our gabe gutierrez spoke to border officials. >> reporter: none of the passengers on this plane want to be here. it's called i.c.e. air, and those onboard are being deported right now, more than 100 migrants are being loaded from these buses onto this plane. they're bound for honduras since mid-may, the department of homeland security says it's repatriated 85,000 people that's up 65% compared to this same period last year. >> the department is sending a clear message about the consequences of coming to the united states seeking asylum improperly >> reporter: nbc news also getting rare access to this processing center in hidalgo, texas >> thank you very much, mr. chair. >> reporter: but this week, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas was grilled on capitol hill. >> you're the most dishonest witness that has ever appeared before the judiciary committee. >> you should be impeached. >> reporter: the administration touting a 42% drop in illegal crossings since the pandemic border restriction known as title 42 was lifted in may. >> our approach of expanding lawful pathways for pe

gabe gutierrez is here now live on set with the latest and more from the campaign trail?d that the trial in that classified documents case that special counsel jack smith brought against former president trump begin on may 20th, 2024 that's after most gop primaries. all this as his republican opponent so far is struggling to gain traction. [ applause ] tonight, florida governor ron desantis on the trail in utah as his presidential campaign plans a reboot >> we need to win this battle. >> reporter: campaign officials exclusively tell nbc news, the new aim would be to run more as an insurgent candidate rather than an incumbent governor and focus on leaner, more intimate events. campaign filings have shown the desantis team is burning through cash and has tapped out top donors. it's also fired about a dozen staffers leading to questions about whether his team hired too many people too quickly. >> no, look, i think at the end of the day, when you start, there's certain investments that you make >> reporter: the governor stitill doubling down on culture wars launching a state

he just spoke to gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, governor ron desantis in iowa under fire >> there's no silver lining in freedom -- in slavery >> reporter: his gop rival, tim scott, the only black republican senator slamming the state of florida for adopting new public school standards that teach how slaves developed skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit it's a line of attack first launched by vice president harris >> they want to replace history with lies >> reporter: another black republican member of congress, florida's byron donalds, who endorsed former president trump, has also criticized that portion of the new standard, but desantis argues that line has been taken out of context. >> i would also note some of those congressmen are putting out information that's totally false. you've got to be willing to stand up and fight back against false narratives, and that's what we do in florida every day. >> reporter: one of the scholars who helped develop the florida standards is also defending them. >> this curriculum is devoted to telling the trut

nbc has new reporting night about why recognizing the young girl now tot beginninthrts gabe gutierrez who's traveling with the formersident >> repor tonight despite his mounting legal battles former president trump's die hard supporters are rallying around him. what do you make of all the recent charges against him? >> i don't believe them for a minute. >> trump is it he's it. i was just telling everybody it's god, then trump >> reporter: his rally tonight here in erie, pennsylvania, coming just days after special counsel jack smith brought three new federal charges, alleging the former president tried to cover up the mishandling of classified documents at his mar-a-lago home by deleting surveillance video >> and i don't think they think the tape were even changed. these are all my tapes we gave to them. >> reporter: on stage tonight mr. trump defiant. >> these are ridiculous indictments and all they're doing is hoping for massive election interference. that's all they want to do. >> reporter: last night mr. trump joined a dozen other gop candidates in iowa's lincoln dinner only one f

lester. >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you. >>> in alabama charges announced today russell, whodmitted she made up the story about being kidnapped and seeing a child on a highway. russell is charged with two misdemeanors for falsely reporting those claim. she was arrested and freed on bond. she faces up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. >>> now to the record-breaking heat. nearly 150 million under alert from coast to coast with many in the midwest and northeast experiencing their hottest days of the year. miguel almaguer now with more on what researchers are learning to combat the heat. >> reporter: tonight as the northeast swelters through its hottest days of the year -- >> i don't like this weather. >> reporter: -- the heat index in cities like new york, washington, d.c., and philadelphia have all soared into the triple digits. >> i feel like my skin is sticky. >> reporter: with july expected to become the hottest month in history, today 35 states and d.c. are under heat alerts. climate change helping to push temperatures up to 20 degrees above average. as phoenix approache

let's go then to gabe gutierrez. of folks that thought, well, if there's an indictment that comes, this is a letter suggesting that one might be coming, there might be one from another campaign. ron desantis was asked about this, he responded to this, what did he tell you? >> reporter: good afternoon. yes, ron desantis here in columbia, south carolina earlier today, said several things including moving out his military policy. also the first candidate to file for the south carolina gop over nikki haley and tim scott. i did ask him about his response to this target letter. he was also asked by another reporter he first brushed it off he hadn't heard about the breaking news. i wanted to ask him if he thought that the actions by former president trump on january 6 were warranted. take a listen to his response. >> there's a difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things, like, for example, i think it was shown how he was in the white house and didn't do anything while things were going on. he sh

gabe gutierrez reports >> reporter: the new immigration law that took effect july 1st has prompted protests in florida. >> we are people too we are all people. we are not illegals. >> reporter: the state's republican governor, ron desantis, signed the bill in may just weeks before he announced his run for president. >> it's easier to come to this country illegally than it is legally. >> reporter: the law bans local governments from issuing i.d. cards to people who cannot prove citizenship. it requires hospitals that accept medicaid funds to ask about a patient's citizenship status it also increases penalties for people who hire or transport undocumented immigrants. and it expands the use of e-verify, a federal database employers can use to check a worker's immigration status. we recently asked the governor what he would tell desperate immigrants fleeing violence in their home countries governor, wouldn't you do what you could to protect your family >> once biden became president, he basically said, come. so they're coming. in that sense, i do have sympathy for the predicament they've found

coming up on "nightly news" gabe gutierrez digs into the illegal border crossing numbers and the way migrants are being removed. >> the human factor is always there. >> what migrants say about the app for applying to end the u.s. legally coming up with lester holt at 6:30. >>> people are finding solutions in old ways, even older creatures. joe rosato jr. >> reporter: the world knows napa as a destination for vineyards, food, nature. in the middle of the city where the pearl street bridge crosses the river, another kind of nature is carving out a name for itself. >> reporter: in between the cat tails and willow branches you'll find a diy dam. >> we have algae, mud, rocks. >> reporter: brock, of the objection accidental arts and ecology center, is an admirer of the architects. >> recently chewed down. >> reporter: the colony of briefers that makes its home on this stretch of river. >> we are in the city of napa. they're impounding the creek and increasing the depth of the water. >> reporter: beavers swim, forage and hide from predators. >> they stripped it off. >> beavers have sometime

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, homestead, florida. >>> let's talk more about this and more with anna navazeone with a lot of experience in florida, also with us, because he used to represent the state, former congressman carlos curbelo. what have you heard from folks about the new immigration law and how do you think it is going to play nationally? >> obviously the migrant community is very concerned. there is a lot of anxiety. but the business community specifically small businesses who rely on some of these workers because as people know there is a labor shortage in the united states, so, especially a lot of small farms in the state of florida, the agriculture industry relies on these workers, they're extremely concerned. and, yes, this could have an effect beyond florida's border because florida is a big ag state. people around the country think of beaches and theme parks when they think of florida, but florida is a major ag state that provides supplies the rest of the country, especially during the winter months. we could see some food shortages as a result of this as well. >> i would

nbc's gabe gutierrez was at a rally in erie, pennsylvania, last night. , good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. the rally was the first from the former president since charges were announced. whatever donald trump faces in a courtroom, he's using these events to work the court of public opinion. he's focusing not on the facts of these indictments but what he argues, without evidence, are the motives behind them. basking in unwavering support from his die-hard fans, former president trump defiantly lashed out at his critics in the mounting legal cases against him. >> these are ridiculous indictments. >> reporter: mr. trump rallying support in erie, pennsylvania, a key battleground state, days after special counsel jack smith brought three new federal charges, alleging the former president tried to cover up the mishandling of classified documents at his mar-a-lago estate by directing employees to delete surveillance video. what do you make of all the recent charges against him? >> i don't believe them for a minute. >> they're fake because they're

nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: republicans standing by mitch mcconnell. >> mitch is strongporter: but concern remaining after the senate minority leader froze for nearly 20 seconds wednesday before being led away from the cameras. later the 81-year-old brushing off health concerns and back on the senate floor. meanwhile, democrat senator dianne feinstein who at 90 is the oldest member of congress appearing confused in a committee meeting thursday interrupted after she began to make a speech when she was only supposed to say aye or nay on a bill. >> it funds priorities submitted -- >> yeah, just say aye. >> okay. just -- aye. >> reporter: feinstein's office saying the morning was chaotic and that the senator was preoccupied. feinstein has faced scrutiny since returning from a two-month medical leave for shingles. both she and mcconnell are among the nearly half of u.s. senators at or above 67, the retirement age for most americans. with the 2024 campaign ramping up, age is an issue that could increasingly play a role in how americans vote. president biden is 80, the gop fron

gabe gutierrez took a closer look. >> reporter: none of the passengers on this plane want to be here.are being loaded from the buses on to this plane. they are bound for honduras. since mid-may, the department of homeland security says it repatriated 85,000 people. that's up 65% compared to the same period last year. >> the department is sending a clear message about the consequences of coming into the united states seeking asylum improperly. >> reporter: this week, mr. mayorkas was grilled. >> you are the most dishonest witness that has ever appeared before this committee. >> you should be impeached. >> reporter: the administration touting a 42% in illegal crossings since the border restriction known as title 42 was lifted in may. >> our approach of expanding lawful pathways for people to reach the border and delivering consequences for those who arrive at our border irregularly is working. >> reporter: mayorkas says it's more orderly. the drop does not mean there's been a decline in migrants coming into the u.s. multiple law enforcement sources say the numbers are high. with republi

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, homestead, florida. >> joining me is maria theresa kumar, an msnbc contributorthank you for being with us. you have hospitals who accept medicaid asking about immigration status. a lot of people probably don't know but they can decline to answer the question. that's one of the facets here. what are your concerns about this new law? >> i think you hit the nail on the head. this creates a public health concern. imagine if you have someone who has covid and because they're afraid to come forward, they don't get the attention they need and they become a spreader. i say this not lightly out of a pandemic, but what ron desantis is trying to do, instead of coming up with the solution to the immigrants who have on average been here for over 20 years and are part of our community, he's trying to find an expedient way to run for office by scapegoating those who provide us with the very food on our table. i would encourage him to have conversations and come up with a platform of what does having the 11 million undocumented people come forward and how do you integrate them

as well as vaughn hillyard and gabe gutierrez.ing news ahead. former president donald trump the target of special counsel jack smith's january 6th probe. our legal experts are back with us to break it down next. try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. >>> we're back with the breaking news. nbc news has confirmed that former president donald trump received a target letter from special counsel jack smith on sunday, in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. let's get back to our panel, garrett haake, and in ft. pierce, florida. where the lawyers are there for another case. and now, joining us msnbc legal analyst, lisa ruben. garrett, do we know if anyone else in the january 6th probe has gotten a target letter? or is it just trump? >> from my reporting so far, it looks like donald trump. we got a spokesperson for rudy giuliani saying he has

left with difficult decisions, and it's now become an issue on the presidential campaign trail gabe gutierrez is in florida. >> reporter: 68-year-old tina zaro has paid off her home in lakeworth, florida and is living off social security. but her home insurance has skyrocketed by a whopping 130%. >> it's very scary but what do you do it's crazy just crazy >> reporter: now when her policy expires at the end of the year she'll drop it because she says she can't afford it, leaving her family even more worried about the next hurricane. >> well, i want everything for my mom. don't make me cry. i wish i could wave a magic wand and make it perfect. >> reporter: the issue taking center stage over the weekend as former president trump attacked florida governor ron desantis. >> because you have the highest insurance in the nation. >> reporter: last week farmers insurance said it would stop renewing almost a third of its policies in florida, affecting about 100,000 customers. aaa also says it would not renew some policies >> it's a national problem, but we have seen no solutions to deal with inflation o

gabe gutierrez sits down with florida's chief financial officer, and to find out what's being done to protect these homeowners. >>> let's talk about our weather. a beautiful day on the peninsula. this video south of half moon bay, cal ranch state beach today. great escape from the heat. warm temperatures, 90s around the bay area. but we have a bit of a respite, right? >> a cool down. tomorrow looks so much better. some areas could drop 20 degrees. >> that's quite the change. >> and that's going to be welcomed to a lot of you out there, certainly those low 100s, a little bit too much. we're looking at thunderstorms across california. let's take it into the micro climate weather on this monday. we're going to get you ready for the workweek and beyond. and you can see we still did have that hot weather inland, especially out towards inland, contra costa, alameda counties. 95 in concord. 98 in livermore, which did get to 100, and there's that trend. numbers stepping down as you head closer to the bay and the coast. 85 in san jose. 72 in san francisco and 61 in half moon bay. the thing tha

a controversial organization called moms for liberty that has risen to become a major player gabe gutierrez reports. >> reporter: tonight, in philadelphia, the latest battle in the culture wars >> they want to teach kids white history and erase anything else. >> they have messed with the right people, moms. >> reporter: the second annual convention for moms for liberty is drawing top republican presidential candidates >> don't mess with america's moms does that make sense i know exactly what they're talking about. >> 2024 is going to be the year when the parents across this country finally fight back [ applause ] [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: tina descovich and tiffany justice started the group in 2021 in florida as a way to fight covid restrictions, but since then, moms for liberty says it's expanded to 285 chapters across 44 states with more than 120,000 members. among other things, the organization now battles what it calls the indoctrination of children on topics such as race, gender, and sexuality. it's advocated removing what it deems inappropriate books from school libraries. >> we

nbc national correspondent gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: this morning, republicans standing bych mcconnell. >> he's strong, stubborn as a mule. >> reporter: the concern remaining after the cincinnati minority leader froze nearly 20 seconds wednesday before being led away from the cameras. later the 81-year-old brushing off health concerns and back on the senate floor. meanwhile, dianne feinstein, who at 90 is the oldest member of congress, appearing confused in a committee meeting thursday, sbrumtd sbruptded after she he gan to make a speech after she was supposed to say aye or no on a bill. >> it funds priorities submitted -- >> just say aye. >> okay. just -- aye. >> reporter: feinstein's office saying the morning was chaotic and that the senator was preoccupied. feinstein has faced scrutiny since returning from a two-month medical leave for shingles, though she and mcconnell are among the nearly half of u.s. senators at or above 67. the retirement age for most americans. with the 2024 campaign ramping up, age is an issue that could increasingly play a role in how americans vo

our gabe gutierrez is in florida. >> reporter: 68-year-old tina has paid off her home in lake wood, florida living off social security, but her home insurance has skyrocketed bay whopping 130%. >> it's very scary, but what do you do it's crazy, just crazy >> reporter: now, when her policy expires at the end of the year, she'll drop it, because she says she can't afford it, leaving her family even more worried about the next hurricane. >> i want everything for my mom. don't make me cry. i wish i could wave a magic wand and make it perfect. >> reporter: the issue taking center stage over the weekend as former president trump attacked florida governor ron desantis. >> because you have the highest insurance in the nation. >> reporter: last week, farmers insurance said it would stop renewing almost a third of its policies in florida, affecting about 100,000 customers. aaa also says it will not renewsom policies. >> it's a national problem but we've seen no solutions to deal with inflation or interest rates out of washington, d.c >> reporter: jimmy is florida's chief financial officer and a desan

joining us with more is vaughn hillyard, and gabe gutierrez is in south carolina.teele, an msnbc political analyst. governor desantis is on the trail in south carolina. is he reacting to any of this? >> yes, jose. in the past few moments we had a chance to ask governor desantis some questions as he rolled out his military policy in columbia, south carolina. he responded to the developments of the target letter. he had not been able to look at the breaking news. someone just told him about it. he doesn't know details of the letter. i asked him if he thought that what former president trump did was wrong? >> the difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things. for example, i think it was shown he was in the white house and didn't do anything while things were going on. h should have come out more forcefully. to try to criminalize that, that's a different issue entirely. we want to be in a situation where you don't have one side just constantly trying to put the other side in jail. unfortunately, that's what we're seeing now. >> that's the mos

in fact, there was a viral video yesterday that our gabe gutierrez had sent out, you know, of desantising about the sugar content in the ice cream. i think it is a better type of event for desantis, but he doesn't have at this point a real platform. we have not seen a ton of policy come out of him. we've seen him talk about what he is anti, so, you know, i expect to hear something about what he calls the woke mind virus and how he is against that. maybe he will try to find a way to connect with iowa voters in a way he hasn't yet. >> yeah, one way to win a voter is to scold them for the health choices of what they are eating. >> especially the kids. >> especially their kids. another candidate who put a lot in on iowa is mike pence. he is the one major candidate so far who has not yet qualified for the debate, which is a stunning thing for a former vice president. shows you how so many gop viewers view him as a turncoat for what he refused to do january 6th. what's the latest from pence and how they view the importance of tonight? >> i mean, it's critical for pence to start getting the k

nbc's gabe gutierrez was there. [ cheering ] >> reporter: former president trump defiant in his first public appearance since the new federal charges against him. >> if i weren't running i would have nobody coming after me, or if i was losing by a lot, i would have nobody coming after me. >> reporter: iowa's lincoln dinner drawing merely all gop presidential candidates. only one with this response. >> donald trump is running to stay out of prison, and if we were elect -- [ audience booing ] >> reporter: former texas congressman booed for rebuking mr. trump. others in the crowd looking for new options. >> definitely not trump fans. but other than that, it's kind of open for us still at this point. >> mr. president, will you take a few questions, sir? >> reporter: mr. trump taking no questions after special counsel jack smith brought three new charges this week alleging the former president sought a cover-up to conceal classified documents at his mar-a-lago home deleting surveillance video. mar-a-lago property manager carlos de la verifyia charged with making false statements to the fbi

let's bring in nbc news correspondent gabe gutierrez in des moines, iowa. atic strategist and former white house deputy assistant matt bennett. first to fwab, what should we expect tonight, gabe? >> reporter: hi there, ana, good morning. certainly that potential indictment will loom large over the lincoln dinner tonight. as you mentioned, 13 presidential hopefuls here, basically everybody except chris christie. this event will mark the first time that former president trump and governor ron desantis will be at the same event here in iowa. of course, this crucial early voting state. i spoke with some voters last night, some desantis supporters about why they are choosing governor desantis over former president trump, even though the former president still is enjoying a massive lead here in iowa. take a listen to what they had to say. >> i voted for trump and i support him 100%. >> but now perhaps desantis? >> yeah, just because i don't know if it's trump's fault he's got so much baggage, because the democrats just present too much baggage for him. >> reporter

here's a report from gabe gutierrez. gutierrez. we love trump. we love. trump >> former president trump to find his first public appearance since the federal charges against him. >> if i weren't running, i would have nobody coming after me. if i was losing by a, lot i would have nobody coming after me. >> i was lincoln dinner drive -- all the gop candidates, only one got this response. >> donald trump is running to stay out of prison. and if we elect -- former texas congressman, we'll, heard booed for rebuking mr. trump. >> others in the crowd, looking for new options. definitely not trump fans. but other than that, it is kind of open for at this point. >> can you take a few questions? mister president? >> mr. trump took no questions at the event. after special counsel, jack, smith bought the new charges this week. alleging the former president saw a cover-up to conceal classified documents at his mar-a-lago home. by the leading surveillance video. mar-a-lago property manager, carl still levy area, now charged with two obstruction counts. making false sta

nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez is in des moines with more. >> reporter: the potential over the lincoln dinner tonight here in iowa where 13 presidential hopefuls will take the stage. basically everyone except chris christie, and the event will mark the first time that former president trump and florida governor ron desantis will be at the same event here in iowa. this crucial early voting state, and while former president trump is still enjoy ago massive lead here in the polls, governor desantis is trying to reset his campaign, and trying to gain some ground. we spoke with some of his supporters at one of his events last night. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i voted for trump. i supported him 100%. >> now you're thinking perhaps desantis? >> yeah, just because i don't know that it's trump's fault he's got so much baggage, but because the democrats just present too much baggage for him. >> reporter: meanwhile, governor desantis is facing criticism from one of his other gop rivals, senator tim scott, who is blasting him over those controversial african-american

joining me is nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez you heard in that exchange, tim miller,r communications adviser to jeb bush back in 2016, former obama white house press secretary, robert gibbs, jonathan alter, author of several books about american presidents, and back with us is the "washington post's" reporter calling in her sources. gabe, you're on the ground with the florida governor. fair to say that former president trump took the spotlight away from desantis today. is this a good sign or bad sign? the headlines yesterday were about how he's struggling and start to go shed some staff and now the headline is that the former president may get indicted again, and nonetheless, for desantis it isn't necessarily a headline that helps his campaign. >> reporter: that's right, peter. look, every time the former president gets into legal trouble or there are mounting legal issues, he's indicted or there's a possibility of being indicted, his poll numbers seem to go up. but florida governor ron desantis' rollout of his military policy has been overshadowed by these developmen

health, but also the advanced age of some of the nation's other elected officials and candidates gabe gutierrez joining us from the campaign trail in iowa with a closer look at this story. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. some of the voters we have spoken with on the trail say it is one of the reasons they're considering ron desantis and other gop hopefuls, their age. but in politics, it is a difficult subject. this morning republicans standing by mitch mcconnell. >> mitch is strong he's stubborn as a mule. >> reporter: but concern remaining after the senate minority leader froze for 20 seconds yesterday before being led away from the cameras. later the 81-year-old brushing off health concerns and back on the senator floor. meanwhile, democrat senator dianne feinstein appeared confused in a committee meeting thursday, interrupted after she was only supposed to make aye or nay on a bill. >> it funds priorities submitted. >> yeah. just say aye. >> okay, just -- aye. >> feinstein's office saying the morning was chaotic and that the senator was preoccupied. feinstein has faced scrutin