so thank you all very much for your unpair held leader shim. big round of applause for these great leaders. [applause] >> there is a reality that we have to come to grips with, and that is we are just beginning the process of responding to this storm. we are still involved in the search and rescue process. our number one goal from corpus christi all the way to east of houston is still protecting and preserving life and rescuing every person that we can find. our second goal is to ensure that our fellow texans have access to necessities, food, water, supplies and power. during our meeting we were able to get confirmation that power is in the process of being restored in areas that desperately need it. these are the early stages. it still may be a day or two, but the point is that there are responses that are taking place very swiftly. we understand that one of the biggest needs is taking care of those power outages. without that power you have a hard time functioning. and so we are pressing forward constantly -- the basics of food and water will

and to see the swift response from the federal government is pretty much unpair held.l for what's happened so far, but we know we're still early in the process. we nied to maintain this. >> president trump said he plans to head to texas tomorrow, and he pragsd the spirit of the people on the ground amid the historic flooding. >> they're saying it's the biggest, historic. it's really like texas if you think about it. but it is a historic amount of water in particular. there's never been anything like this. so the people are handling it amazingly withel and the people of texas accident as you know, have really persevered. >> and joining me now is nbc's mia rodriguez from lakewood forest, texas and nbc meteorologist steve from new york. mia, i want to start with you. you've been watching rescues all day. talk to me about what it's like on the ground right now. >> reporter: well, as you can see it's pouring like it has been all over this area for it seems like days now. we're in lakewood forest as you mentioned. you can see the entire area is flooded. this kayak, there is

the breath of cases that they have investigated and prosecuted over many years is really unpair held.nd so that -- it's that experience that allows somebody to really see around corners, so anticipate the types of defenses, the times of legal challenges that might be brought against invest active actions that they're taking, but also, you know, to really understand how people who are trying to conceal potential misconduct go about doing it. you just -- you couldn't have, you know, just a greater wealth of experience than this team has. >> right. and then you look at these leaks "the wall street journal" which my legalize didn't have anything really new this them. i mean, people are going to be hearing approximate this tonight and tomorrow. it was basically a leak saying that trump's lawyers think that he has the power to fire comey. they've met with mueller in recent months, submitted memos arguing that the president has that power basically. that he didn't obstruct justice. and necessity also which is standard operating procedure. what i don't see here in the report is anything new o

and to see the swift response from the federal government is pretty much unpair held. and so we are grateful for what's happened so far, but we know we're still early in the process. we need to maintain this. but a second component of it is the way that leaders at the local level have responded. these are people who are living off of just a few hours of sleep a night, and they have one concern, and that is for the men and women they represent and their towns and counties. and it is because of their commitment to the people they represent that that coupled with the federal government's response that we are doing as well as we are. yes. >> some of your advice to the people in houston is seen as contradictory to what the mayor said. do you think people in houston should have evacuated? >> well, listen, decisions about evacuation are something that are behind us. we are where we are right now and we need to focus on first, protecting life and doing all we can to rescue those who are in danger. second, get them to an evacuation center. and third, help them build a bridge to

the epidemic we're facing is unpair lead. you look at the kmegs, it obviously has a huge issue it's facing, but what are the goals they laid out. >> they said, let's declare this a national emergency. so often they don't have to declare it an emergency. they say, it's full speed ahead, all hands on deck. they said, you need to increase access to treatment, and that means freeing up medicaid funding, medication for doctodo. we did an online course. you need to have better access to medications like methadone that can help people get off of this addictive cycle and you heard of this anecdote, naloxone or narcan is the brand name of it that can help reverse the effects of an overdose and it can help save lives. they want to make that more available to policemen and other responders an also remove the possibility that you can get charged for criminal charges for reporting that you have an overdose or helping somebody who has an overdose, treeing to make it more commonly used. >> tara, there's a new study that talks about patients