is in the hard hit city of panama city. matt bradley is in the state's capitol in tallahassee. let me start with you, kerry. first of all, what are we seeing in panama city right now? >> reporter: let me just sort of paint the picture. you see this boat turned up on its edge, and you can see in the background an entire debris field. what i'm going to do is take you out here to really show the power of this hurricane, and i suspect likely, although this is yet to be confirmed, a tornado. let me step back here and just sort of look up at this boat warehouse here that was completely ripped and torn apart. now, if you come with me, let's go down, and you can actually peek inside to get an idea of, there was no storm surge here. this was all wind damage. remember, we have gusts clocked a the t at top speed of 155 miles an hour. some of the boats still on the rack, the twists and turns, the roof here that is off. then as we go even further down, and we're going to walk out and around some of the debris that's in the parking lot here, you'll get an idea as people are now coming from their homes trying to check on, well, is my boat okay. some people had insurance. a lot of people didn't, and then they came down and took a peek in here. as you can see as we come around, i'll just let the camera zoom in. you can see like toys twisted and turned, dumped upside down, and it's going to take some time for people to sort of assess what it is that they lost here, but the main concern, of course, is their home, and that's what most people are dealing with today. a lot of people stayed put, many of them told me now after going through a category 4, boy, i wish we hadn't stayed put. i wish we had left. we were sort of flat footed. this all happened so quickly. they're taking a breath of relief at this point that they survived. it was a heck of a night for so many people. one woman told me that she was standing holding the two handles to her french doors trying to keep the wind at bay when part of her roof was torn off. she thinks it was by a tornado. she's 70 years old, and says, you know, it was one of the scariest moments in her life. another gentleman over here told me he decided to stay put. he would never do it again. he thought it was going to be okay, and you hear this over and over again. people who say that they're going to stay behind because they want to try to protect their own personal goods that they have, and the truth is there's nothing you can do in a hurricane other than try to protect yourself. unfortunately, and as sad it is that two people have died, we may see the death toll go up, for a historic hurricane like this, a category 4, these are very low numbers of people who have passed away. mexico beach, which is really ground zero of the worst destruction, with the daylight, with the clear skies, you can see how blue the skies are, we have seen nonstop back and forth of coast guard helicopters all heading that direction to mexico beach to get into not only checking the area out, doing some aerial surveys, but also giving the people who were there on the ground some assistance because u.s. 98, the road that goes along the coast here is almost impossible because of downed power poles, downed power lines, trees and just debris that's washed up everywhere. if you're going to drive it, and i got to tell you, officials don't want anybody over here, but those over here, pretty good bet you might wind up with a flat tire because of all that debris. >> kerry sanders for us there in panama city. thank you. port st. joe is about 36 miles down the coast from panama city where kerry is. pastor boyd evans from port st. joe's first baptist church, pastor evans is on the phone with me now from orlando. pastor evans, you got out. you and your congregation, how have you all fared so far? are you all safe? >> well, thank you, craig. as far as we know, everybody is alive to our knowledge. obviously that's what matters most. i was contacted by a church member yesterday. she sent me a text about noon said that they had evacuated north and were trying to get back in after the worst of it had passed, and they got stuck in a little town that's just north of our town there, and her husband got a call to go help somebody. he went to help somebody. as he was trying to come back, he could not get back to them. she said she heard her husband cutting with a chain saw to get back to them. that's just how bad this is. trees everywhere. my family and i just watching this from a distance have been weeping. we've been consoling one another, but we're together, and i think it helps us, craig, to keep things in perspective. you know, this is bad, but so far it's not as bad as say some of the horrible shootings we've seen where so many people have lost their lives. we still have our lives. we've had two lost. there may be more like the reporter just said, but so far we still have each other, and our church community. no house, no car, no job, nothing is more important than that. and i would say, too, craig, that that building, you know, i know that picture's been all over the news. that building is not the church. the church is the group of people who have received jesus as their lord and savior and who gather together and have community together and love and serve him. that building is special, but it's not the church, and thank god the church is okay today so far as we know. emotionally shocked, yes, and reeling, yes, but just like our lord, we're alive for the moment. the building has seen and will see better days, but you know, so far we're hanging in there today. >> pastor evans we're showing that picture now that you just referenced, the top of the screen there, the picture looking down 3rd street before the hurricane and the bottom of the screen a picture after hurricane michael. and you can see the steeple there. the steeple is bent, but as you said, that church is just the structure. >> that's right. listen, we've been talking about some renovations of that sanctuary. this is not the way we wanted to get them, all kidding aside. all kidding aside, this is not the way we wanted to get them, but listen, that building's been there since the 50s. we praise god for it. it's been a special place. special things happen in special places. but at the end of the day, it is a place, and we're just going to look to rebuild as god allows us to. we thank god for the great -- we know recovery and rebuilding is obviously a very long process. in fact, our church has recently been working with a small church in beaumont, texas, helping them rebuild after harvey over a year ago, and they're still rebuilding. we know it's going to take time, and what's cool, craig, is that we know we're not alone. we have a great network of fellow christians. i've had all kind of texts and e-mails and phone calls of folks from literally all over the country checking on us, caring about us. we're a tourist area. we've had people from all over this country contacting us saying we were worshipping down there when we were down on our vacation, and we just care about you all and want to know how we can help. our denomination has a disaster relief effort, the southern baptist disaster relief. we know they're going to be active with us. i'm thankful for florida and all that our state will be doing. all that those men and women are doing right now to cut through, to help people get food and clothing and shelter. we have a great country, and as far as for all the negatives that go on, i just thank god still for this country, craig, and that we want to help one another. i thank god for the red cross that's trying to help, you know, everybody who's trying to help. we know we're not the first people to go through this. sadly, i fear we won't be the last, but we're just so grateful for all the folks who have already reached out. and we know it is going to take some time. >> pastor evans, thank you for your time. >> yes, sir, thank you. >> good luck down there. nbc's matt bradley is in florida's capitol, the capital city of tallahassee where downed trees have knocked out power to about 90% of that city as i understand it. many of the roads are impassable as well. matt, did the capitol escape -- >> go ahead, matt, i'm sorry. set et scene for us here. >> reporter: craig, well, you know, tallahassee they're counting their blessings. they managed to avoid any deaths or major injuries, unlike some other places that were hit by the storm, but what they do have here in the state capital is trees, and a lot of them ended up like this one here. i think there's two trees here. this is one or two of about more than 500 trees that fell down here in florida's capital of tallahassee. they're very proud of their trees here, but they turned into kind of a major problem for them. i'm here with the man who's in charge of putting the lights on in the state capital. this is scott maddox, the city commissioner. thanks for being with us. >> sure, sure. >> reporter: what do you think about the impact of this storm now that it's over, now that it's passed? you were expecting a real blow. what are you seeing? >> we're very thankful to god that it went a little bit west of us. we're praying for the folks in jackson county and other places that were devastated by high winds, including panama city and apalachicola and the coast. we have 55% of our city is under tree cover. we're very proud of our live oak trees like you were just saying. we have 495 intersections that are blocked by trees. 90% of our electric customers are without power today, but we're working on it. we've got over 500 trucks from all of the country that have come in to assist us with our line crews, and we'll have everybody up and going pretty quickly. >> now, you mentioned, this isn't tallahassee's first rodeo. you guys had some experience. you had a scrimmage. what lessons have you applied for this hurricane? >> we had hurricane cade in 1985, and then we didn't have any until hermine a couple of years ago. that was a great dry run for us. we learned to get the outside crews into tallahassee before the storm. they hunkered down here, and we took care of them during the storm, and now we have them as force multipliers to put them out right away the next morning. we learned to take system of our circuits and power them down rather than try to fix the circuit with power on it, ask then repair from there. i think we'll have people back on quicker than most people think. we're just overjoyed that no one got hurt. >> thanks very much. appreciate. >> yes, sir. >> matt, thank you, and thanks to the commissioner there as well. apalachicola's mayor van johnson, mayor johnson joins me on the phone. he is in destin, florida, where he took shelter from the storm. what do we know about apalachicola right now? are all of your citizens safe? >> yes, everybody's safe, and what we know is pretty much is what we have come to learn as happening all over the panhandle. we're without power and probably will be for a significant amount of days. we have trees that's littering the streets, and we still have some erosion, but one of the biggest issues that is facing my community now is that we have a loss of water pressure, and we believe that one of the emergency generators didn't kick on during the storm, and that's significant because when duke energy comes in to recharge those electrical lines that's down, we could run the risk of a house catching on fire, and we wouldn't have enough water pressure to fight that fire. >> any idea when folks might be able to start returning to their homes, those who left? >> my conversation with the chief of police at this point in time, they're only letting emergency personnel in, so we're probably talking about late friday, early saturday morning before the residents can start returning. >> and the damage there, the destruction, how would you characterize it? >> this would be the worst i've heard. i'm actually in destin trying to make my way back to apalachicola. this is the worst in history. a lot of downed trees, some structure damage. we just don't know how much yet. we're waiting on those assessments to come in. >> all right but it's good to hear that all of your residents there are at least safe. mayor johnson, thank you, and good luck. keep us posted, sir. >> all right. thank you. developing story here, harvey weinstein's lawyers are celebrating a partial legal victory this morning. weinstein appeared in a manhattan courtroom a short time ago. the judge agreed to dismiss allegations by one of the three accusers. weinstein's team had accused her of perjury. alicia evans told her story to "the new yorker" last year. she says weinstein forced her to perform oral sex in 2004. weinstein denies all sexual assault allegation against him. after that court proceeding this morning, weinstein's lawyer blamed the #metoo movement for the charges against his client. >> when a movement pushes prosecutors to arrest people who have not committed a crime and then charges them with those crimes, then it's a dangerous movement. >> the manhattan d.a. said today, quote, nothing in this disclosure impacts the remaining counts. much more on this storm, including fema under pressure. i'll talk to a woman who ran fema's work in the southeast about the pit falls that lie ahead. and the president wide open in two new interviews. he says the presidency has cost him billions of dollars. for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. about the colonial penn program. here to tell you if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and 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password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever with x1. x1 help. another reason to love x1. say "teach me more" into your voice remote to get started. short time ago, president trump picked up the phone for a wide-ranging interview on fox news. kanye collusion, jeff sessions, all of them covered, even an admission that his presidency has cost him billions of dollars. >> i'll bet you i've lost billions of dollars. it's cost me billions. i said to one of my friends, a very wealthy friend, i said you know, i bet you it cost me 2 or $3 billion, and it's worth every penny of it. >> white house correspondent kelly o'donnell here to wrap it up for us. kelly, this interview, it comes mid rally week for the president. what kind of mood was he in? >> reporter: he sounded upbeat, and he extended the interview to about 45 minutes. there were times where just knowing the tricks of the tv trade it sounded like the host of the program might have been ready to wrap it up, and the president kept extending. he seemed to be in a mood to talk. he has a busy day today. there's a lot going on. you mentioned kanye west being a part of the conversation. he's at the white house today talking about a number of issues, including criminal justice reform, also the issues of violence in chicago, and the music modernization act, which will sort of rewrite the publishing rules in the modern streaming age, especially for song writers and performers. so we'll see a number of those sort of people from the music industry here as well. and the president talked about that criminal justice piece, and he was asked by the panel this morning if his attorney general -- and we know they don't see eye to eye on a number of things -- might be at odds with the president on this issue. i know from my own reporting there are aspects of criminal justice reform where jeff sessions is on board with the administration's plans, and there are some areas where they'd like to make some changes in sentencing guidelines where he's not on the same page. here's how the president handled it. >> i heard your attorney general doesn't want prison reform. jeff sessions is standing in your way. is that inaccurate? >> well, if he doesn't, then he gets overruled by me because i make the decision. he doesn't. >> reporter: i make the decision, he doesn't. that's the word from the president today. his comments about his wealth and money left on the table if he had not become president, no way for us to run that down and fact check his assertion of billions lost. that seemed sort of in the hyperbolic lane of the president. he has referenced the fact that he does earn money while in office, even though he has said that he has given control of his business to his sons. we know that the d.c. hotel that bears his name is a hot spot for those who are supportive of the administration or might want to be doing business with the administration and so profits have certainly flown through that to by extension the president who gives up his federal paycheck each quarter, donates that back to the k coffers. >> kelly o'donnell, thanks as always. also in that interview with fox news, the president talked about the missing saudi dissident. we'll talk about that in a few minutes. also, as michael moved past florida and into georgia, it took out power, trees and homes as well. we'll go live to the damage in albany, georgia, more than 100 miles inland just to see how strong this storm stayed as it carved through the southeast. [ beep ] first man is "the best movie of the year." we're going to the moon. neil armstrong. buzz aldrin. that is a big mother... it's gonna be a hell of a ride. [ dramatic music playing ] we got a bad fire. there's no easy way to say this... they're gone, neil. we need you to be commander. we need to fail down here so we don't fail up there. what are the chances this is the last time the boys are gonna see you? 5... 4... 3... 2... first man. rated pg-13. what is now tropical storm michael is walloping the southeast at this hour moving north through the carolinas. michael hit florida and georgia with ferocious hurricane-force winds north of 150 miles an hour in some places shredding buildings, knocking down trees and power lines. georgia's governor nathan deal says at least 450,000 homes are without power in georgia alone. meanwhile, kerry sanders joins me again from panama city beach. tammy lightner is in albany. kerry, let me start with you. i understand you've got someone there who is desperately searching for a family member? >> reporter: craig, we're dealing with a situation here where communications are down. when communications go down in the aftermath of a storm like this, there can be some very desperate moments, and that's what is unfolding right here. joining us is crystal matthews. crystal, you walked four -- >> probably about four miles to get here, and you took your time to get here because you cannot find and you have no information about your sister and your niece? >> correct. >> reporter: we have a picture, first of all. let's look at that picture. as we look at the picture, tell me who we're looking at here. >> my sister guy bass and her bass. >> i heard it's utter devastation in calloway, and they're probably about two to three miles from the tyndall bridge, and no one's heard from them. >> in your long walk here, you did come across some deputies. what did they tell you? >> i came across a deputy sheriff and a county worker and they said that it was devastated and there was search and rescue going on over there, and the deputy said i'm not going to lie there are deaths and injuries. >> >> reporter: they told you that? >> so the lack of communications, being cut off, you're obviously anxious. >> and i can't get out because where we are, there's trees blocking the roads, that's why i had to walk. i walked for four miles. i came here hoping to find some of my business partners, which i have, and hopefully find some phone lines, and there's been some nice people to loan me their phones. >> reporter: what you're experiencing is what happens after a storm, this inability to find out what's going on. we understand your greatest fear. we understand the anxiety that you're experiencing. let's assume somebody watching looks at this picture, sees them alive, and you don't have cell phones? >> no, so contact nbc. i guess contact you all. >> reporter: contact the local police department or sheriff's department. that's where the connection should come from. so they should contact or whoever is with them should contact the local sheriff's department, and that will get that information ultimately to you. this was a major storm, category 4. >> correct. >> reporter: you're praying right now? >> i've been praying constantly. my husband went through hurricane harvey. the blessing there, we had a land line. i was able to talk to him after the storm, and i knew he was all right. my brother-in-law sent his plane down from atlanta to take me in. we were the first flight to land in southwest florida. >> reporter: right now the greatest concern is those two loved ones. >> at least i knew he was all right. i lost contact with him after that, but i knew he was all right after the storm, and then i was able to go down there less than 20 hours later after the storm. >> reporter: we hope that by sharing this picture -- i can see it in your face. okay? take a deep bre breath. there's a lot of people watching. i think there will be some people who see this and will be able to. >> help find them. >> reporter: yes. >> she texted me a little after noon. she said large limbs were landing on the house, and she has a huge oak tree on the back of her house. i was looking at it the other day when i took water to her thinking i really don't like that tree. >> reporter: i hope there's a very happy ending to what you're going through right now. >> me too. i pray for everybody. i know it's a lot of devastation. my prayers are with everyone. it's hard on all of us. >> reporter: crystal, thank you very much. let's take one last look at that picture. again, this is what happens with the loss of communications, people are separated. they wanted answers, and sometimes those answers can take a day or so. we're hopeful the answer you get is that they had a hell of a night but that they're okay. >> kerry, thank you, and we're going to continue to show this picture. keep us posted on this, so when we have the happy ending, i want you to come back and share that with all of our viewers and listeners. kerry sanders for us there in panama city. lets go north. let's go to albany georgia. tammy lightner is in albany where, again, more destruction. more devastation. >> reporter: yeah, craig, that's right. we've also had one reported death in georgia. it happened about an hour away from where i am, a little 11-year-old girl, unfortunately. let me give you an idea of what's going on where i am in albany. i spoke with a woman who lives inside of this house, helen. she told me that she was home when the hurricane came through here, and this tree fell on her house and actually snapped from up there. it came down on her house, and if you take a look, it came right here on top of this car pretty much destroying the car here, and if we can take you around here, she says there wasn't really damage to the inside of the house, luckily, which is just amazing. her and her grandson were inside at the time, and i'm taking you around here to show you -- we've also got a drone overhead to give you a different perspective on how much damage was done. this is her grandson's car. it was also damaged. the back windshield was blown out, and then the tree next door, it came down here just amazing that her and her grandson survived this. this is pretty much the story across georgia. trees down, power lines down, about 450,000 homes without power. we've been speaking with rescue crews throughout the entire night. here in this county, they started going out around 10:30 in the evening. as soon as the winds died down, they said they've been getting so many calls just inundated. they haven't been able to get through to a lot of people. that's what they've been doing this morning, and that's pretty much the story across georgia. they're starting to get out now and really assess the damage. craig. >> tammy lightner there in albany. tammy on the ground and a bird's eye view as well of just the widespread damage that we are seeing all over the southeast this morning. tammy, thank you. we'll be checking in with you throughout the course of the day. new reports, meanwhile, shedding some light on what might have happened to that "washington post" columnist and critic of saudi arabia. he walked into the saudi consulate in istanbul last week. he has not been seen since. some words a few moments ago from the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee bob corker about that. plus, a busy day for president trump. a big meeting on human trafficking signing two bills into law, and lunch with ye. kanye west at the white house. that visit coming on the heels of that wild snl performance. welcome to the place where people go to learn about their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? 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what's at stake with u.s./saudi relationship, sir? >> i would say they're excellent. i've told them they've got to pay for their military. >> is everything in jeopardy now, sir, good relations with saudi arabia? >> i have to find out what happened. >> what about the senators, a bipartisan kand ind of talk tha they would block further arms sales to saudi, would you support that? >> well, i think that would be hurting us. frankly, i think that would be a very, very tough pill to swallow for our country. i mean, you're affecting us. >> khashoggi a "washington post" columnist disappeared from saudi arabia's consulate in istanbul last tuesday. u.s. officials tell the post that intel intercepts indicate that saudis had a plan to lure and detain khashoggi, also that the crown prince ordered it himself. the post previously obtained video that reports show khashoggi at the consulate he disappeared. the precise connection between the intercepts and the fate of khashoggi is unclear at this point, but saudi officials have denied any involvement with his disappearance. they say khashoggi came and left the consulate after trying to obtain documents related to his upcoming wedding. that's what they are saying. joining us now "new york times" columnist who knows or knew jamal khashoggi. i also want to share this. this was just a few moments ago. this is smart bob corker, the chair of the senate foreign relations committee. he said in part, quote, they murdered him, talking about the saudi government, the senator saying his instincts tell him, quote, they murdered him. if they're murdering american citizens, then it doesn't matter what our relationship has been. the senator added it does appear that they murdered -- he said, an american citizen, khashoggi is not an american citizen. the white house says that john bolton and jared kushner called the crown prince, later we're told that mike pompeo called him as well. what should they be saying to the crown prince of saudi arabia? >> they should be talking about a magnitsky act investigation, which would bring in sanctions against somebody who ordered an killing in another country. they should be talking about an end to arms sales. they should be pressing saudi arabia to explain what happened. you know, there are cameras inside the consulate that the saudis control that could indicate what happened. they could talk about these 15 people who flew from saudi arabia, apparently to carry out this detention and what increasingly seems to be a murder. one was an autopsy expert. why would you send an autopsy expert for a detention unless you had a particularly macabre purpose. the president should also send a message to saudi arabia the crown prince has been a failure. the royal family needs to find somebody else. the khashoggi killing would be the ultimate abuse of power, but he has previously brutalized many other citizens. he has detained women who advocated their right to drive, and, you know, most horribly, he has presided over a war in yemen that has brought 8 million people to the brink of famine. >> what would be gained from the crown prince's standpoint, what would be gained by killing this dissident? it doesn't seem to, on its face, like you said, why do that? was it worth it? would it be worth it to kill khashoggi? >> no, it wouldn't be, but the crown prince has a pattern of doing things impetuously that are reckless. he confronted katar and created a crisis with qatar that absolutely created backlash and harmed saudi interests. he started the war in yemen, which was -- has been disastrous for their interests. he kidnapped the prime minister of lebanon in ways that just made them look bad. so i think in this case the crown prince has been very upset by khashoggi's criticism, even though they've actually been fairly moderate, precisely because khashoggi is part of the establishment in saudi arabia. >> let's talk about the news of the day here, of course, folks down in the southeast continue to recover from this epic storm, and while the death toll is at two right now, there are expectations that it will climb. hundreds of thousands without power. most sane thinking people would acknowledge that the intensity of the storms, not so much the frequency, but certainly the intensity of the storms due in no small part climate change, man made climate change. your article, as most of them are in "the times" fantastic look at what's happening in florida, the hoax as you call it. there was a time in this country not long ago, nicholas krysztof where addressing climate change was a bipartisan exercise. john mccain ran on it in 2008. what happened? when did climate change become partisan? >> you know, it was shortly after the mccain run, and i think a couple of things happened. one is that on the al gore became very much associated with climate change, and so this became a democratic issue, and meanwhile, the koch brothers invested huge amounts of money to support the oil industry, the coal industry, the traditional carbon emitting things, and so within the republican side it became a dirty word to talk about climate change as though this tribalism infected our policy on what had been a -- something of a bipartisan issue, and so you look at polling, and there wasn't that much -- there was so difference but only a modest difference in the early 2000s. now there's a huge gap. >> it really is fascinating. it really is bizarre that you still have significant swaths of the population who don't believe that climate change is man made, at least partially man made. >> i think that creates a burden on us in journalism to cover not only the extreme weather but also broader underlying issues and not just show rescuers in boats, but also address issues of climate change that create the need for rescuers on boats. >> nicholas krysztof, thank you for coming in. always enjoy it. former first lady michelle obama's first live tv interview since she left the white house, her new mission on this international day of the girl. plus, oh, to be a fly on the wall, president trump and kanye west spending some time in the white house. iasis or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll good at that water jet thingy... but we can guarantee the best price on this hotel. or any accommodation, from homes to yurts. booking.com booking.yeah at humana, we believe great things are ahead of you when you start with healthy. and part of staying healthy means choosing the right medicare plan. humana can help. with original medicare, you're covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits when you're sick. but keep in mind you'll have to pay a deductible for each. a medicare supplement plan can cover your deductibles and co-insurance, but you may pay higher premiums than you do with other plans. and prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescription drug benefits. you get all this coverage for zero dollar monthly plan premium in most areas. and humana has a large network of doctors and hospitals. so call or go online today. find out if your doctor is part of the humana network and get your free decision guide. discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. moments ago president trump commenting on tropical storm michael. he said the big problem with this hurricane was the tremendous power and speed. fema officials say the power in many areas will be off for a very long time, the first priority, getting crews on the ground for search and rescue operations. john copenhaver joins me now, a former director of fema for the southeastern region. john, you know this area that we are talking about very well. do you get the sense that a lot of people chose to ride this thing out and now may be stranded or trapped? >> craig, there are probably too many people that decided to ride this thing out. one of the things that we do when we work with local and state governments in terms of evacuation orders is we try to educate people in terms of what could happen if they stay, and the dire consequences of not only being without power but potentially being injured and not having people being able to get to them for some time. and unfortunately, there are people that i'm sure are injured, they're likely to be people that have perished, that it's going to take some time to get to because it's such an area of devastation. a lot of the roadways are blocked. a lot of its helicopter access, so it's going to be a huge response effort at this point. >> john, there's been some reporting on the number of senior roles at fema that remain unheld. the number of people who weren't hired to do a specific job but nonetheless still doing that job. what's the effect of that? is that something that might be affecting the recovery, or no? >> it could be affecting the recovery. typically, when a situation like a response to hurricane michael, which fortunately doesn't happen very often, but when it does, fema has a policy of what they call all hands on deck, literally having everybody when folks are tired after working say a 12-hour shift and they are beginning to burn out. you need to have people there to step in seam lelessly to pick u the workload. so when you are thin in terms of the number of people available to step in to help, then you start to experience potentially performance problems in the agency. i hope it is not the case. it is still early to tell. but we are very, very early into the response. but, let's hope that doesn't become a problem. >> john, thank you for your time, sir. >> thank you. right now at the white house, musician like kid rock, the beach boys' mike love joining president trump for the signing ceremony of the music modernization act and aimed at reforming the music licensing, and rapper kayne west is reportedly expected to attend. they will talk about everything from american manufacturing to the resurgence of gang violence and prevention and specifically in chicago, and are reducing the violence in west's hometown as well. president trump crediting kayne with the support of the black community. >> i have a lt of african-american support, and lot has developed over the last little while with kayne coming out. >> and so joining me now is charlemagne the god the host of the syndicated breakfast club, and author of the book "shook one, anxiety is playing tricks on me." congratulations on the book. >> yes, what is happening, craig? >> has yay helped black people? >> no, and black people are not a mono lith, and kayne does not represent all black people, and i don't support the president in any way. >> is it h helpful? >> well, if you are not used, you are useless, and so i think that he is being misused a little bit, because when you are using him as a prop, and you say because of him you have all of the support from the african-american community, that is not true. kayne west represents kayne west and not the entire black community. >> you interviewed him in the previous and this is what he had to say. >> it is like when he won, it proved something. it proved that anything is possible in america. that donald trump could be president of america. i am not talking about, you know, what he has done since he as been in office. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> and the fact he could do it, and remember when i said that i was going to run for president, and i had friends close of mine making jokes and talking [ bleep ] and oh, that is proven that could have happened. >> you buy that explanation? >> yeah, because it has nothing to do with the policy, but it has to do with the ego. if i am kayne west and i'm a celebrity and i announced that i wanted to run for president and everybody laughs at me, and then the executive producer of "celebrity apprentice" comes to run and somebody with zero qualification and has never held any political offices, and wins, i am thinking, that i could have missed my moment, and they threw the presidency in the toilet. i could have missed my moment. >> and so you are thinking that kayne west sees something in donald trump that he aspires to see? >> yes, i think that donald trump is a good case for optimism, because barack obama was exceptional, and he is an exceptional human being, and harvard and the nobel peace prize and all of that stuff and donald trump was the executive producers of "the celebrity apprenti apprentice" and the bar is very low, if donald trump is president, and why wouldn't i feel that way. >> you think that kayne west is president? >> america, we are in a state of idiocrasy right now, and what we are witnessing are right now, i don't see why not. >> and now, we should point out though that his wife, when she went to the white house, the last time, she has gotten a lot of credit for getting clemency for a whom is serving life in prison. >> as she should. >> and so do we think that perhaps there is some policy good that might come from the newfound friendship? >> that is a great point and i will tell you why. the messenger matters, and if kayne and kim are the trump whisperers and celebrities to the know how the talk to the another whisperer and clearly he does not understand the language of the politicians, and so if they can go into the white house and speak about certain thing, and and we are in a election year, and it would be a dope stunt for him to say, here is a few billion dollars for us to go open up some mental health centers throughout the african-american communities, then it is a good start. the messenger and the timing mas matters. >> charles blow, a new york columnist speculates that it is a beef between kayne west and president obama, and he referred to him at one time as a jackass. is that it? >> well, possible rebellion, and a lot of times if we are not embraced by who we want to be embraced by, we will run into the arms of the people who act like they like us and want to embrace us. >> and tell me about the book "shook one." >> a anxiety is playing tricks on me out on october 23rd, and it is about the anxiety they have been dealing with my whole life and ptsd and trauma and i want everybody to be mentally healthy and i love that there is a lot of people out here elevating the conversation of mental health and we need to the eradicate the mental health stigma in the black community. it is not something that i was aiming to do when i wrote it last year, but now i am looking at what taraji j. henson is doing, and other people talking about their bipolar, and so it will be out. >> and the pride of south carolina. >> no, that is you, craig. you are the pride of south carolina. we will be the pride together. >> no, no. >> i want to bring that picture of you getting your face bitten by a dog the next time i come. >> no, no, we will be right back. xeljanz xr. a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell you doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some things. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™". ask your doctor abyou can do things like change your settings, learn tips and tricks, troubleshoot, and even manage your account. finding your xfinity username or wifi password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever with x1. x1 help. another reason to love x1. say "teach me more" into your voice remote to get started. former first lady michelle obama joined me and the rest of the "today" team to celebrate the international day of the girl. she used the occasion to announce the formation of the global girls alliance and an organization to support some 1,500 girls and education groups around the globe in the wake of the bitter partisan battle of the kavanaugh confirmation, she asked about the famous motto if they go low, we go high still stands. >> yes, fear is not a are proper motivator, and hope wins out. if you think about how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities, do you want them afraid of the neighbors, angry or vengeful? if we think of the values that we try the promote to our children, and savannah, you are a mother right now, and at this point, you have to think about what you are telling your girls. which model do you want them to live by? and i have to think about that as a mother, as someone who is a role model to young girls, and we want them to grow up with promise and hope and we can't model something different if we want them to be better than that. >> former first lady the also said that there is absolutely no way that she would ever run for elected u fuoffice and she was adamant about it. and that is going to wrap up our hour, and andrea mitchell is here. >> what a day and morning. >> great to see her again. thank you, craig. and now on "andrea mitchell reports" the florida panhandle is crushed by hurricane michael, killing two people including an 11-year-old girl as the officials are fearing that the death toll may rise when they get in to access the hardest hit a areas. >> i have been through storms before, and this is the strongest, and the harshest storm i have ever seen and it continued, and continueded and continued and one tornado after another, and you will see the devastation

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