Transcripts For MSNBCW Jose 20240702

See you back here on monday. Jose diazbalart picks up our coverage right now. Good morning. It is 11 00 a. M. Eastern, 8 00 a. M. Pacific, im jose diazbalart. Right now, fear and mourning in lewiston, maine, where residents continue to Shelter In Place as the intense manhunt for a mass shooter stretches into a third day. This as we begin to learn more about the 18 People Killed in the attacks. Breaking overnight, the u. S. Launching air strikes in iranianlinked targets in syria. Military Officials Say it is in retaliation for a series of Drone Attacks on American Military bases in the region. Also breaking, israel carries out another raid in gaza, with drones and jets firing on what israel says were hamas command sites. And were starting to see the scope of the damage and heart break after Hurricane Otis Devastates the mexican city of acapulco. Survivors now scrambling to find supplies and come to terms with what theyre seeing. And we begin this very busy hour with the intense manhunt for the suspected killer behind two Mass Shootings in maine, who has now been on the run for 40 hours. And just a few minutes ago, Law Enforcement urged the public to be patient in their search. We have to take our time. Were going to be processing every square inch of these facilities. Not only do you have the victims in question, but every one of those rounds that got fired need to be investigated. Every one of those cartridges that lays on the ground needs to be collected. The vehicles that are in those parking lots, everything that we do around this we need to be careful. We need to be professional. And thats what were committed to do. For a second day meanwhile, entire communities in and around lewiston, maine, are under lockdown with no signs of where this suspected gunman could be. All this as multiple Law Enforcement agencies are investigating these brutal attacks that claimed the lives of 18 people, marking the deadliest Mass Shooting of 2023 and the deadliest ever seen in the state of maine. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent sam brock live in lewiston, maine, and frank figliuzzi, former Assistant Director for counterintelligence at the fbi. Hes an Msnbc National Security analyst. So, sam, what more are we learning about this suspect and the status of the manhunt . Reporter as for the status, jose, lets start with the headline here, in the words of the dps commissioner, clearly we dont have him located. They did come out and present a series of maps today, you can see them over my shoulder, depicting three different areas that are being searched for evidence, for information, one of them is sparetime, the Bowling Alley, one is the bar and grill, and the Boat Landing Area where the suspects car was found in the aftermath of this shooting within a couple of hours. That is actually a huge Point Of Interest today and im very curious to hear what frank has to say about this. Theyre allowing us to know now, the divers are going into the water today and said this will last four days, using sonar to try to pick up, quote, either evidence or bodies. Does that perhaps speak to the fact right now that all of these authorities, federal, state, local, the atf, the fbi, maine state police, do they have a sense regionally of where he is or are they looking for anything that can provide crucial information . We found out there has been roughly 530 tips total in the words of the dps commissioner that vary greatly. The first night, 70 odd witness statements that had to be transcribed. All of that collection of information is ongoing. Couple of things i did want to highlight, one, you talked about the closing down right now, the shelterinplace orders that so many local communities are dealing with, in the words of the dps commissioner, these are pluses and minuses theyre weighing right now. They understand the impact on families and those trying to take their kids to school or earn money, earn a living and cant leave the house. They see the risk as super elevated if theyre continuing this fourcity, at least, shelterinplace order. I asked the commissioner specifically can you confirm accounts from the family that a warning was provided to Law Enforcement and if so when agency, what did you know when and he refused to do so, he said i cannot confirm that warning. And also they were considering a yellow flag warning which is this idea of getting a Mental Health evaluation for someone here when you dont have Red Flag Laws to have a judge sign off on temporarily seizing access to their weapons. So we didnt get a lot of detail there, but a contact with the fbi did tell me, i think this is very interesting, with respect to confirming Family Information or not, the Family Information is so crucial, she said, because, a, theyre providing presumably intel as to what is going on, what theyre seeing from their Vantage Point but safety. Card could be watching from anywhere. All of these things are being balanced. And i would also add there has been conversations about how much time did it take for Law Enforcement to actually arrive on scene. Once again, no details provided there. Just that the first shots were called in at 6 58. 6 56. By 7 08, 12 minutes later, the second shooting was called in, but no detail at the moment as to how long it took Law Enforcement to respond, jose. Soso many questions still unanswered. And, frank, just to take a little bit of what sam was talking about, officials were clear there is going to be a massive deployment of perp nell in and around that body of water, where the car was found. Also, massive deployment of officers at both Massacre Sites. What does this tell you, frank . My takeaway from The Press Conference is that there are not a lot of substantive leads here. The police are doing everything logically, the body of water makes sense, of course. His subaru was found there. The Crime Analysis from the Massacre Sites has to get done, Evidence Collection. But that doesnt get us to a solution. I also take away from The Press Conference that certain techniques that usually help are not yet working. So technical coverage, for example, looking for the last known Cell Phone Usage seems not to have pinpointed a location for him. Heat signature, thermal imagery from the air may either be hindered by heavy foliage in the woods or maybe because the body theyre looking for is cold. Were also not hearing about the use of canines and that could be that dogs have lost their trace and the scent. Maybe in or at the water. So were now look at this dive, the dive process is very methodical and actually fraught with danger for the divers if the water is murky or muddy. As it often is in a river. These divers train in total darkness to pass a test for the fbi dive team, you have to get through obstacles with absolutely zero visibility. Thats the kind of risk theyre facing and also we heard hints from the commissioner that tactical teams are present, even during this dive and Evidence Collection because of the fear that the subject will appear and pose a threat to the searchers. So, frank, when you have so many different possibilities and very little to go on, really, right . What were seeing. Where do you go, frank, like, for example, when theyre in their meeting right now, talking about what they have to do, not only in the next hours, but maybe in the next 24 and 48 hours, where do you start when there is virtually no hard feeling of where this person could be. There is a couple of reasons for hope here in the investigation. One is the public is calling in tips. And it is quite likely that the idea of Crowd Sourcing will solve this crime, that the answer is in the publics eyes and ears and that could bring the lead that solves this. The second thing that is encouraging is we know they executed a Search Warrant at the individuals residence. Theyll glean from that, hopefully, his Online Activity, and theyll exploit that. We know the fbis social Media Exploitation Team is on the ground. And hopefully in his in his Online Activity will be some indication of what his plan was, and where he might go to hide. Sam brock and frank figliuzzi, thank you so much for being with us this morning. Really appreciate it. Were learning more, this morning, about the 18 People Killed in this massacre. These are 18 people with families, with friends, with lives that mattered and they mattered so much. Nbc news verified the identities of seven killed at the Bowling Alley including bill young and his 14yearold son aaron. Tricia asselin shot while trying to call 911. Michael deslauriers ii and jason walker described as Childhood Friends and heros who made sure their wives and children were safe. Coach bob violet, a bowling instructor, Teaching Kids at the time of the shooting, Teaching Kids at the time of the shooting. Tommy conrad, a manager at the Bowling Alley. And nine killed at the bar and grill where many were there to play the beanbag throwing game cornhole. Brian macfarlane, Steve Vozella and billy bracket. Joshua seal, joseph walker, a manager at the bar. Peyton brewerross, a new dad known for making jokes, Arthur Strout was playing pool with his dad when he was killed. Ron morin, a husband and father who also kept his family left. Max hathaway, stayed back to play pool after his pregnant wife and toddler left the bar. We are thinking of them and their families. 14 patients were rushed to one hospital over a 40minute period wednesday night. 100 off duty medical personnel rushed in to help. One of them joins us this morning, dr. Richard king, the Trauma Medical Director at central maine medical center. Thank you. Thank you for being with us. You i know you turned right around from your drive home wednesday night when you got a call about Mass Casualty events. You said you found a scene of Organized Chaos. What did you see . Yes, thank you for having me. When i got the call that there was multiple casualties, didnt know what to expect. As soon as i drove into lewiston, i could see that something major was going on, almost apocalyptic, ambulances after ambulances, police cars, and, you know, fortunately i had been in touch with one of my Physician Assistants who was in the ed and i was able to say, you know, get that patient that she was taking care of up to the or, im almost there. The actual Trauma Surgeon on call, my partner was already up in the or. So, yes, once i got into the ed, it was, as we say, Organized Chaos. But i will say, though, that, you know, we practice these mass disasters and everything went as we had practiced it. Everybody was in a very organized as much as they could be status of making sure that everybody was getting where they needed to go. Dr. King, what it says about all of us that hospitals have to actually have practice runs for mass trauma. Yet you can practice as much as you can, but the reality is is different. How do you process this as you are literally saving lives with this Extraordinary Team that you have there . It is almost surreal. You dont really expect that this is going to happen here in your community. It is ironic because im a Marine Corps Reserve Trauma Surgeon and two months ago i was on an exercise in wisconsin where we were practicing just exactly this, having to take care of mass casualties in a limited resource environment. And thats exactly what we were doing the other night. It is just unbelievably surreal. But, you know, i think fortunately because not only in the military, but also in the civilian world, we practice this and then when it all happens, we just do what we we act like we do in our training, and i have to say i cant say enough positive things about my colleagues who came in, and were there. It was it just worked so smoothly. One of my Trauma Program manager anticipated that we were running out of blood, and this was just like in the exercise i did and she had the presence of mind to reach out to nearby hospitals, maine general and augusta and st. Marys, our Hospital Neighbor nearby, and we were able to get blood when we needed it just in time. So, it was a lot of adaptability and just doing as we do normally. Yeah. Just, you know, the injuries and the level of injuries that you dealt with and it still is so unacceptable, doctor. It is unacceptable that you who have military experience, have to see this in your hometown. It is just, you know, how does that reality how does one go forward with that is a reality that can and does happen anywhere and everywhere . I mean, it is really quite shocking. I could tell you stories that i heard from my patients and, you know, about what happened to them, and it is just it really is quite unbelievable. The injuries that i see from these high velocity rounds are devastating. They cause so much injury because of the Destructive Forces involved. And for me, this is the first time, although ive never been deployed to combat zone, never seen the war time injuries that many of my colleagues have done who have served prior, but these the destructive power of these bullets is just really quite shocking. Dr. Richard king, thank you for being with us, thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for our Community Writ large. Thank you for being with us. Thank you very much. Up next, a message u. S. Defense Officials Say they are sending iran after american fighter jets struck two facilities in syria overnight. Were keeping our eyes on israel where were seeing a building on fire in the distance. Look at this live picture at 6 16 in gaza. All the way in the back of your screen there, right in the middle, you see a little bit of orange, it is not little when you get right up to it. Thats a pretty big impact in gaza. Well get the latest on the ground there in just 60 seconds. Youre watching jose diazbalart reports on msnbc. S. Youre watching jose diazbalart reports on msnbc. 17 pas t hour. More Breaking News this morning following u. S. Air strikes in syria on what the pentagon says are two iranianlinked targets. Defense secretary lloyd austin says the u. S. Retaliate for Drone Attacks on american bases in iraq and syria. According to defense officials, there have been 19 attacks since october 17th. Thats in ten days, including 21 personnel injured. U. S. Strikes amid rising tensions in the region over the israelhamas war. Courtney kube joins us this morning. Courtney, the pentagon says u. S. Citizen contractor died of a heart attack during one of these attacks. What do we know about this and about the targets struck by the u. S. . Yes, so that happened last week, jose. There was an American Contractor during one of these Shelter In Places, the individual had a cardiac event and died from it. But you mentioned there have also been as a direct impact from some of the Drone Strikes and indirect fire during these 19 attacks, there have been a number of u. S. Military personnel who also have been injured. They have fortunately been not not been major injuries, but still significant that there have been nearly two dozen injuries at this point, jose. We heard a little bit just last hour with our colleague ana cabrera, she spoke with pat ryder, the press secretary here, he explained why the u. S. Is in iraq and syria right now and that he said that the u. S. Will continue to do what is necessary to protect the troops. Heres what he had to say. We have u. S. Forces in iraq and syria for one reason and one reason only and thats to support the Ongoing Mission to defeat isis, our forces are in iraq at the invitation of the government iraq to assist their Security Forces on that important mission. And so, as we have said from the very start, we will maintain the inherent right of selfdefense, well take all necessary measures to protect our forces and our interests overseas. So these strikes were very surgical, very targeted to send a clear message that we will protect our forces. You heard pat there is a that right of selfdefense. The pentagon is characterizing these stres in Northeastern Syria as defensive in nature and thats because theyre saying what they struck was a facility that housed ammunition and one that housed weapons. And the idea here is the hope here is that by striking these facilities, it sends a message to these proxy groups who have been carrying out these attacks against bases housing u. S. Troops, the message being, look, we will take these strikes, take out your supply, dont continue with these strikes. Now, the big question, of course, will the Deterrent Effect of these strikes have an impact, will these attacks against these bases continue . And were all waiting to see what happens today, jose. Yeah, 19 attacks in ten days is substantial. Courtney, the pentagon also reporting a close call involving a chinese fighter jet . Thats right. This is another one, in this case, the pentagon calling this u. S. Military officials calling this both unsafe and unprofessional. The idea here is that the concern is not that there was we see the video of it right here on the screen, not that there was any kind of an impact, but when an aircraft, especially flying at that speed when it comes that close to any kind of asset, the possibility for a collision really increases. Thats where the unsafe and unprofessional designation comes here. The pentagon condemning this action and calling on all militaries to act in a safe and professional way. Courtney kube, thank you so much. Up next, why did robert card target a bar and Bowling Alley . Police looking into a new theory as his neighbors wonder if Warning Signs were dismissed. He went and did what he said he was going to do. It doesnt make sense it wasnt addressed before the fact that it was actually capable of happening. Fact that it was actually capable of happening. Ne who lives here. He hits his mark center stage and is crushed by a baby grand piano. Youre replacing me . Customize and save with liberty bibberty. He doesnt even have a mustache. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Theres challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. When better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for Special Olympics athletes with developmental needs. 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Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. 25 past the hour. Were closely following breaking developments in the massive manhunt for the suspected gunman behind wednesdays deadly Mass Shooting in maine that left 18 people dead. Meanwhile, members of this grieving community are still sheltering in place and on edge as this search stretches into a third day. It has been a major, major shock. We never expected Something Like this to happen here. Honestly, all i have to say is im sorry. I cant imagine what some members of our community are going through. And i have no way of empathizing, but i just ill grieve with you, ill be there with you and i hope everybody gets through this stronger on the other side. And joining us now, nbc news investigative Correspondent Tom Winter and catherine swipe, retired fbi agent executive who created the agencys active shooter program. Tom, your reaction to what we heard from police about the search this morning and their focus on the area by that boat launch. Right. So, that makes sense because that was the last spot presumably that they know that he was. Cards car was found there near that boat launch and so if youre going to start a search, thats a great place to go. Yesterday, they were focused on the homes that belonged to card and his family. So that makes some sense today. You want to get a diver into the water. You dont have any sign this individual is alive. You dont have any sign that theyre deceased. It makes sense to search that area. I think the in new england, there is so many so many wooded areas, the fish and wildlife components in maine and new hampshire, new hampshire, the case with selena cast went missing in 2011, the fish and wildlife component there was so critical in recovering her body and finding her. So you can expect that the authorities in maine assisting will do that thing with the fbi to try to determine if anybody is in the water. The suspect purchased his weapon before he received help for Mental Health challenges in a facility. This is not enough for authorities to take his weapon from him or is it with maines yellow flag law . I think that will depend on more information to come out about who said what and when and how. Right now we know from our colleagues at the nbc News Pentagon that that is something the military is looking into. What was said and when, what were their authorities, what were their necessary reporting procedures to meet. What did he say, what was the trigger, was there a Mental Health professional component of this that should have raised their hand to trigger the yellow flag law . How would that all have worked . I think more reporting needs to be done, more information needs to be gleaned from some of the officials involved this and is something that i think down the line well hear more about. I think theyre very reasonable questions to get answered and there is a law in place if this person if somebody didnt Say Something appropriately to trigger the law, thats a key finding. If in fact everybody did what they were supposed to do, does the law need to be changed, is that something the people of maine will ask their legislators to do . I think two key components to that bottom line is just more needs to be found out before we are able to say what might have happened there. Yeah, and wondering and sam brock was talking about this when we had our conversation a little bit ago as far as there is not a lot of information that authorities are giving us as far as, for example, police response, the times and how and wherthey responded to this. But going to that night, when there are two shooting scenes and, you know, one almost ten minutes between one and the other, what kind of challenges does this create for Law Enforcement as they respond to these attacks . I think it is typical what you see whenever you have multiple locations. We just saw this in, you know in the spring at Michigan State university, the shooter was two buildings apart and the police go to the first building because they dont have a call about the second building, and it is pretty typical, police are always going to be just a little bit behind because theyre listening for gunshots and then responding to 911 calls and the buildings are so far apart that theyre not going to see a car speeding past them that might be actually the suspect. And, you know if we had cameras all over that location, we probably would see that that suspects car, you know, potentially could have even passed a Law Enforcement car going in the other direction. It is just the kind of thing that happens and you cant respond, we saw the same thing in new zealand at christchurch, two buildings, two mosques, Law Enforcement goes to the first one, while theyre at first one they get a call about the second one. Reversing field to go back to the other one. It is just a real response challenge. Yeah. And, you kn, there is so muc information that still needs to be gathered, but, catherine, these locations may be somewhat remote but not far from interstate highways. What are some of the questions you would have at this hour if you were involved in this manhunt . Well, i think that the challenge is that now were not looking for a mass shooter, were just looking for a person, right . Were looking for somebody who committed a crime and now we have to just be methodical and execute that. And at the same time, investigators are working on the other half, which is what happened before, and, you know, what mistakes were made or missed opportunities were made before. I think one thing i know from my work, you know, on Mass Shootings, on active shooters with the fbi are Behavioral Team looked at 63 shooters that i had from our initial research and they found that more than 80 of the time when people heard things they were concerned about, what we call leakage, from a shooter, a future shooter, when they heard it, they more than 80 of the time, what they did with the information is they went back to the shooter and the shooter said i was just kidding, i didnt mean it and half time people said nothing to anyone. Thats the struggle now, that were gathering information on what happened before and while were working afterwards trying to just find somebody who could be anywhere and as we all know, you know, no word since, so it is very possible that just as likely that he killed himself and that hes some place where theyre going to have to find him. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. Up next, as we watch israel launching now two raids in gaza, well talk to retired Israeli Defense force colonel about whether this means a Ground Invasion is in fact imminent. Youre watching jose diazbalart reports on msnbc. Mt youre watching jose diazbalart reports on msnbc. Im asking about prevnar 20® because theres a chance Pneumococcal Pneumonia could put me in the hospital. If youre 19 or older, with certain chronic conditions like copd, asthma, diabetes, or Heart Disease or are 65 or older, you may be at increased risk for Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Prevnar 20® is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause Pneumococcal Pneumonia. In just one dose. Dont get prevnar 20® if youve had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. Adults with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. 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Tourists taking photos that are analyzed by ai. So researchers can help life underwater flourish. [doorbell ring] trick or treat. Happy halloween [zombie grunt] [dog bark] [woman screams] [children screaming] happy halloween. Aww, happy halloween. 35 past the hour. This morning, new developments in the israelhamas war. Overnight, Israeli Forces conducted another raid in gaza to prepare for an expected Ground Invasion in which the idf says it killed the top hamas commander. It comes as the u. N. General assembly is to vote on a Resolution Calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza, where the humanitarian crisis is growing more dire. Earlier today, the International Committee of the red cross said it sent six trucks carrying water and medical supplies into gaza, as resources run dangerously low. Meantime, the hamasrun Palestinian Ministry of health has released a detailed spreadsheet of what it says are the victims in gaza. Nbc news has not independently verified the list. Richard engle is in jerusalem for us at this hour. Richard, what is the latest . Reporter so, jose, im no longer in jerusalem. We are in the southern very southern parts of israel, on the border with gaza. And it may look hazy behind me, but some of that is haze and some of that is smoke because israel is firing right now and you can hear some of the that activity with tanks and artillery into gaza. So this is an ongoing operation with israel firing air strikes into gaza, now tanks and artillery. And then israel announcing today that at least two Ground Incursions have happened. One by land, the other from the sea. Israel carried out another incursion into the gaza strip, with a column of tanks pushing in for the second night in a row. This time, in a new part of gaza, further east, with drones and jets firing on what israel says were hamas command sites. Israels Defense Minister vows a full scale invasion will come, when the time is right. While air strikes and limited incursions prepare the ground. Gaza is being leveled, one leading newspaper this morning describing the amount of force being used makes hell sound pleasant. The Health Ministry in gaza run by hamas says more than 7,000 palestinians have been killed so far. Our crew in Southern Gaza witnessed an israeli air strike and rushed toward it. A boy is rescued from the rubble. A girl remains trapped. She is eventually freed and our cameraman caught up with her in an ambulance. She is dazed, at a hospital, shes treated on the floor, given air, and comes around as she is cleaned. She says her name is miral and asked if her father is alive. The medic tells her hes fine, but doesnt know. The Israeli Military says it is preparing to fight hamas in the militants network of tunnels under the gaza strip, a dangerous and complicated mission, especially since thats where freed hostages say they were kept. Israel increasing its estimate of the hostages in gaza this morning to 229. The israeli public is increasingly divided over the full offensive, a poll this morning saying 49 of israelis saying israel should wait. In tel aviv, families of hostages are growing frustrated saying theyre being forgotten in the push to expand the war. Before the army getting inside gaza, there is much more important thing to bring them back. Reporter so, jose, the israeli tank and artillery fire just over the last hour or so has become quite intense. Most of it directed into the northern sections of the gaza strip around gaza city. And a short while ago, the official spokesman for the Israeli Military gave a briefing, they called it an exceptional briefing in order to say that hamas is using its hospitals, in particular the largest hospital in gaza city, the Shifa Hospital in order to provide, the whole building is a human shield and hamas has headquarters and tunnels underneath the hospital. It is something that israel has said many times before in previous years and something that the hospital has consistently denied. And, richard, just listening to you, just in these last couple of minutes, it has been a consistent one after the other after the other booms that were hearing. Just to listen for a second to this. Meanwhile, and i dont know, im asking you if you know, there is a difference between Artillery Tank Fire and then, you know, strategic missiles. It seems as though the tanks are less precise than a laserguided missile, yet these are just boom after boom after boom. Tanks and artillery are effectively cannons. You point them at a target and trigger. They can be accurate, but theyre not a precision weapon. Theyre not a laserguided missile. Israel is firing at targets. We heard Small Arms Fire And Last Night i believe we heard one of those incursions and when the when the Israeli Military puts out its video, and puts out the Cockpit Video of air strikes or puts out Drone Footage showing strikes, generally there is no audio. When you are here, when you are listening to it, it is very noisy and we are on the israeli side, which means we are on the side that is doing the firing. When youre inside gaza, on the receiving end of all of this artillery and air power, the result is devastating. And there have been some questions about the numbers put out by the palestinian Health Ministry, they now say that more than 7,000 people have been killed. But certainly, like you said, it is difficult to verify that number, but certainly many people are being killed in gaza and we have seen that with our camera and our crews inside. What is happening inside gaza right now is devastating. Richard engel, thank you so very much. It is great to see you. Take care, my friend. Thank you. Id like to bring in mary eisen, former idf colonel and director of the International Institute for counterterrorism and hagar chemali, former spokesperson for terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the u. S. Treasury. Thank you for being with us. We have seen two israeli raids in the last two days. What could that mean for a potential Ground Invasion and were just hearing, i dont know if you got a chance to see and listen to richards report were talking about consistent strikes into gaza as the sunsets there. You say that with surprise. Im sitting in the tel aviv area and there were sirens here before and i remind everybody that hamas, the Terror Organization, is continuing to fire rockets into israel, that today additional buildings in israel are hit, it is as if we have our protection, we have our iron dome, theyre continuing the Hamas Terror Organization to try to attack here. What is the Ground Invasion do . The Ground Invasion is to arrive at what for the last decade the Hamas Terror Organization have invested themselves in not unprotecting the people of the gaza strip. I want to protect them. The Israeli Military for three weeks have been telling people to move south, thats not easy. But it is to save lives. The Ground Invasion is going to go in to get to that subterranean arena and to get to the urban sprawl that has the hamas, again, 30 to 40,000 terrorists who have been deployed and structuring themselves for a decade. It is not comparable to any other event before, and as such the Ground Operation is going to be different. And i think the last thing ill say on this is casualties and my heart can go out to a mother anywhere and to children anywhere, israel is not targeting any civilians. Today we showed in a very clear way that the main hospital is being used, thats where the Hamas Terrorists are going to hide, but they built that up front, thats not right now. We need to be careful and clear. The only way to stop this kind of Terror Organization from trying to plan and do the same thing again is by going in and destroying it and that is with the Ground Operation. And so how is that done . I imagine that the variables are so diverse and so, you know, so many possible actions and reactions to it that have to come into play. And, you know, always respecting the geneva convention, how do you deal with a hospital, a hospital that is in working works as a hospital, that also has this issue . How do you deal with those kinds of variables . So, first of all, the geneva conventions that israel has always abided by and in that sense im on the upper moral ground. How does the Hamas Terror Organization build it in the first place on purpose, under the hospitals, under the mosques, under the schools, firing the rockets, we were told were desecrating cemeteries because they fired the rockets out of the cemeteries so we cant attack the rockets. What do you do . You do it closely and carefully. Thats the combination of exact weapons, of going in when the tanks are going in in that sense. As youve seen in the footage youre putting up, it is to go in, we need to get to the entrances into the subterranean city. Hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels that are not only under the northern gaza strip, theyre also throughout the gaza strip. But to be able to get into that, you have to go inside. It is to try to close off as many of those kind of openings from the beginning so that when the Ground Troops come in and get there, youre not surprised by terrorists popping out, thats what they want to do. You want to try as much front as much as you can to stop the booby traps, the suicide drones, you need to know where they are and try to preattack them so that when you go in, you get into that subterranean arena, which is also going to be booby trapped, but you get there in the conditions you can go in and try and move. All of this with the knowledge that most likely the over 200 hostages that were taken from their homes on saturday morning in the most horrific way are not only being held there, but who knows what their condition is now. One they uploaded and showed they were taking lots of dead bodies. Meaning upfront they are going to be using as part of their psychological warfare as part of the Media Manipulation dead israeli bodies they took with them in the tunnels, thats also something you have to prepare for. And i think it is really important to always underline the 7th of october. And what happened that day with a massacre of 1400 plus men, women and children. The majority of them not with uniform, in their homes, in a peace concert, and their lives forever taken. The u. S. Launched air strikes in syria last night. How concerned are you about escalating into something broader . The fact that the United States now says that they received in a matter of ten days, you know, more than a dozen attacks, what does that tell you . Yes, when the crowd clou clo in the middle east, it storms everywhere. When you have instability, even in one area, nefarious actors try to take advantage of that. And theyll try to take advantage of distractions and the fact that israeli resources are really focused on gaza now. So youre going to have militant groups like hezbollah which already has started, the Houthis In Yemen, iranbacked groups try to take advantage and lob these attacks. The u. S. Intercepted attacks coming from the houthis going to yemen, which was the Houthis In Yemen going to israel, a very a surprise to the pentagon. Hezbollah has been pursuing these strikes. And now you had a series of Drone Attacks against u. S. Bases in syria and iraq and now the u. S. Responded and why they responded is because theyre trying to send this message that were not going to sit idly by and twiddle our thumbs while they try to take advantage. Thats what they do in general. Youve seen a very beefed up presence by the United States in the Eastern Mediterranean sea and in the gulf. And the reason for that is to send this message of deterrence. But they are also they do have to go beyond deterrence and say we got a real threat of force here, were going to say that we want you to stop and to not even think about it, but they have to show that that threat is real because otherwise things really could with a ground offensive, i expect the attacks coming from these random other groups, thes. Thank you both for being here this morning. Appreciate your time. Up next, the scene of utter devastation and destruction in acapulco in the wake of the most powerful storm to ever hit Mexicos Pacific coast. Look at these pictures. How survivors are now trying to find basic necessities. You are watching jose diazbalart reports on msnbc. I. What if we need to see a doctor away from home . Ucard gets you in with medicare advantages Largest National provider network. How bout using it at the pharmacy . Yes your ucard is all you need. Huh thats easy can it help keep my smile looking good . Yep use your ucard at the dentist. Say cheese get access to what matters with the ucard only from unitedhealthcare. Ok, someone just did laundry. No, i add downy light so the freshness really lasts. Yeah, most scented stuff gives me a headache, but this is just right. And i dont like anything. But i like this. Get a light scent that lasts with no heavy perfumes or dyes. bridget with Thyroid Eye Disease i hid from the camera. With no heavy perfumes or dyes. And i wanted to hide from the world. For years, i thought my t. E. D. Was beyond help. But then i asked my doctor about tepezza. vo tepezza is the only medicine that treats t. E. D. At the source not just the symptoms. In a Clinical Study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. Tepezza is an infusion and may cause infusion reactions. Tell your doctor right away if you experience high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath or muscle pain. Before treatment, tell your doctor if you have diabetes, ibd, or are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant. Tepezza may raise blood sugar and may worsen ibd. Tepezza may cause severe Hearing Problems which may be permanent. bridget now, im ready to be seen again. vo visit mytepezza. Com to find a ted Eye Specialist and to see bridgets before and after photos. 52 past the hour. Moments ago, George Santos entered a not guilty plea to a superseding indictment that includes ten new federal fraud charges against him. This is him walking out of the courthouse moments ago. He waived conflicts raised. A trial date is set for September 9th of next year. There is severe devastation in acapulco, mexico, after Hurricane Otis slammed into them. A category 5 storm killed at least 27 people. Look at this Drone Footage showing the scale of destruction. If you are listening to us on radio, i can tell you it seems as if roads are rivers. The stadium has been devastated, partially destroyed. Water is just everywhere. Officials say 80 of the hotels in acapulco were damaged. People are trying to find loved ones. Its cut off. Residents have no water, no electricity. Look at this video. It Shows Patients in a hospital in corridors as winds blast through the building. The hospital says it had to transfer 200 patients to other medical facilities. We have more from acapulco. Reporter utter devastation. At least 27 dead after a category 5 hurricane slammed into the popular mexican tourist destination, home to nearly a million people. Im not sure how we are alive, he says. But we are. News of Hurricane Otis, the strongest storm to hit, more than doubled its strength hours before landfall. Some of the worst damage along the waterfront where 165 mile per hour winds shredded highrise buildings and left the streets choked with mud and debris. The exterior of this hotel room 21 stories up ripped off as the guests sheltered inside. With streets under water and power out for hundreds of thousands, mexican authorities are now scrambling to assess the damage and provide relief. Our house was a total loss, this woman said. Desperate residents fend for themselves. The devastation in acapulco has no precedent. This is one of the most famous and most important resorts in mexico. Its recovery will be a huge challenge for the Mexican Government and for the president. For now, we still dont really understand the scope of the damage. Thank you very much for that report. Turning now to developments in maine. The horrific shooting there marks the countrys 565th Mass Shooting and deadliest in 2023 so far. Yesterday, democratic congressman jared golden dropped his opposition to an Assault Weapons Ban. I have opposed efforts to ban Deadly Weapons of war, like the Assault Rifle used to carry out this crime. The time has come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why i now call on the United States congress to ban Assault Rifles like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of lewiston, maine. For the good of my community, i will work with any colleague to get this done in the time that i have left in congress. Joining us now is angela savala, executive director of moms demand action. Thank you for being with us this morning. According to the violence project, which defines a Mass Shooting as having four or more People Killed, socalled Assault Weapons are being more frequently used in Mass Shootings. Of all the incidents they have reported dating back to 1966, 28 use a semiautomatic assault weapon. In the last three years, they have been used in 59 of the Mass Shootings. Why does this happen again and again and again in our country . Thank you for having me. I want to acknowledge that the folks that are dealing with this devastation in lewiston, maine, and broader communities, its horrific. We have people sheltered in place. As the suspect is at large. It has to bematiing experience and angering. This is a weapon of war. This is a weapon created for the battlefield. To have civilians have access to it makes it more deadly when we see these kinds of things happening. We are going to continue to push for an Assault Weapons Ban from congress. We are hoping we can get some work done in maine on this. We are looking at moving this off of our streets. It has no place at all on our streets. Angela, we were speaking to dr. King, the head of trauma at the hospital where the majority of the victims were brought. He was describing this Organized Chaos that happens when all of a sudden people come in. He was saying that its the level of the injuries, the highspeed, the highvelocity rounds which cause so much damage to tissue as they enter the body. It seems as though, angela how do yellow flag, Red Flag Laws, complete banning, how do you think that could make a difference . It absolutely can make a difference. We know when we have strong gun safety llaws, we save lives. In maine, its just dangerously narrow. We want something more like an extreme Risk Protection order, known as red flag law, that would help broaden the protections and create tools that disarm people in crisis, to make sure that they are not a threat to themselves or others. We can remove the firearm temporarily while they are in crisis. We dont want to have a process thats has lots of procedural barriers and makes it difficult and ineffective to access. This is a perfect time to really step up and say, lets do something about this yellow paper law and make sure that we have something that is accessible and efficient and can help prevent these tragedies have happening in the future. Moms against violence. Im thinking, so many moms in our country are having to experience this unbearable pain. Im thinking of the moms in uvalde in texas. Do you think that with the reality as it is today there can be any change in the culture of our country . There absolutely can be change. I wouldnt be doing if there wasnt possibilities. Theres so many things we can do. Stronger gun laws. A Growing Number of americans, as we talk about banning Assault Weapons, are on board for this. I want to note that we are having this conversation on the fiveyear marker of another one of the deadliest american Mass Shootings, The Tree Of Life synagogue in pittsburgh. More has to be done. We will continue fighting and