Dorian . Ill speak to the acting administrator, next. And making the cut. Only half the 2020 democrats make the next debate. Im going to make very clear the cost and consequence of donald trump. As the field of candidates starts to narrow, is there still time for someone new to break out . Hello, im dana bash in for jake tapper in washington, where the state of our union is on edge. We begin today the same way we did exactly four weeks ago, the news of othanother tragedy. Four people were killed and more than 20 injured yesterday in a mass shooting in west texas after a man went on a shooting rampage in the streets of midland and odessa, texas. Lawmakers hands must be tired from typing out thoughts and prayers as they do after Mass Shootings. Were also following breaking news, Hurricane Dorian has been upgraded to a category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. More bad news about an unpredictable monster storm that could wreak havoc up the southeast coast. Well have the latest on dorians shift in its track as it makes landfall in the bahamas. I want to first go straight to texas, ed lavendera is there in texas with the latest. Reporter good morning, dana. Here, investigators have been working throughout the night securing the multiple crime scenes that are scattered all across this city. Odessa police tell me this morning that this is one of the things that has compounded the chaotic nature of this particular mass shooting, that this wasnt in one isolated area. Instead, it involved a shooter driving around the city, randomly shooting at people. Weve seen this, as you drive around town, you come across little, small crime scenes that are secured by one officer. That kind of speaks to just how chaotic all of this was. In the mitsdst of all of that, e shooter switching out of car he was driving in and carrying out more attacks. Four People Killed, five including the gunman. And nearly two dozen injured. One of the dead is a High School Student here in odessa. One of the wounded is a 17monthold child that had to be airlifted to a hospital in lubbock, texas. Were told that child is now in satisfactory condition. Authorities here say they will have a press conference in about four hours to update on more information. But right now, all we know about the gunman is that he is a white male in his mid30s, dana. Ed, thank you so much for that. Former texas congressman and 2020 president ial candidate beto orourke is focused on combatting these kinds of attacks after the shooting in his hometown of el paso last month. Congressman, welcome. I want to play your reaction at a Campaign Stop last night. I dont know what the motivation is, the firearms that were used or how they acquired them. But we do know this is [ bleep ]. [ cheers and applause ] the rhetoric that weve used, the thoughts and prayers that you just referred to, it has done nothing to stop the epidemic of gun violence, to protect our kids, our families, our fellow americans in public places, at a walmart in el paso where 22 were killed. In sutherland springs, in a church. One or two a day all over this country, 100 killed daily in the United States of america. Were averaging about 300 Mass Shootings a year. So yes, this is fucked up. If we dont call it out for what it is, if were not able to speaker clearly, if were not able to act decisively, well continue to have this kind of bloodshed in america. And i cannot accept that. Were going to speak as defiantly and as strongly as we can but were also going to take action. Universal background checks, red flag laws, into the sales of weapons of war and buying those ak47s and ar15s back so they cannot be used against our fellow americans. Lets talk more about some of those solutions. You made an unusual Campaign Stop a couple of weeks ago. You went to the red state of arkansas and you went to a gun show. What did you learn there . The first person who approached me introduced himself, recognized me. I said, i have to be honest, im here because we lose more than 40,000 americans a year, weve got to find a solution. And he said, i shouldnt be here. If you have a pulse, if youre 18 years old, i sell you a gun. I shouldnt be able to do that. He, at a gun show, selling guns, was advocating for universal background checks. Another, a father of three, says i own an ar13, im not sure i agree about weapons of war, but my kids are afraid to go to school on monday, weve got to do something. Another guy said, i voted for trump, i have an ak47, but i would be willing to give it up if it means we save lives in this country. The challenge is so grave, the threat is so great, we cant meet it with only half the country. We have to bring in republicans, und independents, democrats, and save lives or else be complicit in the continuing carnage we see in america. I wont be part of that. We have to be part of the solution. One of your solutions includes mandatory buybacks of assault weapons. Usa todays Editorial Board said the legislation would be absolutely doomed if it included a mandatory buyback position. Anything smacking of confiscation would bring life and energy into the not from my cold dead hands crowd. Whats your response . More than i worry about the politics or the polling, more than i care about what the nra has to say on this, i care for my kids. And this country. And people who live in terror every day. People in el paso, mexicanamericans who say, i feel like i have a target on my back, im afraid to go out in public. Kids afraid to go to school tomorrow, having gone through active shooter drills, already know what bookcase theyll pull down, which window theyll jump out of. This is not right. We should not accept it. We should be honest with ourselves. Universal background checks will help. But if millions of them remain on the streets, they will still be instruments of terror that terrify and terrorize us and take our lives. Im not going to accept that. But what about the kind of real World Dynamic that usa today, the Editorial Board, is putting in there, that if you go too far, it will kill the whole thing. This triangulation, calculation, poll testing every move, thats what got us here in the first place. I listened to the students from parkland, florida, march for our lives. They came out with a bold plan for peace that talks about many of the measures i just described, a national gun registry, licensing for every american who owns a firearm use that gun for self protection, to hunt, to collect, to shoot at target practice, but you dont need an ar15, an ak47. That is a weapon of war designed to kill people as efficiently, as effectively, in as great a number as possible. It distributes its entire Kinetic Energy in your body and destroys your inside. We talked to the surgeons who treated the victims in el paso. Many had been on the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan. They said these are wounds of war. Lets not sell those anymore and lets bring them back off our streets. Lets change topics to what were going to see in 11 days, the next democratic debate. Youre one of ten who made the debate stage. One of the key issues of course will be health care. Senator sanders floated a plan this weekend that would cancel 81 billion in existing past due medical debt. Is that something you could support . Perhaps, yeah. Theres no reason that you should go into bankruptcy or not be able to make that payment on a Prescription Medication that will save your life. The first order of business is to enroll everyone in medicare who is not insured today, they should be able to enroll in medicare. Those who have employer sponsored insurance that works for them, members of unions who fought for a Health Care Plan that they like for themselves and their families, they should be able to keep that as well. And then those who have accrued that medical debt, if we can help them as well, lets do that. I think the goal should be universal guaranteed high quality care, primary care, Mental Health care, and every woman making her own decision about her own body and having access to care. You just suggested this in your answer, you do not support medicare for all which senator sanders and other opponents of yours do. You said it would, quote, force 180 million americans off their insurance. Do you think a candidate who supports medicare for all can beat donald trump in 2020 . Yes. I do. I think anyone in the field of candidates who is running right now not only would be a better president but will be able to beat donald trump. If im not the nominee, im going to do everything i can to win that nomination and you dont think a medicare for all but if im not, im going to get behind whoever the nominee is and work with my fellow americans to make sure we not only defeat donald trump but achieve these priorities. Health care, making sure everyone can participate in the economy, rewriting our immigration laws, and confronting the challenge of Climate Change before its too late. So obviously youll be behind the nominee. You have staked out more moderate positions on several topics than your opponents, like Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren, who are, frankly, doing better than you are right now in the polls. Do you worry that the democrats are moving too far to the left in order to win in 2020 . No. I have no worries about that at all. I think our party is big enough, our democracy is big enough to have this competition of ideas and vision for the future of our country. And im grateful for everything that every candidate has contributed so far. My positions i dont think are moderate or conservative or liberal. Theyre reflective of the people that ive listened to, those Union Members who have said, look, we fought for this Health Care Plan, i want to be able to keep it and extend health care to those who dont have it today. I dont know where you put that on the political spectrum but it makes sense to me, it makes sense to them. I want to make sure im representing their interests and serving them as president of the United States. Congressman beto orourke, thank you for being with us today, i appreciate it. Coming up next, Hurricane Dorians track shifts again, closer to floridas coast, as the category 5 storm makes landfall in the bahamas. Stay with us. As a Small Business owner, the one thing you learn pretty quickly, is that theres a lot to learn. Grow with google is here to help you with turning ideas into action. Putting your business on the map, connecting with customers, and getting the skills to use new tools. So, in case youre looking, weve put all the ways we can help in one place. Free training, tools, and Small Business resources are now available at google. Com grow our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy whoohoo greattasting ensure. With nine grams of protein and twentysix vitamins and minerals. Ensure, for strength and energy. And twentysix vitamins and minerals. Now, theres skyrizi. I have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. 3 out of 4 people achieved. 90 clearer skin at 4 months. After just 2 doses. Skyrizi may increase your risk of infections. And lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection. Or symptoms such as fevers,. Sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs. Or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. I feel free to bare my skin. Visit skyrizi. Com. A book that youre ready to share with the world . Get published now, call for your free publisher kit today welcome back to state of the union. Dorian is now a category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. Its unpredictable has americans from florida to the carolinas bracing for the worst. Cnns Allison Chinchar is live at the weather center. Allison, the hurricane is the most dangerous kind of hurricane, category 5. Yes, and all eyes are on the bahamas to see what happens there. Were getting that imminent landfall now. The majority of the bahamas are already seeing impacts in the form of very gusty winds, very heavy rainfall. Conditions will likely deteriorate from here on out. Sustained winds at 160, gusting up to 185 miles per hour. That eyewall is getting even larger. Weve seen the pressure drop, meaning the storm isnt weakening, if anything its continuing to intensify. The track takes it farther west after the bahamas. The question is which does it make that northward turn. At this point in time, florida is still in play in terms of landfall. We know it will turn north. We just dont know exactly when. That could be a huge factor in determining whether or not its florida that gets a landfall or georgia, south carolina, or north carolina. We have hurricane warnings out for portions of the bahamas and hurricane watches as well. Newly added this morning, Tropical Storm warnings for portions of florida, including West Palm Beach as well as vero beach. More areas in florida may see an increase in the Tropical Storm warnings as we get a little bit closer to that system making its way towards florida. Allison chinchar, thank you so much. Joining me now is acting fema administrator peter gaynor. Thank you for joining me. We keep seeing this forecast for the hurricane change. The big question is, is fema prepared for anywhere this unpredictable storm may hit . So thats the thing that were worried about, the unpredictability and the uncertainty of this hurricane. It just turned into a cat 5. That kind of raises everyones awareness a little bit more. We are ready, we have been act you ive for five days. Well continue to make those preparations until were clear of dorian. So President Trump tweeted on saturday that dorian is, quote, one of the biggest and strongest hurricanes that weve seen in decades. Exactly how dangerous will it be . Somebody well, this is what i think we want to get the message out today, this has been a slow moving storm, just turned into a cat 5. The models have it, you know, earlier coming over florida. Now its going to up the coast a little bit. Its going to stall out tomorrow, off of west palm. This is a serious storm. You cant take your eye off it. You have to make preparations now. Again, its going to move up the coast into georgia and the carolinas. This will be with us until probably next friday. til next friday, wow. You told congress in june that fema was struggling to maintain a staff big enough to deal with disasters like this. You said that you were more than 2,000 employees short. Is that still the case, sir . It is. And thats really on the recovery side. What you see behind me is the whole of government response. So not only fema partners but our partners from across federal government, nongovernmental partners, our private partners. Again, this is not just fema by itself. When it comes to response, we are more than ready to deal with anything that dorian delivers us this year or any other storm that may come this season. Okay. But 2,000 employees short, maybe even, i would say especially on recovery, is a potentially huge problem for category 5 hurricane heading towards the u. S. Well, again, you know, our mission right now is response, preparing for response, making sure that no needs from states, locals, or counties goes unmet. Right now thats why were putting all our effort. We have plenty of people, plenty of material, plenty of supplies to make all the necessary response requirements to satisfy all those needs. Let me ask you, this is your first major hurricane since becoming acting fema administrator. In fact there are about a dozen Senior Leaders in an acting capacity at the department of homeland security. Right now, including the secretary of homeland security. Wouldnt the response to hurricanes, especially one like this, be more effective if there were permanent leaders in those roles . Well, ill tell you what i know. So behind me, 200 people from, again, across government, they represent 20,000 fema employees that have been battle tested, battle hardened from 2017, 18. Its not about just one Single Person at the top. Its really about a team effort. That team effort starts with the individuals in the communities, it starts with local government, state government, county government, and the federal government. For all of this to be working properly, we all have to be in it. We have a great team behind and you say i have no doubt well meet the demands required by dorian. Researchers say well see more intense hurricanes due to the climate crisis. Do you agree with that . You know, you can look through the history of the past 25 years or so. Theres been more hurricanes, more intensity. Again, i think we can we can look to that at another date. But i think the message today is for residents, especially with the newly new cat 5, is dont take your eye off the storm, take the time to prepare now. Its going to be with us for long time, long duration. And again, now is the time to prepare yourself and your family for anything that may happen. All right. We will be keeping in touch with you. Thank you so much for your time. I know its a very busy day for you, acting fema administrator peter gaynor, thank you. Thank you. Senator rick scott is warning florida residents not to let their guard down ahead of Hurricane Dorian. Hes here and joins me next. , be stronger. With new nicorette coated ice mint. Layered with flavor. Its the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. For an amazing taste. That outlasts your craving. New nicorette ice mint. Is it to carry cargo or to carry on a legacy . Its show of strength or its sign of intelligence . In crossing harsh terrain or breaking new ground . This is the time to get an exceptional offer on the mercedes of your midsummer dreams at the mercedesbenz summer event, going on now. Lease the gla 250 suv for just 329 a month with credit toward your first months payment at the mercedesbenz summer event. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. We really pride ourselves on temaking it easy for youass, to get your windshield fixed. Teacher lets turn in yo