georgia where a grand jury meets today to investigate whether trump tried to overturn the election in that state. meanwhile, in pennsylvania, the search for answers after a home explodes near pittsburgh killing five people including a teenager. and a 3-year-old migrant child dies while riding a bus from texas to chicago. it's the first death texas has announced since it started busing thousands of migrants to cities across the country. this morning fulton county, georgia, district attorney willis is expected to begin presenting her case to a grand jury outlining donald trump's alleged efforts to overturn biden's 2020 victory in that state. tomorrow the grand jury will hear from former lieutenant governor jeff duncan and journalist george chidi, both who have been asked to testify. the former president has spent this morning and the weekend slamming the d.a. and her case saying he didn't tamper with the election. joining us now nbc news correspondent blayne alexander who is right outside the fulton county courthouse, and dave aronberg, state attorney for palm beach county, florida. what to we know about how today and this week will play out near where you are? >> reporter: we're already seeing a lot of movement. we've been watching the inside, the outside of the courthouse for the better part of the morning. this morning, though, we are starting to see some of the witnesses, some of the people that we know have been called to testify before the grand jury this week as part of fani willis's presentation. we have seen them in the courthouse walking toward the d.a.'s offices. the two of them are key people, two former state lawmakers here in georgia. both of them were in the presentations, these kind of now infamous presentations that rudy giuliani made before a panel of lawmakers espousing a number of since debunked claims about georgia's elections. we know that that is part of something that fani willis was looking into. our friends over at the ajc confirm they saw gabriel sterling also in the building. he was a very big part of 2020. in fact, he's one who called donald trump out by name for spreading these, what he called expertise theories about georgia's election, but he's certainly somebody who can speak to that now infamous phone call that the former president made to the secretary of state asking him to find enough votes to overturn biden's win here in the state. so each piece of this kind of puzzle really tells us how fani willis is structuring this case. we know there are two more witnesses lined up tomorrow. one is an independent journalist, george chidi, and he happened to stumble upon this meeting of the fake electors back in 2020. here's what he told nbc news about being called to testify. take a look. >> almost immediately somebody shouted at me, hey, he's got a camera going. and i'm hustled out of the room. i think i was there maybe 20 seconds, but like, you know, what kind of meeting are you having? like somebody said we're having a meeting, and i said what kind of meeting are you having, and they said it's an education meeting. >> reporter: and that was him giving his account of stumbling upon that group of fake electors. jose, it's very likely he'll say something to that effect before the grand jury when he comes tomorrow. the other person is former lieutenant governor jeff duncan who can speak to the pressure that was put on georgia officials to overturn the elections. so all of this gave us a very good amount of insight into how fani willis is going to be presenting this case over at least a couple of days and what we could likely see in the days to come, jose. >> so dave, how could tomorrow's expected testimony shape the time line of this case? >> good to be with you, jose. i think that jeff duncan is the cleanup hitter. i think he is the key to her case because, look, he's a republican. he was a lieutenant governor. he was a long critic of trump and their attempts to overturn the election. i think that's why she's going to have him testify last after he testifies, i think she's going to ask for a vote of the grand jury. all you need is a majority vote. you have to find probable cause that a crime occurred, and that's the indictment. it's relatively easy. it's not a high standard to reach. that's why they say that we prosecutors could indict a ham sandwich because there is no defense lawyer there. it's just the prosecutors. the witnesses, and the jurors themselves. >> and so dave, just thinking on process as far as the -- as you were saying possibly the last witness, and then how quickly does that process go from whatever the charges may be to an indictment? >> well, after you have your last witness, then you go to the grand jurors, and you ask for a vote on various counts, and if they vote in the majority to, for example, fine donald trump that he committed the crime of recall, racketeering, then that would be an indictment, then it would be filed with the court. it would be sealed, and at some point it would be unsealed. and i think what happened pretty quickly because they would then tell trump's lawyers that he's been indicted. trump will find out, trump will then release it on social media, and the world will know my prediction is that it will happen tomorrow evening. >> and blayne, what can you tell us about the possibility oaf cameras in the court in this case? >> well, georgia law is very different from the previous indictments that we've seen against trump. those were of course federal indictments and in manhattan, their cameras aren't allowed in the courtroom. here in georgia, laws basically specify that at a judge's discretion, cameras can be allowed in the courtroom, and really, the judge almost always grants that access. there has to be some sort of very difficult circumstances for that not to be the case. so it's very likely if we do see an indictment and there is an arraignment, and even as we start to get into talking about the trial, it's very likely that will be televised with the camera in the courtroom. that is one of the things that makes this georgia case very different from the other legal challenges that are currently facing trump. >> blayne, i thank you very much for being with us. dave, i want to ask you a couple of questions if i could. this is a state case. remind us of the difference between this kind of case versus a federal case. >> there's a reason why donald trump is so worried about this state case because state cases in georgia, in new york are pardon proof. donald trump, if he becomes president again cannot pardon himself out of this. he cannot order his department of justice to drop the case. so he's facing some really serious charges, and rico, racketeering is not just for the mafia anymore. in georgia, the rico law is actually tougher than the federal law. there is a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for a rico conviction in georgia that does not exist at the federal level. so you see why trump is melting down on his social media site right now. >> and pardon proof as long as -- for a president on the state case. >> correct. now, there is a procedure where the governor -- the state authorities could pardon trump, but it goes to a board in georgia. it's not just a dictate of the governor. it goes to a board, and you have to complete your sentence. it's got to be five years after the sentence, so it's a nonstarter. trump cannot really be pardoned in georgia if he's convicted there. the question for a lot of people is and me is what happens if he's convicted. i think -- he will appeal it. i do not believe that donald trump will serve any jail time before the election. i think if he is not sent back to the white house, if he's not reelected to the white house, i think then he will eventually have to serve the sentence. his best chance of getting out of all of this is to become president again is federal crimes, is to delay matters long enough that he could influence state legislators and perhaps the governor to try to muck things up. i think eventually justice is coming, especially in georgia. >> dave aronberg, i thank you so very much for being with us this morning. and now to the devastating wildfires in hawaii that have claimed at least 96 lives and counting making it the deadliest wildfire in modern u.s. history. crews are still battling the blazes with 85% of the fire in lahaina has been contained. meantime, specialist teams searching for missing residents have combed through just 3% of the ruins in maui as of yesterday. this as we're learning more about the origin of the blazes. hawaii's governor said sunday that the fire spread at the rate of 1 mile per minute propelled by wind gusts of up to 81 miles an hour, and at the island has lost more than 2,700 structures. he also announced he's ordered a review of what happened. right now many residents are still in search of loved ones that went missing when the flames erupted. nbc's tom llamas has this report. >> did you get any type of alert. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: 73-year-old elizabeth kahani, a grandmother said she was so scared when she escaped she didn't realize her face and arm were burned. >> how bad was the fire? what do you remember? >> really bad. >> reporter: firefighters rescued her treating her wounds, but her bro rodolfo rokuton is still missing. she's pleading for any word from him. >> i'm so worried about everybody, hopefully you still alive. >> how difficult. joining us from maui, nbc's dana griffin. good morning. what's the latest there today? >> reporter: jose, good morning. it is a new day, and there's a lot of changes happening today evacuees are going to start moving in to about 500 hotel rooms that have been set aside for them. airbnb is working out a way to create some long-term housing for people. that is the greatest need here today. when you talk about the fire moving a mile a minute, it makes sense because we have been hearing from so many people saying they looked outside, thought they had time to pack up, but it came so quickly their homes were surrounded within minutes, within seconds. we spoke with one guy, i want to warn some people it may be difficult to listen to this, this guy talked about how he escaped the inflammation. -- flames. he was with a friend. he jumped in the ocean. his friend stayed behind. here's what happened next. >> i ran out of the car and ran for my life. ran down to the ocean. i was only a quarter mile from the ocean, and they stayed in their car. they died with their dogs. three of my friends in one car and two dogs died. i saw one friend dead on the ground like a piece of charcoal, pompeii almost. he was dead. i mean, there was nothing you could do. it was that fast. >> reporter: officials here in hawaii talked about those bodies burned so badly they're asking families of the missing to give dna so that they can try to help identify some of these people that they are finding, some of them they're finding together, and they say that when they're collecting their bodies, a lot of them unfortunately are just so badly burned. we know that right now evacuation centers like the one behind me are doing everything they can. there are so many supplies that are pouring in, and fema's set up a website disasterassistance.gov for anyone that needs assistance or anyone on the ground, you can go to a fema member and start getting set up to get that assistance. we know more people are bringing in food today to try to feed the people. we know they're going to need about 9,000 gallons of -- 9,000 meals a day and hundreds of gallons of water. people are very frustrated. those who are trying to get to lahaina right now, it's only open for people who can prove that they live there. for those who are trying to get that extra assistance and supplies there, a lot of them having to wait back in that long line. some of them are very frustrated, jose. >> indeed, dana griffin, thank you so very much. if you'd like to help the residents of maui, you can donate to the red cross. text the word hawaii to 90999 to make a $10 donation, and in spanish. [ speaking in a non-english language ] next, we're learning more about the twists in the hunter biden investigation. stay with us, we'll be back in just 60 seconds. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. have fun, sis! ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. 14 past the hour, now to the latest on the investigation surrounding president biden's son hunter. in a new court filing, hunter biden's attorneys told the court it was federal prosecutors who reneged on their plea agreement. that deal has been in jeopardy since a federal judge said last month that she would neither accept nor reject it until both sides addressed her concerns over the terms of the agreement. this filing comes days after attorney general merrick garland appointed delaware u.s. attorney david weiss who has been investigating the younger biden as a special counsel. nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian joins us this morning. ken, good morning. do the comments hunter biden's attorneys make in this new filing suggest that the case could end up indeed going to trial? >> good morning, jose, absolutely that's a possibility. at this point not an inevitability, though. one of hunter biden's lawyers went on the sunday show and said they would still like to craft a plea deal here, especially given the fact that we have evidence from some of these alleged whistle-blowers who investigated the case that there are potential felony charges on the table for hunter biden if the justice department decides to bring the full weight here. now, we don't know what exactly -- whether there are significant defenses to those charges, but it's possible that the justice department could come in with a much more significant set of charges, and that's the reason that there's an incentive for hunter biden and his lawyers to continue to try to cut a deal, but right now they're at an impasse, and in fact, biden's lawyers argued in this latest filing that the diversion agreement that was that separate charge that he lied about his drug use while he bought a gun, they're arguing that that is a legally binding, that both the prosecution and the defense signed that. i think the prosecutors have a different view of that, but this thing still remains a bone of contention, jose. >> so the outstanding issue would be according to i guess to both sides, would be those two tax issues? >> yeah, that's right, and again, the offer was a plea to misdemeanor charges, which would carry no prison time, but the potential is for prosecutors to say, okay, now that you're not pleading, we're going to add a felony charge, which would be a significant escalation, and it's the reason people do plea deals, so i wouldn't rule out continuing negotiations on this but right now they say they are at an impasse, jose. >> ken dilanian, thank you so very much. still ahead, what we know about a 3-year-old migrant who died while being bussed from texas to chicago. plus, former president trump steals the spotlight in the iowa state fair while answering nbc's questions about whether he'd take any plea deals. >> such a wise guy question. mr. wise guy. we don't take plea deals because i did nothing wrong. 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(vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. 22 past the hour, a big weekend for the republican presidential candidates. many of the candidates spent part of the weekend in iowa hobnobbing with voters at the iowa state fair. they shook hands, they flipped pork chops and took part in other state traditions, including a turn at the soap box. with us now to talk more about this, nbc news correspondent ali vitali in des moines, iowa, and victoria defrancesco soto, dean of the clinton school of public service at the university of arkansas and an msnbc contributor. so ali, you spent the weekend there at the iowa state fair. how was it? what did the candidates do and hear? >> reporter: well, look, this was a weekend where we saw former president donald trump be defiant in the face of three indictments that could easily become four as soon as this week. we saw florida governor ron desantis try to get his feet under him once again after some stumbles and shake-ups within his campaign. and for everyone else here, the goal for republicans was to just meet as many iowa voters as they can because this really is, at least in iowa, the unofficial kickoff to republican primary season, jose. of course they've all been campaigning here, barn storming through the state, trying to get to as many of these 99 counties as they can in the short period of time that they have before the caucus. but really for voters, there is this dynamic between if trump is the right person to continue to represent the party, which polling continues to show he's dominant, and other republicans who say the party's got to move on. i spoke to one of those votes, mary kennedy, she's a republican, this is what she said about the dynamics in her state. >> i wish that they would all kind of step up. i think chris christie is probably one of the only ones that's stepping up. i think there's such a backlash from that party. i think the republicans, we need to come up with, you know, new standards. we really need to kind of say, hey, you know, we have a new republican party that is not part of that trump thing, that this is what we stand for and this is what we need to go forward with. >> reporter: and so, look, for republican voters like mary, she is watching these indictments with great concern and seeing the role that the former president played in moments like the aftermath of the 2020 election and january 6th are certainly giving her pause, but she looks at the rest of the field and is sort of wondering when they are going to step up and go toe to toe with trump. it may or may not happen on the upcoming debate stage. the one issue she said she is concerned about is a woman who is a republican is a abortion. she feels her party is out of step with where she is, and frankly, that could endanger them in the election. >> victoria, let's talk about what ali was mentioning and what the voter was mentioning about this week could be another week where the republican presidential field is drowned out, in many ways by another possible trump indictment. is there any way to breakthrough from that and is that what the voters in iowa are really focused on more than anything else? >> well, the voters in iowa, jose, as well as voters across the country, and we've seen the pattern of every time there is a new indictment, trump actually is boosted, not hurt. you know, you can never predict things with donald trump, but if i were a betting woman, i would say that another additional indictment would give him another little bit of a bump. also think about the spotlight that he gets in the media with his legal troubles. so he is continuing on a very strong streak, and you know, the rest of the republican field is trying to breakthrough, but one of the inherent problems is it's a numbers game. there's so many of them that there really isn't anyone that can go toe to toe with him. right now the numbers are on trump's side. >> i mean, and ali, we saw a video there earlier when you were speaking, you had a chance to speak with robert f. kennedy jr. who's running against president biden in the democratic primary. you made some news with that interview. what did he have to say? >> reporter: yeah, because not just republicans here campaigning. there were democrats trying to flesh with iowa voters. we did catch up with robert kennedy jr. who's running in a long shot bid to unseat joe biden as the standard bearer of the democratic party this 2024 cycle. one of the key questions i asked him about was abortion given the way that it has really in many ways remade the map for republicans and democrats alike. i asked him, for example, if he were elected would he back protections that had previously been enshrined in roe but then were overturned by dobbs. he then said he thought that should be protected up to three months, essentially saying he would back a national abortion ban. this is more of our conversation, and then i'll tell you what he backtracked with. watch. >> once a child is viable outside the womb, i think the state has a viable interest in protecting that chald. i think the state has an interest at every level. at some point -- i'm for medical freedom. i think individuals ought to be able to make their own choices. >> which is why i'm surprised to hear you say -- >> i think at some point -- i would personally not, i think the states have a -- you know, have a right to e protect a child once the child becomes viable. that right crazies, and i think there's very, very few abortions that are performed after that period of time anyway. >> reporter: so look, he's right that late term abortions are rare, and of course when he talks about wanting to protect the right of abortion up to viability, viability is at 24 weeks. i asked him would he want to cap abortion access at 15 weeks, 21 weeks, at each turn of this conversation he said, yes, i would. that puts him out of step with not just the rest of the democratic field but democratic voters writ large and frankly, when his campaign responded to this interview after we published our story several hours later, they said he misunderstood my questions. it was noisy in the area that they chose to do the interview with us. nevertheless, this was a lengthy exchange over abortion access at a time when this is one of the key critical issues, not just in the primary on both sides but certainly is going to play big in a general election, jose. >> yeah, victoria, what do you make of what kennedy said? was it him just thinking out loud or was it him being very specific about what he believes, you know, whether there should be limits or not? >> jose, i think this is a candidate that is just trying to appeal to voters and say whatever he thinks might stick. obviously in not a very organized way. he was not prepared for this question, which is surprising because this really has become a central question in all politics, but in looking at the primary, so i think that i don't know what he feels in his heart of hearts, but regardless of that, he does need to provide a coherent answer for, a, the democratic primary voters, and then in theory, a general electorate. i couldn't make out what his stance was from that exchange with ali. >> ali vitali and victoria defrancesco soto, thank you both so very much for being with us this morning. up next, tragedy in a pennsylvania neighborhood. a house explodes including a teenager who's dead. we're live with what happened next. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports." but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. featuring fresh artisan bread piled high with tender roast beef, smothered with melty provolone cheese, just enough chipotle mayo and served with hot au jus for dipping. try the roast beef or pastrami french dips today. only at togo's. david: as we start a new school year, there's something new happening in california's public schools. they're called community schools. leslie: it really is shared leadership with families, students, educators, and communities. jessie: i feel like we're really valued as partners. david: it's a more innovative, holistic approach. grant: in addition to academic services, we look at serving the whole family. narrator: wellness centers, food pantries, and parental education. jessie: they're already making a difference. david: california's community schools: reimagining public education. featuring fresh artisan bread piled high with tender roast beef, smothered with melty provolone cheese, just enough chipotle mayo and served with hot au jus for dipping. try the roast beef or pastrami french dips today. only at togo's. 34 past the hour. this morning an investigation is underway into exactly what caused the home explosion in western pennsylvania that killed five people e. the moment captured on a neighbor's ring camera. take a look at the left part of your screen. flames and the debris was just flying into the air. joining us now is nbc's emilie ikeda from plum, pennsylvania. good morning. what are officials saying may have led to this explosion? >> reporter: hey there, jose, still so many unanswered questions, and the investigation into the cause of the explosion is ramping up as we speak. it's actually why we were just pushed back from the homes because the presence of the crews continues to expand as they try to answer questions around what led to the deadly explosion that claimed tragically the lives of five people. we're now learning that it includes a father and son, a 12-year-old boy. their names, casey and keegan according to a family spokesperson. those families remembering them as loving and devoted. they're saying they had been at their neighbor's house when it had exploded, and we continue to hear the harrowing stories from neighbors in the area who were around on saturday morning when the massive explosion, and you could see in the ring video just the stunning, staggering images of that massive fire ball spawned into the air. debris showering across much of the neighborhood, in addition to three homes that were completely decimated, literally shredded to pieces, there are also at least another dozen homes that had been damaged. i saw homes with windows blown out, siing peeling off from the explosion and subsequent fire. at this hour, jose, gas has still not been turned on in this community. people's gas company said in their initial review they did not find any immediate issues, that its system operated, quote, as designed, but still so many unanswered questions. investigators say it could take months if not years to determine the cause of this deadly explosion. for instance, last year in april there was a different home explosion in plum borough, and we still don't know the cause of that incident. a long road ahead. >> emilie ikeda, thank you very much. turning now to the latest on the humanitarian crisis along the southern border. this morning illinois state police are investigating the death of a toddler who was traveling on a migrant bus from texas to chicago. this is the first time texas officials have confirmed a death since governor greg abbott began busing more than 30,000 migrants to democratic-controlled cities last year. joining us now nbc's julia ainsley. good morning. what more do we know about this? >> well, jose, what we know is that this 3-year-old was on his or her way from texas to chicago on one of those buses paid for by texas taxpayers, issued by texas governor greg abbott, and that at some point during that journey, the child began exhibiting symptoms of a fever and diarrhea and then lost consciousness shortly thereafter. texas in a statement said that every loss of life is a tragedy and pointed to the fact that once a child presented those health concerns the bus pulled over and security personnel called 911 for emergency attention. what this gets to, jose, is first of all, what we don't know. so far they haven't released the child's nationality. we've heard from congressman joaquin castro that there were -- the parent of the child were on the bus with him or her. we don't know the gender. we don't know exactly what the conditions might have been up until that point. what texas has told us, though, is that customs and border protection screens all asylum seekers who get on their buses, and so they said no one presented any health concerns or a fever before getting on the bus, and then when they did the investigation later after the child's death, they found that no other bus passengers were exhibiting other symptoms. that's basically texas's way of trying to show it wasn't some condition on the bus that made everyone feel ill, but there's still so many unanswered questions about when exactly the child first began exhibiting symptoms, if the parents reached out for help earlier on. so much unknown about what caused the death of this child. it's important to watch this because right now this is the first confirmed death of any migrant on one of these buses. we know more than 30,000 have been bussed out of the state of texas, if this continues and if this investigation proves that there is actually a problem with the transportation itself, many have said there's squalid conditions on those buses. if that causes potentially more people to come out against this method, perhaps the biden administration may be pushed to stand in just like they've already done in a lawsuit over those buoys governor abbott put down at the texas border as well. >> julia ainsley, thank you very much. up next, no letup for more than 90 million people suffering from extreme heat and it's increasingly expensive toll. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. a. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health increasingly expensive toll. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. boost® high pr otein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv age-related macular degeneration may lead to severe vision loss and if you're taking a multi-vitamin alone, you may be missing a critical piece... preservision. preservision areds 2 contains the only clinically proven nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. preservision is backed by 20 years of clinical studies. so ask your doctor about adding preservision and fill in a missing piece of your plan. like i did with preservision. now with ocusorb better absorbing nutrients. being middle class right now, it's tough making ends meet for sure. republicans in congress say if we just cut taxes even more for the biggest corporations the money will eventually someday trickle trickle down to you. right. joe biden would rather just stop those corporations from charging so damn much. capping the cost of drugs like insulin. cracking down on surprise medical bills and all those crazy junk fees. there's more work to do. tell the president to keep lowering costs for middle class families. ♪i've got home internet from t-mobile.♪ ♪it only costs $50 bucks at t-mobile.♪ ♪just one cord to set up.♪ ♪say goodbye to that truck.♪ ♪oh, what a beautiful mornin'...♪ ♪oh, what a beautiful day...♪ ♪they won't raise your rates at t-mobile...♪ ♪you'll get a great deal every day!♪ home internet from t-mobile... just $50 bucks a month. have fun, sis! 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"my skin is so much more moisturized." see the difference with olay. 44 past the hour. police in los angeles say dozens of thieves with bear spray swarmed the nordstrom department store and made off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of luxury items. nbc news correspondent sam brock has the details. >> reporter: an l.a. area nordstrom's blitzed saturday by smash and grab burglars, just the latest to shock a city. >> people were very scared. they were running as if there was like an active shooter. >> reporter: police say the mob used bear spray to disarm security with 30 to 50 people ransacking the handbag section of the store, stealing around $100,000 of high end inventory. l.a.p.d. promises to find those involved. >> is there any doubt in your mind this is organized crime, and has it become a lot more sophisticated? >> there's no doubt that this is organized. some of it involves gang members. some of it involves people that you would identify as professional retail thieves. >> reporter: though the l.a. area alone has been battered by at least four such robberies in the last couple of weeks, it's been a national problem for years. from sledge hammers in new york city to san francisco's union square mayhem in 2021, to this sudden clothing grab in atlanta. hitha herzog wrote a book on the crime trend and points to local laws. >> is there something that all of these cities have in common? >> it's the threshold for these cities to prosecute for grand larceny. the threshold has increased for all of these cities and then we have bail reform. >> reporter: she said some thieves no longer think twice about stealing with stores in 2022 losing tens of billions to theft. as for l.a.p.d.'s investigation, the criminals should expect harsh consequences. >> to those individuals that were involved in this where bear spray was discharged against the security staff, you're going to find an elevated prosecution. clearly they were doing it in concert. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news. and today 92 million people are under heat alerts stretching from the pacific northwest all the way to the gulf coast. and as people are cranking up their air conditioners to try and stay cool, summer facing difficult choices when trying to pay their hefty energy bills. joining us now with more is nbc news correspondent marissa parra here in biscayne bay, florida. good morning. what are residents telling you? >> reporter: hey, jose. well, we've been talking about heat all summer long, right? we've been talking about the dangers of it, not just trying to stay cool but what we really haven't talked about as much is the cost of it, really the dollars and cents behind it all. we're talking about records being broken from coast to coast. we spoke to energy companies in some of those states affected like texas, like florida, specifically florida power and light, which is the main one down here in florida, and they've talked about how they have already seen their peaks this summer. the thing is they both said they're seeing those peaks much earlier in the season than unusual. so as they're struggling to meet the demand, as people try to crank up the air-conditioning, try to get their houses, their apartments to a comfortable setting, so too are consumers struggling to keep up with the cost of it all. they estimated earlier this year that consumers would be spending 12% more on their utility bills this year compared to last. so we caught up with a mother and daughter not too far away from here on how this difference is impacting them. listen for yourself. >> it's been a struggle. i've had to ask for help from the program several times just to get my bill paid because i live on social security and a part-time job. so it's been a struggle. it goes up every year. >> i'm calling all these places to get help for my mom because she needs financial help, and there's only so much i can do. and so it's -- she hates it, you know. i hate it. but thank god for those community organizations that help seniors that need help. >> reporter: so staying cool obviously of higher concern for people who have secondary medical conditions, people who are older in age. we have a couple of tips for you when it comes to ways to cutting down on those utility bill costs, especially if you are somebody who needs the air-conditioning to be cranking up and have the temps cooler. among them changing those air filters so your system is running as efficiently as possible. reducing the temperature setting on your water heater from 140 to 120. that can make a big difference, using the cold water setting when doing laundry and then closing those shades, those blinds to keep from heating up the rest of the place. jose, we know just how hot it's been here in florida. we've been talking about that. i just want to tell you, noaa today reported that earth had its hottest july in 174 years, so definitely keep those tips handy. this weather doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. >> marissa parra, thank you so very much. today, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the inflation reduction act, treasury secretary janet yellen is set to deliver remarks on the economy. yellen is expected to tout the success of the legislation after touring a clean energy facility in las vegas. joining us now with more is cnbc's dominic chu. good morning. so what else can we expect from the treasury secretary today? >> jose, i mean, the optics and messaging are very interesting when it comes to what the treasury secretary will be doing later on today in las vegas. secretary yellen will be on site at a union trading facility for the international brotherhood of electrical workers local number 357. this particular facility is where union members are actively trained to work on things like clean energy projects, so the secretary will deliver prepared remarks that focus on the economic benefits that are focu benefits under biden's policies, which have been called bidenomics. it's in regards to the inflation reduction act of 2022, which comes up on his one-year anniversary this week. she will tout the over half trillion dollars worth of commitments by various companies towards things like manufacturing and clean energy products. also, the renewed focus on building factories here in america. in addition to that, the secretary will express concerns over the supply chains with clean energy because right now, we are in the earlier stages of the transition with fossil fuels and because of that, just a handful of countries control key parts of the industry like battery and solar panel production. also, the supply of key minerals used in high-tech applications. so, jose, yellen's message will be that the world needs to be more diversified when it comes to supply chain to make sure future disruptions can be mitigated. >> thank you very much. up next, the destruction from the deadly wildfires on maui is almost impossible to comprehend right now. talk to the president of maui united way about how they're helping people who have lost everything. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc. watching joset reports on msnbc (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. 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(vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. york where the state judge yefr seeing the case against president trump has denied a motion against trump's team and will not recuse himself. tom, what more do we know? >> right, jose. the judge who oversaw the plea agreement involving trump's cfo as well as the trial involving the trump organization which led to that company's conviction, has been the judge that's been assigned to trump's criminal case in new york. he was asked to recuse by trump's attorneys on three grounds. one, that his daughter had a role that could present some sort of a bias or allegation of bias. she works for a campaign in a type of company that provides consulting for campaigns typically for democratic causes. the judge had some campaign contributions which could raise the appearance of partiality. he said in the weisselberg case he was seen as trying to encourage weisselberg's cooperation and said in his show of preconceived bias against trump. the judge coming out today saying that he rejected all of those arguments. he says quote, he finds that recusal would not be in the public interest. further, this court has examined its conscious and ability to be fair and impartial. so the judge will still preside over trump's criminal trial expected to start next spring, in the spring of next year rather, jose. >> thank you so much. returning now to the top story. devastating wildfires in maui. officials tell nbc new that is the island will head into recovery mode soon, which they say will be the longest phase. right now, more than 110 hawaii national guard and 400 fema personnel with cadaver dogs are combing through the area street by street to search for missing people. meantime, residents who have lost everything say they're lacking basic supplies and need doctors and medicine. want to bring in nicholas winfrey, president of maui united way. thanks for being with us. this morning. our condolences always for the folks that have lost so much in that extraordinary community. what's it been like the last couple of days? >> it's a lot of movement from a community that is one big family coming together. in all honesty. what we're seeing in our eyes, in our space, is really the non-profits providing that safety net that is much needed. you know, getting gasoline to where it needs to go. transportation for individuals that their cars are burned and don't have and for us, it's funding the agencies doing this work as quickly as possible as well. to make sure those chemo patients can get to their appointments. to make sure individuals can get their documents to start applying for these federal funds. right now, it's how do we scale this long-term, but really, it's trying not to think too much about how bad this is. because it brings us down and really supporting the individuals that need it most. from a small town in lahaina, this is our small town. it's just one big family. that's our focus. >> lahaina is a community that is steeped in so much history and so culturally important. >> yeah. absolutely. you know, this was the capital. you know, it's multicultural. there's over eight languages spoken there and you know, but it's also, this isn't like a tourist town. this is a working class town where the average income is $30,000. individuals might not have had enough money in their account to buy food so what we're working on right now is getting direct payments with our partners from united way that have dealt with tease things before into those accounts. gift cards. it's all hands on deck. it's scaling. but look, this is something that hawaii has never dealt with. the u.s. has never dealt with and in all honesty, i don't think the world has seen. >> how can we all continue to help? >> thank you. so right now, support via cash donations across the board. they've been stood up in grants. grants have been made to the non-profit agencies through a strictly vetted and fiscally responsible process. t that's number one right now. secondary is we've got to keep an eye out for those experts and know where to plug them in. doctors. mental healthcare providers. this is going to be a long road ahead for all of us. and it's not just today and tomorrow. it's for years to come. >> how you and people process and go forward for what you very clearly say is going to be a long-term effort? how do you process this? >> i wish i had that answer. me personally, i think about those that have been affected directly. that's not me. we're working 20 hours a day. maybe more. sleeping in our office. for me, it's not thinking about it and just doing what needs to get done to help our community. and i think a lot of individuals are doing that and that's really the aloha spirit. so to process this, it's not going to be a little while and it's going to be tough and we're going to need some help. >> there are ways we can all help and i hope we all do what we can as much we can. nicholas winfrey, i thank you for being with us this morning. that wraps up the hour for me. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. >> and right now, a critical week for donald trump and his legal team as a grand jury meeting right now in fulton county, georgia, and could hand up an indictment as early as tomorrow against the former president on what is expected to be a wide ranging election conspiracy involving multiple defendants. it would be the fourth indictment against mr. trump. the overwhelming favorite for the republican nomination. this as the