, with so much silence -- and it's almost as though, you know, for the jewish people, that has been something almost a constant, right? the silencing. the avoiding. trying to keep their reality from being heard and respected. and i'm just wondering, with so much silence, what is it that you think we could all do you to bring the light of information on issues of such importance, like what happened to your son?

where are those other 100 hostages? what happened to them? how can we, ruby, help shine the light of information? >> it's an awesome question and i doubt we will be able to deep dive into that now, jose, but i will share that we, you know, have a weekly conversation with a white house representative and we had one on sunday and i asked him an odd question, but something that i would like to share with the viewers. you know, we, on these calls have been u.s. citizens, families for a long time. and a month ago, magically, we suddenly became seven. and i asked this white house representative, what has changed in the policy? we have seen the execution of a

u.s. citizen. what has changed in the policy? and i don't think that i got a really honest answer of how they felt when they saw, you know, the news about the killing of hush but where is the change? and i think that is a question that i would also ask the state department and anyone else. and i would say we are towards the ends of this administration. i would even call out to president biden to one of the last things that he does, come here to the middle east. get everybody in the same room as you, do it in egypt, do it in tel aviv, wherever, and get the deal done. if not, do it the other way. camp david, nobody is out until a deal is done. this is a u.s. interest to get stability in the region of the middle east. and as we have been saying for one year, the key to get to that

stability is the hostages. he ry i remind my american citizens, no doctors visiting, being held captive. we have no idea who was killed and who is not. after one year, the administration needs to find a way to get to the finish line. >> ruby, running out of time. i see you there and right behind you is that smiling boy of yours that so enjoyed being a new yorker. as a father i'm wondering, how do you -- ruby, how do you keep going when other people tell you stories or news or even that maybe his fate is not the one that one would hope and pray for, how do you keep going, ruby, and that smile, that kid is just so powerful?

>> jose, i'm sure you would agree with me that we have an obligation to our kids. my obligation is bringing him back. whatever status it might be. he needs to come back. being pessimistic is not an option. yeah, what happened last month, that was one to the gut. but i don't see any other option, jose. we need to get everybody behind this. i call again on my senators, my congressmen to do more, find creative ways to get this to the finish line. i would like to share we met with the secretary of treasury yellen last time i was in d.c. it's not just military pressure. it's economic sanctions. i did my homework beforehand.

money is flowing into hamas, still flowing into gaza from nato allies of the united states, from gulf countries in the middle east. if you don't suck out that oxygen, there's no pressure on them to cut a deal if they will pay to militants, operators, then it's not working. we're supposed to have a follow-up meeting with the secretary's team. i'm waiting to hear more sanctions, not just about hamas. iran. they are helping them function. how do we go after iran in a way that there is accountability for failed negotiations? today we don't see that accountability. >> ruby, i thank you very much for being with us. very much appreciate your time. >> thank you, jose. thank you for having me. i hope we don't need to do this in a second year.

>> that's something that we both share very, very strongly. ruby, thanks. we'll be right back. we'll be right back.

55 past the hour. happening now, hurricane milton continues to churn in the gulf of mexico as a category 4. it took 18 hours to go from a category 1 to 5. joining us now with more is bill nye. it's a pleasure to see you. very difficult times we are talking about today. milton went from a tropical storm to cat 5 in just over a day. hurricanes are nothing new. this level of intensity is so unusual, bill. >> it's unusual. scientifically interesting. very, very troubling. my heart goes out -- our hearts go out to everybody who is affected and will be affected, not just by what's happening now but what has happened. they are probably going to

retire the names both helene and milton. here is the striking thing. the hurricane is coming from the southwest going to the northeast not from the southeast going to the northwest. it's going through a part of the gulf of mexico that has this extraordinary thing called the loop current. it reminds me very much of gears spinning together where one gear drives the other gear. so the hurricane naturally has a counterclockwise spin in the northern hemisphere through this remarkable thing. then it's getting amplified by this spin of the sea right there, the gulf of mexico. you have probably been to clearwater, florida. clearwater, florida, gets its name because of the way the sediment settles because of the way the current spins through there. this current is going to help

amplify this hurricane. it's even going to spin off tornadoes on the outer edge. this is a very, very big storm. the whole thing is driven by the heat of the ocean in the gulf of mexico. everybody has been talking about this literally for decades. here it's really happening so quickly. this warm water provides all this energy to these storms. the cool air -- the relatively cool air around drives it up. water vapor comes out of solution, it's rain, the heat is released at high altitude and this causes the spin. the spin of the earth causes the whole thing to go around. look, jose, when it comes to things like space exploration, i do my best to be political but not partisan. where do we apply our intellect and treasure? when we're on msnbc, i'm happy to be here, a big fan. we are talking to people who are generally like minded.

anybody out there who has young voters in your world, in your family, this is it, everybody. the other side, as we often call it, has no plans to address climate change, no plans for long-term dealing with these sorts of problems. if you have young voters out there, encourage them to vote. people say, what can i do about climate change? if we were talking about it, associating it with big storms like this, that would be really good. the main thing is vote. thank you. >> bill, very quickly, how much of an impact do you see climate change playing? all of these explanations you have given us, you know, how much do you see climate change as being a part of that? >> it's no question, everybody. look in climate science, everybody has been studying this

for years. everybody has been commenting, scientific papers have been written about how warm the ocean is around the florida peninsula. it's this warm, warm water that is driving these storms, enabling it to intensify so quickly. everybody, be careful out there. let's get through this. >> bill, thank you very much. appreciate your time. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on social media @jdbalart. you can watch clips from this show. up next, homeland security secretary mayorkas joins andrea mitchell. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," florida bracing for hurricane milton, a