Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Kendis Gibson 2019070

fourth of july, as well. don't tell me there was one i missed. >> we're in california and they get the big earthquakes. you do move the world. it is a very afternoon right here. i'm kendis gibson. california rocked, again. rattled by a 7.1 magnitude quake. the largest area has seen since nearly 20 years. another major quake could be on the way. we expect a live press conference within the hour. we'll bring it to you live. fighting against the system, president trump does another about face now ordering an executive order to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. and pitch perfect. the 2020 hopefuls are speaking to african-american voters at the essence music festival right now. we'll take you live to the main stage. there is a lot, as i was saying, happening right now. but, first up, that breaking news from south florida and the insane images we're getting from there. take a look right now. this is from plantation where the fire rescue officials say 15 to 20 people have been injured following a massive gas explosion at a shopping center in plantation, florida. police are on the scene. they're advising people to avoid the area as first responders work to contain the situation in the aftermath of the eruption. crews have found ruptured gas lines among the rubble. our own morgan cheski has arrived on the scene which is roughly 20 minutes west of ft. lauderdale. morgan, what do you know? >> yeah, kendis, we just arrived here on the scene a few moments ago. they have established a safe perimeter around where this explosion took place at 11:28 this morning, including several hundred yards in every direction around the shopping center. for right now remains closed indefinitely as fire crews make their way through this damage area and try to find the origin of this explosion. we do know, as you mentioned, they found the ruptured gas lines in the rubble and we're also told when they responded to this explosion, there were people also trapped inside. some of these buildings unable to get out because of that massive amount of damage that happened when this blast not only rocked this shopping center here, but people could feel it from blocks even up to potentially a mile away from this area. we did have a chance to hear directly from fire officials just a short time ago who told us up to 15 to 20 people were injured. they are thankful after witnessing the extent of the damage today. take a listen. >> thank goodness and i'm only going to say at this point, nobody was killed. thank goodness for that. you know, this could, as bad as it is, it could have been a lot worse. the l.a. fitness was occupied. it could have been -- everything at this point is tentative. >> and the images we've seen of the damage caused by this explosion are simply stunning. we do know that there are cars in parking lots a ways away from where this explosion took place that had their windshields caved in. debris is thrown significantly into the parking lot here at this time. firefighters making their way from store to store in the shopping center. make sure that no one else is affected by this explosion right now. we do anticipate another press conference here in about an hour where we're hoping to get an update. but as i can tell you right now, a safe perimeter is up in place and a massive response from first responders here in plantation, florida. about 30 miles north of miami as we continue to learn more about this explosion. kendis? >> once again, the headline there, at least 15 to 20 people have been injured in this massive explosion. morgan, as we have the images there of what took place, i do want to ask for us to bring up the images of this, this fashion center or this place. the fountains plantation shopping center before so that you can get a sense of exactly how unrecognizable this place is from before and after. as you said, morgan, a little earlier that l.a. fitness was occupied at the time. do you get a sense from the fire officials that they had any clue there was a gas leak at this lotion befo location before? >> they responded at 11:28 to reports of an explosion. they were hopefully able to get everyone out as fast as possible and then we heard just this last update that they found those ruptured gas lines hidden in the rubble of this building. they don't know and actually what caused those lines to rupture. that is still under investigation at this point in time. according to the fire department, they still have fire officials going from building to building because as you mention the true extent of this damage almost unrecognizable. portions of the roof have been blown off and, frankly, when you hear that up to 20 people were injured. a significant amount of people here at this time. and when you see the images of the damage caused here as fire officials said, they're frankly surprised that not more people were hurt when this blast took place. >> that, indeed. 11:38 in the morning on a saturday. no doubt. many people at that l.a. fitness and insaid many of those shops. morgan, i appreciate your update there from plantation, florida. we want to move on to the other big breaking news story we're following this hour. ridgecrest, california, the most powerful earthquake in the united states within two decades. within this hour we expect a live update. the california governor is now requesting a presidential emergency declaration for emergency assistance after this powerful 7.1 magnitude quake struck. at this hour, no known if atalities or major injuries. this latest quake more than five times as powerful as a major one that struck on thursday. so strong it jolted more than 100 people more than 100 miles away rocking buildings across southern california and toppling items off supermarket shelves. it was felt as far away as los angeles and las vegas and into new mexico. it caused rockslides that caused road closures. and residents are now being urged to remain on high alert as authorities survey the damage. >> i've never been through anything like this in my life. so, that's, it's horrifying. >> this is the biggest one i felt in my life. absolutely. >> make sure you're stocking up just in case that we have something bigger than we had today and it's, you know, stuff starts crumbling. and these stores can't get back open, we need to make sure and if we can't get to you right away, you have to be able to take care of yourself for a period of time. >> scientists say the fault causing the quakes appears to be growing and the u.s. geological survey is nowern warning that another larger earthquake could hit that same area. joe frier and steve paterson following that story. we'll start with joe right now. joe, are officials expecting any more injuries or are they going door to door? what are they doing to try to figure out where people are right now? >> yeah, well, obviously, checking some of the areas that were hit hardest. no reports of any major structural damage. all the buildings in this community are still standing. so far all the injuries reported are minor. cuts and bruises. really the only structural damage that we've seen so far the main structural damage is, for example, what you see behind me which is caused by fire. two structural fires right after the earthquake hit. this mobile home is one of the ones that immediately caught fire. neighbors say that right after that 7.1 quake hit, they came outside looked and saw it go up in flames very quickly. it didn't take long for the whole home to be engulfed. fire department arrived right away. was able to put it out within about ten minutes. everything inside there is gone but everyone who lived there was not inside the home. they were able to make it out safely. but, obviously, the biggest concern about injuries moving forward is if there are any aftershocks and just how big those aftershocks might be. kendis? >> in fact, there have been thousands of aftershocks since thursday's initial 6.4 earthquake. steve paterson who has been monitoring the situation from los angeles, what are you learning from your post? >> we just heard from the office of emergency management, the governor's office. they just wrapped up a press conference with some good news really. it sounds like as daylight has come, they have been able to make significant progress and significant progress in getting the word out. the third of four press conferences that we'll hear in the next hour and a half or so. they're saying at this point, virtually all of the power is back on in ridgecrest. there is about two areas of localized damage. ridgecrest and the smaller trova. in ridgecrest only about 46 customers are out of power out of the 30,000 or so people that live there. in trova most of that town remains without power. that road, as you mentioned earlier, that state route 178 was cut off for the longest time. that rock slide on that road. that's all been cleared and restored. if you can believe it, all the roads in the area, according to officials, are back up and running. that also includes cots, water, meals. all of that has been brought into the area to help with residents and grocery stores are back up and running. water services. both communities reporting not in an essential problem at this time. so, now what you're looking at as joe friar mentioned, you're watching for aftershocks but a lot of the emergency response is now focused on assessing the damage. we're in sort of a recovery and assessment phase moving from a direct emergency phase. that's great news for residents that are on the ground there, obviously, still dealing with those aftershocks. >> pretty remarkable to see las vegas a basketball game taking place at the time and some people ran for the exits. you just made your way to ridgecrest in the last couple hours. give us a sense of what the road conditions are and as you drove into this town what sort of damage did appear? >> yeah, you don't see a lot of damage, especially because i was coming from l.a. on the opposite side of where the epicenter is. the issue is if you kept going to the next community up, that was the road most concerning because that is where the rock slide took place. and we saw cracks in the road there last night immediately after the earthquake hit. it was interesting as i was coming into town i saw a sign saying this area is 100 miles from everywhere. and that 100-mile buffer proved to be beneficial here because as you drive into this area, it is a remote area. where this earthquake was centered, not a lot of people living here. not a lot of homes and businesses. and that proved to be a good thing because had an earthquake of this strength hit much closer to an urban area, like los angeles or surrounding communities, the damage, obviously, would be much greater. kendis? >> some 15 million people in the greater los angeles area. you saw the photos there. the images from the basketball game that was interrupted. steve, a lot of people have been waiting to hear from the white house. have you heard any response right now from the white house? >> just from the press conference i just mentioned to you. that is a direct call for federal aid. there was a person representing fema at that presser who also said that they had boots on the ground. they had vehicles on the ground and they were able to respond and sort of get resources in motion quickly enough that even have things prepared preplanning before the disaster really kicked off and the sun rose and were able to get resources where they were able to be. sounds like fema is a direct response to that declaration. they have been on the ground for a significant amount of time. able to help with resources and getting help to people who need it the most, kendis. >> authorities from all over across southern california who are helping people out there in ridgecrest, as well as the town at this hour. our thanks to joe friar joining us. with me is peggy a seismologi seismologist. peggy, can you hear me? >> yeah. >> quick question about all of this because we have the earthquake and i was on air on thursday where you had that 6.4 earthquake that seemed really, really powerful. the strongest in 20 years that took place there in california. and then you had this earthquake overnight. a lot of people are calling thursday's earthquake a f foreshock. what does that mean? >> about 5% to 6% of the big earthquakes that we have have an earthquake that happens some time before them. it could be a couple hours or a couple days or a couple weeks. we don't know before hand that that earthquake which may be big and somewhat damaging like the 6.4 was is a for shock until the main shock comes. if you look at the 2011 earthquake in japan a magnitude 7.2 that happened off shore and then the magnitude 9 earthquake that caused all the damage and all the deaths and the tsunami. so, it's the same kind of case. any earthquake that we experience essentially anywhere in the world could be a forshock to a bigger earthquake. fortunately, for all of us, that is a rare case. one in 20 approximately that there will be something bigger coming. >> the strongest earthquake that has been felt in the united states in some two decades. and we have become familiar with the san andres fault but this fault seemingly quiet. what do we know of this one? >> so, we know that we only really know about earthquakes in california for the last 250 maybe 300 years. when we've been recording the history of them. and california is a big state. we also know that there are faults all over california where there are mountsens and mountai and so on. essentially what we all forget there is the san andres fault and the crisscrossing in l.a. is that the rest of california can cause big earthquakes, too. the one 20 years ago was the earthquake that happened also in the mohave desert. the napa earthquake, which wasn't nearly as big but caused some damage was on a fault that we were not so excited and aware of. the earthquake in '83. so, the big picture is, all of california is earthquake country. and we haven't been here long enough to not be surprised when something new comes up. >> but it still jolts everybody when does happen. does put everybody on edge. >> i have to leave it there. appreciate your insight and the information there. peggy -- >> can i do one more message? >> go ahead. >> be prepared. >> that really is the key. have your kits at home because you never know when it could happen. when a larger one that could impact your life could take place. appreciate the advice. coming up right here, putting up a fight. president trump is taking on democrats and the court. this as he weighs a citizenship question for the 2020 census. where the battle is heading and the critical next few days. still ahead, hitting the right note. democratic candidates are making their pitch to black voters at the essence music festival. we'll take you there live. we'll continue to watch the breaking news stories from florida and california. d califos that are humana medicare advantage members. no, it's this john smith. who we paired with a humana team member to help address his own specific health needs. at humana, we take a personal approach to your health, to provide care that's just as unique as you are. no matter what your name is. ♪ trust us. us kids are ready to take things into our own hands. don't think so? 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you're so cute when you get excited... anyways... i've got their app right here, i can troubleshoot. i can schedule a time for them to call me back, it's great! you have our number programmed in? ya i don't even know your phone anymore... excuse me?! what? i don't know your phone number. aw well. he doesn't know our phone number! you have our fax number, obviously... today's xfinity service. simple. easy. awesome. i'll pass. >> it's one of the ways. we have four or five ways we can do it. one of the ways that we're thinking about doing it very seriously. we're doing well on the census. we can also add an addition on and start the printing now and maybe do an addendum after we get a positive decision. so, we're working on a lot of things including an executive order. >> an addendum. president trump there admitting he is considering an executive order to allow a citizenship question to the 2020 census. this despite the administration failing to provide any lisegal justification for the census question in the first place. eli is fired up about this topic. editor of abovethebar.com. katie joins me, as well and kevin who is the chief washington correspondent at bloomberg news. let me start with you. you are fired up about it. can the president iactually do this? >> no, basically trump's argument right here is, okay, let's have everybody who hands out the census, let's have them wear hoods. because i don't think black and brown people will take a census from a guy who wears a hood. i don't think you can do that. no, it's halloween, they're ghosts. we're dressing up as ghosts and roberts is like, no, it's okay if you dress up as ghosts and take the census. the problem is that you can't tell me it's halloween. you have to have a better reason than that and trump refuses to give them a better reason. sear seriously, that's what's happening. everyone is saying, it's not halloween. >> i was trying -- did you guys follow the road map on that one? >> i did not. sorry. i'm being completely honest. i did not understand any of that. >> trump is lying. >> okay. so, that's -- >> let's talk about the legalize of all of that. can the president legally file an executive order with this? >> file an executive order, yes, he can. >> and get away from the courts. >> if his lawyers tell him he can do something, he will do it. even if his lawyers tell him he can't do something, flout and embarrass the attorneys at the department of justice. here's the thing, not going to make a difference. whatever justification the president puts in his executive order is still not going to line-up with the story that we already know for why they put that question on the census. >> but didn't justice robert say, come back to us? >> no, that's not what he said. the word is pretext. justice robert said that you can do this for any reason, but that reason has to be truthful. we will not accept a made-up reason for you to put this on the form. what the justice department is trying to do is come up with a different, made-up reason. >> all right, kevin. let me get you to weigh in on this. the president, here's a listen. >> well, you need it for many reasons. you need it for congress for districting and you need it for appropriations. where are the funds going? how many people are there? are they citizens? are they not citizens? you need it for many reasons. >> it appeared to be a changing narrative. what are you learning down there in d.c.? >> this is an incredibly polarized issue. republicans are arguing that they want to know how many undocumented immigrants are in the country. but democrats are arguing that there would be folks who would not participate in the census if this question was on there. according to the chief economist at the u.s. census bureau more than like 6 million individuals would be, could potentially be uncounted should the question be on. the second point, the business community. the business community relies on theen the data points. small business, medium-size companies are all lobbying against the question being added to the census because they're concerned and apprehensive that the data that they use to forecast their quarterly reports might not be adequate. finally, from a practicate standpoint they have to get this decided soon because they have to print the census, kendis. if they don't print it on time, it won't go out on time. this is very much tied up the printers that are used to print the census. >> thinking is 2020 but it has to be out there by april of 2020. and, to you, you cover the politics of all of this. is this just the president waving some red to his base? >> when i think about the latest data point on the issue of immigration and i think the democrats have been very much against this. this census data is used, as we know, from everything regarding to districting and education, as well. it's an incredibly polarized issue and something that comes out once every ten years. the president has said that he wants to do this. he's caught many folks off guard by his tweets, according to sources that i talk with. as well as his comments the other day at the white house. so, he's not letting it go. it's something he is passionate about and both sides are dug in. >> let me get to our legal legals to weigh in on this. aclu wrote a statement last night saying the trump administration argued that the census forms could not be altered after june 30th but they're trying to do so. what sort of legal hurdles does the president have ahead of him with this, katie? >> he basically induced the solicitor that they had to get this done by june 30th. what we aren't talking about this is red meat and we know where this question came from. thankfully a judge in maryland just opened up discovery so this can be in court. in 2015 written by a republican strategist who said, if you do this, then republicans will get more seats. and this will benefit republicans and diminish the power of black and brown voters and immigrants. specifically white republicans. and not only do we know it came from that letter, the letter justifying adding the census question quotes directly from that 2015 study. it's plain as day. >> that's the other legal hurdle. what the court has ordered is that we have to actually have discovery. an a hearing to discuss and that will take too long . >> our thanks to elie and katie. thank you. still to come right here, we're continuing to follow the latest on the massive earthquake that rocked southern california last night as residents received warnings that another quake could be on the way. >> i ran up to my house and my house is completely leveled and destroyed. plus an update on that explosion at a shopping center in south florida. a live report on the ground after this. i'm alex trebek here to tell you about the colonial penn program. 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? 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>> kendis, we do know right now within the last five minutes, federal investigators arrived here at this scene. members of miami's atf are assisting local authorities here trying to determine the exact cause of this explosion, which is believed to be involved with the ruptured gas lines involved in the rubble when this building shook behind me at 11:28 this morning. many people inside the business, specifically a gym caught completely off guard and the aerial view just simply stunning when you view the extent of this damage. up to 20 people injured. no fuel isfatalities at this ti. i had a chance to walk just behind me about 100 yards past, if we can zoom in. you're looking at pieces of that building's roof, which was blown at minimum 50 yards from the scene whenever that blast happened earlier today. and we knew the blast was felt for several blocks in either direction and we're hearing reports on social media of people feeling this as far as a mile away. and then driving to this area to investigate just exactly what happened. they're still going through the buildings at this time and to see what evidence they can find from this blast right now, kendis. but we're hoping to learn more here within a half hour and hear from plantation fire department who tell us on top of finding those ruptured gas lines, they're also searching nearby businesses to see if anyone else was trapped inside from that debris, which is covered pretty much this entire area behind me. so, right now, we have about a quarter mile radiance around where this blast took place. that has been blocked off. a massive response here in plantation. about 30 miles north of miami as investigators try to hone in on the cause of this explosion. kendis. >> it's a very popular shopping center that is located 20 minutes from ft. lauderdale. the chopper right there, right there. look at that scene right there as they're zooming in. i believe that is the aerial version of what morgan was pointing to right there. pretty remarkable pictures. morgan, i know you can't tell but you can see it on the ground how far some of that debris field blew away into another parking lot. what are you seeing down there that is just inspiring or just jaw dropping right now? >> kendis, i can tell you the most jaw dropping thing we have seen so far is what is posted to social media. people walking in the parking lot behind me in the moments after this blast. you can see windshield after windshield caved in and debris strewn over cars and people confused because in the initial moments after this blast they didn't know what exactly happened or where it came from. this is a large shopping center with multiple stores inside of it and we're still waiting to hear where exactly this blast, the epicenter, if you will, where it was when it shook this entire area right now. i had a chance to speak with a woman who was about a mile away from this area. she felt the tremor and drove here and had a chance to walk through this parking lot before police ushered everyone away for safety sake in case another blast came. she said as we have seen from the air that the damage was simply unbelievable. to that point fire investigators tell us that 20 people are injured at this time. they're not saying how severely injured. they're saying when they had a chance to go through building by building and look at everything that is damaged, they're frankly surprised that it didn't impact more people here. and as you said, a busy shopping center on a weekend. kendis. >> a busy shopping in the middle of the day. a lot of people were no doubt there and as we saw there, as morgan was talking, it does appear as if the number of injuries is going up slightly. in the meantime, plantation police officials are saying they have found a reunification center for many people nearby. our thanks to morgan chesky for the latest from that absolutely remarkable scene in plantation. authorities in southern california say there is a chance that a more powerful earthquake could strike that was hit by last night's 7.1 quake. the earthquake lasted so long from ridgecrest to 150 miles away in los angeles were able to capture it on camera. let's go back out to joe who is on the ground in ridgecrest. joe, what are you hearing? >> well, kendis some of the worst damage we've seen. one example behind me. this is a home that caught fire immediately after the earthquake. neighbors say when that 7.1 hit last night, they immediately started bracing for it. some went up against their walls and came outside when it was done and they could see this house already catching on fire. went up in flames really quickly. the fire department was able to arrive pretty quickly and put it out within ten minutes. the fire department said two major structure fires after the earthquake hit. likely caused by natural gas line ruptures. beyond that, structural damage isn't as bad as many might have feared. so far all of the buildings in the town here in ridgecrest, the officials say, are still standing. no reports of any major structural damage. but they are still assessing that and also looking at some examples of minor damage. i can tell you as i pulled back into town this morning i stopped by a market, a liquor store and pretty much all the bottles were on the floor. they had already been shaken and broke on the floor. this came 34 hours after the 6.4 earthquake. i spoke with one woman who worked at the walmart nearby. last night they finished getting everything back on the shelves when the 7.1 earthquake hit. still a lot of cleanup for people throughout the area and people who lost a lot of items inside their homes and the big concern right now people are on edge knowing that aftershocks are a possibility and they expect a number of smaller aftershocks and perhaps magnitude five and magnitude six and still a one in ten chance that there could be an earthquake that is larger than the 7.1 earthquake that hit last night. kendis. >> kind of striking when you say a smaller earthquake is a magnitude 5. the one that struck d.c. and caused so much damage was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. glad to know that there are no more injuries out there. joe fryer, thanks to you. still ahead, striking the right tone. democratic candidates make their case to the crowd at the essence music festival. that's coming up, next. for stre! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. with tough food, your dentures may slip and fall. fixodent ultra-max hold gives you the strongest hold ever to lock your dentures. so now you can eat tough food without worry. fixodent and forget it. you don't really talk about your insurance unless you're complaining about it. you go on about how... ...it's so confusing it hurts my brain. ya i hear ya... or say you can't believe... ...how much of a hassle it is! and tell anyone who'll listen... (garbled)....it's so expensive! she said it's so expensive. tell me about it. yes.. well i'm telling the people at home. that's why esurance is making the whole experience surprisingly painless. so, you never have to talk about it, unless you're their spokesperson. esurance. it's surprisingly painless. so in new orleans this weekend there is mary j. blige and new edition and the contenders. several candidates are visiting the big easy at the 25th annual essence festival in new orleans where they hope to win over our block of voters. many have called the back bone of democratic party. shaquille joins us live right now from new orleans where he got the tough assignment to be there at the essence music festival. something everybody wants to go to every year. cory booker was just on stage and i saw kamala harris on stage getting a rousing reception. what was the reception like for cory? >> that's right, senator booker just left the stage and the message was about the democratic party. black women need to be the center of the gender for the democratic party and that's the message that you're hearing from many of the other candidates who came on stage as you mentioned. mayor de blasio and kamala harris. and they want to focus on the specific policy. so, you heard candidates not only saying that they value black women, but having policies that they say will help the black community. listen to how senator harris framed that earlier. >> if we're going to right what is wrong, let's deal with the racial wealth gap in our country. which is why today, here at the essence festival i am releasing a new plan to start closing the wealth gap. >> and senator harris proposed a $100 billion proposal to help close the wealth gap in this country. itser focused on home ownership. allowing families to expand credit and including help with down payments and closing costs and elizabeth warren proposed her own proposal. executive actions that she would take on day one. one of the things in talking to attendies, they're happy they're getting the attention. there is a sense that they have been taken for granted by the party and the candidates coming here and speaking to them directly is something that they value.meantime candidates in new hampshire and nebraska and joe biden out in south carolina. do you get a sense that some of the folks there feel slighted by the other candidates who didn't appear there? >> well, they haven't mentioned, in my conversations, they haven't mentioned the fact that vice president biden or bernie sanders aren't here. they are just happy to have six presidential candidates talking to them and pitching to them directly. vice president biden, if you look at polling, he is still leading and frontrunner status is on the back of african-american support. people value what he did in his service under president obama. so, the fact that vice president biden isn't here and hasn't come up, but it is something that these candidates that did show up, they're trying to get some of that support by talking to voters directly. >> i didn't know this head of the urban league is there speaking behind you and reverend al sharpton will be live from new orleans for his show at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. shaq, our thanks to you. according to a quinnipiac poll if the democratic primary were held today joe biden would be in a virtual tie with senator kamala harris after a dramatic shift in black support. let me bring in my panel right now, michael singleton public political consultant and wendy who is a political commentator for "the hill" and professor at johns hopkins university. thank you, guys. welcome. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> was that moment between biden and harris on race at the debate a turning point in this campaign? >> it definitely was a turning point. you know, when we look at the demographics, black women make up 20% of the electorate. anyone who is serious about this campaign has to make a stop at essence fest when you see half a million black people were there. not just that, but, you know, black women are the heart beat of the democratic party and they're the most loyal base. so, any path to a nomination, any path to candidacy runs through the veins of black women. we saw this in 2008 and 2012 when they were the highest demographic that propelled obama forward. we have to make sure when it comes to black women, we're not just taking their vote, but also making sure we make agenda that speaks directly to them. >> that's why many of the candidates who were there at essence music festival had an agenda. the poll shows despite a dip, biden responded, believe has the best chance of beating trump. what do you make of that? >> well, i think when you look at those numbers. the number one question in the mind of many african-americans is they want donald trump replaced. when you break down some of those studies, you look forward, gender and even ethnicity comes second and third to voting for someone who they know can go head to head to donald trump. i think that benefits vice president biden and also what benefits vice president biden, kendis, to be quite honest, eight years with president obama. president obama is incredibly popular within the african-american community. >> i will have to leave it there. my apologies. breaking news got the best of the timing on this saturday. thank you, guys, for your time. >> thanks, kendis. coming up, mass deportations could be on the way. president trump saying round ups of migrants will begin fairly soon. this as democrats and activists push back. the details behind that battle coming up next. itne so you only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ nothing feels like connecting with the people that matter. holiday inn. holiday inn express. we're there. so you can be too. president trump on friday alerting i.c.e. raids on undocumented immigrants will begin any day now. this comes as hundreds of people in opposition of i.c.e. hits the streets of philadelphia this week resulting in arrests of dozens of protesters. joining me to discuss, professor at the lbj school of public affairs, and also an attorney and nbc.com contributor raul reyes. victoria, let me start with you. the president seems convinced that these raids are good idea. you're the professor here. any sort of historical precedent or anything to give credence to that? >> if we really want to do something about the undocumented population here, you go to the source of it. especially in terms of the economic migrants. so what we see is a lot of flash about i.c.e. raids, but what about the employers who are breaking the law by employing undocumented persons? if we were to go after them in the letter of the law, find them, then undocumented workers would not come over to seek that economic opportunity. so what work best, it would be that. but politically and rhetorically, that doesn't hit president trump's narrative of being tough on immigration and having that big show of the i.c.e. force hitting the streets. >> and in the meantime, raul, and i want to pop this up on the screen, there is a facebook group unearthed by propublica that shows former and current probably age border patrol gtagents smoking migrant deaths. we have not independently verified this. >> and there are actually two groups that we know about. there is very little accountability. these groups have existed in these public forums although the private groups since at least 2016. facebook even removed some of the posts as sexist and too violence. meanwhile the border patrol has yet to take action towards these people. but i think that the culture that we see on the border of border patrol dehumanization, these attitudes toward people in their care, unfortunately, it comes from the president who he has made that part of his agenda. and unfortunately -- and this ties in with the i.c.e. raids. the american public is not with him on this issue in terms of his agenda at all. new cnn polling showed that 60% of americans think that snrlg americ central americans should be allowed the right to apply for asylum and 80% of americans including republicans think people in this country without document tagts shouation should some path to legal status. so i think that this is a risky position in terms of going forward with the i.c.e. raids which in terms of cost deporting one person costs 1$10,800. and i think the president trump and administration would be making a major misstep with what they are calling family ops. >> yeah, they are saying family ops as opposed to raids. and victoria, there was a report that ice agents were told happy hunting as they prepared for upcoming raids. what is going on here with the department? >> so what they have done, they have created fear within the community, a pervasive sense of fear. we see families having to have tough conversations of sitting down and making plans, contingency plans 6 whcon continue against plans of what happens if mom and dad get gee ported. so the latino community are scared and having to figure out how they live in this new reality. and we also see community groups helping folks prepare in knowing their rights. so a lot of movement on this. >> yes, there is. raul, victoria, our thanks to you. coming up right here, we are following the breaking news coming out much plantation, florida. we just got the update of a number of people injured in this explosion that took place midday in south florida. we'll tell you about it on the other end. other end. when crabe stronger...strong, with new nicorette coated ice mint. layered with flavor... it's the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. for an amazing taste... ...that outlasts your craving. new nicorette ice mint. hey! i live on my own now! i've got xfinity, because i like to live life in the fast lane. unlike my parents. you rambling about xfinity again? you're so cute when you get excited... anyways... i've got their app right here, i 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florida, plantation, florida. according to police there, at least 21 people possibly 22 people have been injured in a massive explosion that took place about midday. at this point there are no fatalities and as well as no critical or life-threatening injuries. that said, we are told they are categorizing two injuries as serious. the neighboring businesses are closed until the fire department can figure out that it is safe to return. and as you look at those images, live pictures there at 3:01 in the afternoon, you can understand why. let's go to morgan chesky who is on the ground at the site of that explosion. and morgan, there are reports that this explosion that was felt more than a mile away. >> reporter: yeah, we've had a chance to speak to people who live in this area saying they felt those shocks. and here at the scene, a quarter mile radius in every direction where this blast happened. it was initially reported at 11:28 a.m. and according to plantation police they still have crews going through a lot of the businesses making sure that no one is left inside. simply because of the extent of the damage that happened as a result of this blast. and you get a feel to it when you see the aerial view. i had a chance it walk down about a block behind me and you see window after window blown out of the shopping center.it wt a block behind me and you see window after window blown out of the shopping center. i had a chance to speak to a woman and she is joining me here now. andrea lives about a mile from the area. walk me through the scene. you were at home about 11:00 and then tell me what you felt in that moment. >> well, i was sitting at my desk and i felt like an explosion. i thought it was in my building. but then i heard all the sirens and i knew something was happening. so i came to the area and that is when i found out that this pizza place was blown out. >> so you feel the shock. you told me that you thought it could have been an earthquake, it was that strong? >> it was really strong. the windows of my department were shaking and i had -- i thought something was happening, felt like a thunderstorm or airplane. it is really hard to describe. and then i found out that it was the explosion. >> you come to the scene, you are walking through the parking lot. what were you seeing when you rolled up? >> i saw many people desperate coming out of the source because as you can see, too many plazas are nearby. so people were coming out of the store. they were saying that they heard the explosion. i walked close to the l.a. fitness next door and there was water leaking, all the windows were broken. like it was like a warzone. >> were you spotting advisably injured people? i know that there were dozens of folks here. police telling us up to 22 people with injuries as a result of this blast. >> i had an opportunity for me to see all the ambulances coming out with people. but i actually interviewed a person that was hurt. he was working three doors next to the pizza place. but he didn't get a scratch and he was happy that nothing else happened because he was really close to the area. >> you're saying he was literally three doors down from where they think the blast i think are a natured and nothing but a scratch? >> nothing but a scratch. it was a blessing for him.are a but a scratch? >> nothing but a scratch. it was a blessing for him. but you see people that were all wet coming out of the area, they were desperate. they never thought that at 11:28 a.m. something like that could happen here. we have a supermarket, we have too many restaurants. this is an area that has a lot of people on a saturday. >> and police pretty fast to respond to this area. i know that when you were there talking to those folks, how quickly did they get everyone even farther away from the site of this explosion? >> i think that was about 10 minutes. because when i got here, it was like 5 minutes after everything happened and people was coming out and little by little police and all the firefighters were closing the scene and they were taking us down. so as you see in the back, they just take us out of it because they are trying to investigate what else is happening. but it is really hard to describe because you never think something like that will happen on a saturday. and it is because of an explosion. and what i know about this place, thankfully it was empty. this pizza place was closed like art mon eight months ago, so no one was inside. >> thanks sooch f much for takie time to talk to us. she makes a good point that fire officials are even surprised at the extent of this damage when they view it firsthand that more people were not injured as a result of this explosion. >> and that the injuries are for the most part aren't too serious or life-threatening for that matter. morgan clhesky, our thanks to you. i do want to pop up one thing. take a look at this photo. this is the location, the l.a. fitness, that kind of blew apart today. and then just suppose that with the images that we're getting today. pretty remarkable when you look at the before and the after that only at least 22 people were injured and some people just with some scratches. pretty incredible. all right. we'll return to that story in a bit later. but on to the other breaking news story that we're following from southern california. we're told that president trump has yet to respond to governor newsom's response for federal assistance after that powerful 7.1 magnitude quake struck the town of ridgecrest located about 150 miles northeast of los angeles. authorities are warning residents to be on high alert as they continue to survey the damage. at this hour, no major injuries here either/or fatalities have been reported. >> we're in contact daily with the white house. we're in contact with the governor's office. >> we feel like there is damage, but we don't know the extent of it yet. nobody was trapped. no major collapses that we know of. and we're out there searching. >> it is the strongest earthquake to hit the area in 20 years. and second one in less than two days. so strong that it jolted people more than 100 miles away rocking buildings across southern california. now, the shaking was felt as far away as las vegas. and los angeles. and into northern mexico. the quake also caused this right there that you are looking at, a rock slide that led to the road closures cutting off the only interstate for some time to a town off highway 178 there. the fault appears to be growing and the u.s. geological survey is warning that another even larger earthquake could hit the area. we have team coverage. joe fryer is there on the scene. and steve traverson is joining us as well. steve, what are we learning about the administration's response so far? >> so the governor has declared a call for a direct federal response. that is a call to the white house and also a call to those federal agencies more specifically obviously pertinent to this situation to fema. i can tell you the language because i have it in my hand right here, it is a direct call for supplies, you know, logistical for structural supply, things that could happen in mass casualty event. thankfully that is not the event that we're looking at right now. but representative from fema spoke probably an hour and a half ago now saying that they have been providing that support from almost the first minute that that declaration went out, that they have been at the command center providing logistical support with the operators that are on the ground from the state and from local officials. and also that they have supplies, they have the trucks, they have the boots on the ground that is necessary to assist in aid with the overall operation which as it sounds from that press conference that we heard, that that federal official was at, like they are making significant progress in the daylight hours throughout today, that they have been able to get aid into places where it needs to be, that they have been able to address situations like the power situation in ridgecrest, and that they have supplies and foregoing out to people who need it the most on the ground there after that massive 7.1 earthquake struck and uprooted everybody's lives. i think now it sounds like those federal officials are saying they are more in the assessment phase which is a great piece of information for people on the ground, that they are starting to really take a serious account of the devastation of the damage and finding out what kind of engineering support that they could provide beyond this point. it is great news. >> and joe fryer has spent a lot of time within the last 72 hours in the town of ridgecrest. he is there again on the ground. pretty, are aable, joe, remark were realizing that there wasn't more damage to this area. >> reporter: yeah, and overall it was a good sight to see that if you drive through most of this town, at least on the outside externally, you don't see much structural damage. one of the worst examples is what you see behind me, that is a house that caught on fire and neighbors tell us it was the moment after the earthquake hit. they looked outside and they could see that the house was on fire. it went up in flames very quickly. the fire crews arrived and within about 10 minutes were able to put it out before it spread to other homes. so there were a couple structure fires in the area and a few other mobile homes that had structural damage. but the one thing that you can't see driving around the streets here is the damage inside everyone's home, pretty much everyone we've spoken with so far says that anything that wasn't on the ground already fell off and to the ground and broke. so there is a lot of cleanup going on, a lot of items within homes that were lost by people. when i drove into town, i stopped inside a store that had a lot of liquor, most of those bottles fell off of the shelf, a lot of damage there. i talk with a woman who worked at the walmart, she said they had just are finished up the shelves from the 6.4 quake that hit thursday and suddenly this one sit and many items knocked off the shelves again. >> a lot of people on edge there in southern california. i know we say that oftenen times, but many people spent the night sleeping outdoors fearing all those aftershocks. joe fryer and steve patterson, our thanks to you. with me now, jason baum, manager with the earthquake center. and thank you for being here with me. so there have been many, many aftershocks we believe that have taken place in southern california. many of them have been fairly strong already. >> that's right. thank you for bringing attention to the story. we're seeing that lot of people are taking good actions. they know how to protect themselves, they are cleaning up the spills and messes. but i want to make sure everyone learns to protect themselves because we are having a lot of aftershocks and i think everyone thought last night that we were winding things down, that the 6.4 was the main shock and then boom, we got a 7.1 and now it just means that the number of aftershocks will basically exponentially be more and stronger as well than anticipated. so when you feel shocking, drop, cover and hold on. so drop to your hands and feet, cover your head and neck, draw to a sturdy desk or table if you can and hold on until the shaking stops. we hear a lot of old wives. but this is the best way to protect yourself. >> and it really is hard to tell when something like this might happen or where it might impact you. taking note of the video in las vegas at that basketball game where they felt the shaking and people ran for the exit. i mean, you know this sort of stuff. was it pretty surprising that this was so -- that it was felt so far away? >> well, people run because that is a natural human reaction when faced with everything that is fearful or panicky. so you have to train yourself. and in california, and many other places around the world, but especially in california, we've been doing earthquake drills since 2008 annually. everyone takes a minute to practice drop, cover and hold on. some people haven't been practicing. maybe haven't been practicing enough. so that is why they end up evacuating or trying to run. that is really dangerous. we know from the northridge earthquake and many others in our past here that most injuries are caused by people stepping on broken objects, tripping over them and falling and really having serious injuries. so we want people to basically move less and protect yourself in one spot. you will be far more likely to come out of the earthquake safer. and also, these earthquakes don't always start with really high intense shaking. you saided statement it is a rolling motion and you are thinking that maybe it sounds like -- i think we'll get through this but it gets stronger and stronger and then you are faced with a big earth quakd. so when you feel anything, just crop, cov cr drop, cover and hold on. >> and of course across the country concerned with all the california californians. i used to live there and we had earthquake, mud slide and thank you for being here. coming up, joe biden defended his record after a slew of attacks on all sides. so the state of louisiana is not one of the early primary states in the nomination process, but still you will find a large cluster of 2020 hopefuls in new orleans today. many of the candidates are there for the 25th annual essence muse festival. and joe biden however is once again on a different path. mike, you are in sumpter, south carolina where the former vice president just took the stage and he is talking about busing yet again, mike. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. i'll keep my voice low because as you see the vice president is speaking behind me. but this is a remarkable moment in this campaign. the vice president of course has been on the defensive for weeks first about his comments at a fundraiser talking about his work with segregationist lawmakers and then the debate moment with kamala harris where he was put on the defensive about his past opposition to busing. the vice president just a few moments ago actually apologized, says he does regret the impression that people have that he may have been praising segregationists in those comments. but he is trying to put it in a larger perspective of his full career, a career he said has been motivated by civil right from the beginning. he said he first ran for office to try to change the democratic party in his state from one that was more of a southern democratic party to one that was more preg sif on civil rights. yes, he had to work with people in the senate early on whose views he considered objectionable, but that he fought to change it and he had allies to do so. and what is important is to argue for his opponents who want to comb through his record and to highlight votes that may have been problematic today. he holds up the fact that barack obama chose him and he said i was vetted by him, by barack obama, and selected by him. i will take his judgment of my record, my character and my ability to handle the job over anyone else's. so this is really an effort by the former vice president to put this issue which has hampered his campaign to rest, try to pivot to a positive message going forward. and this is an important venue for him. the african-american vote will make up a majority of the primary electorate. a recent quinnipiac poll that among african-american voters, which is his bedrock of slip support, slipping a bit of a few percentage points of senator kamala harris. >> and we should note at this point in the previous race, 2008 race where barack obama and hillary clinton, hillary clinton was also leading in the black vote. give me a sense of the makeup. because you've been following the vice president over the last few days. he is there in south carolina as you mentioned, really a large black voter base. what is the makeup of the people who have come out to see him? >> reporter: yeah, the audience is overwhelmingly african-american. in fact overwhelmingly african-american women. they have been the bedrock of his support. i spoke with a few before the event and there was a common refrain that they believe in joe biden, they think is the best donald tru candidate to take on donald trump and that his work with brochl is o barack obama is a big reason that they support him. so they hope to turn the page, that joe biden is temperatures on the reservoir that he has with african-american voters, using that relationship with barack obama to his benefit at a time when needs it the most. >> mike memoli, thank you. and i want to bring in my panel. a republican strategist and also former adviser to hillary clinton campaign. a i had dree and i had dreeen, that last question that i mentioned to mike, because hillary clinton at some point had more popular support among the black electorate than barack obama. and it kind of went away. so what does joe biden need to do to make sure that he maintains that base? >> i think that he is doing exactly what he needs to be doing right now by going to states like south carolina, talking to voters directly about his long standing record on civil rights. and that is what he's doing today. he is reminding voters that, yes, last week with kamala harris on stage was not one of his finest moments, but he has a very deep standing record when it comes to helping african-american, when it comes to protecting civil rights. he has been in sub servipublic since he was 29. and he is going to a state where his support has beaeeen strong especially african-americans. it has slipped a bit, but he is trying to regain that strength. he is going to early states, of course south carolina the first state, primary state, where the african-american vote is very important. and is strong. so he is going there to try to sort of reclaim his base and make sure that he is staying on steady ground with this community. >> and he is there in sumpter which we should know was a key battleground spot in the civil war and trying to fight within the democratic party. in the meantime, he brought up the busing issue. and i know that reporters over the last few days have been asking him about busing after the debate. but you get a sense that he should just let it go and move on? >> yeah, that was kind of my takeaway from his interview on another network just a couple days ago where he tried to sort of relitigate all those issues. he really can't move on. although today i think this is an opportunity where he is trying to really do that finally. the biggest question i'd have about this, it is nine days after this happened at the debate. why wait so long to clarify what your record is and try to put the issue behind you. you are right to cite the polling. he is clearly losing black support. you've seen basically the votes -- or the support he is losing in the sir surveys is go directly to kamala harris. but south carolina will be a crucial contest not just for biden, but also for kamala harris. it is still early, but biden wants to get past this and i think his record on these issues is perfectly appropriate. i don't think that it is appropriate to judge a senator by votes in the 1970s by today's standards. and i think he uses president obama and the vetting that he went through as a way to show good how keeping seusekeeping s approval and i think that is effective. >> very rare to hear the former vice president apologize for anything he has done in some 50 years in public office. you see the headline right there, the breaking news moments ago, him poapologizing for his segregationist remarks that he's made at several fundraisers. it is a significant development there for him. and you do get a sense that he is at least with that particular thing trying to move on. that said, did he make a mistake by skipping out on the essence music festival where six of miss competitors are today? >> you know, i don't think that he made a mistake.miss competit? >> you know, i don't think that he made a mistake.hiss competitors are today? >> you know, i don't think that he made a mistake. competitors are today? >> you know, i don't think that he made a mistake. we've seen that he is doing his own thing and other candidates are participating in a forum. but joe biden has done something totally separate which has allowed him to create his own headline. so i'm not sure that that is a mistake that he missed the essence festival. he is obviously speaking to an important constituency in south carolina and we're talking about it. so he is doing what he is trying to achieve by making sure that his comments get out in the public norm and that he is speaking directly to a community that he feels that he needs to apologize to and needs to regain support among that particular base of the democratic party. >> quite a jeuxtaposition where you had joe biden in sumpter trying to talk to the black audiences and reach out to the vote there. and there you have the big event that is taking place live in new orleans and you have maxine walters who has taken to the stage. you have many powerful black women and black men and politicians who have been there at the music festival including former first lady michelle obama. matt, adrian, our thanks to you. still ahead, a live update from southern california following back to back earthquakes there, why experts say residents should brace themselves for more. but first, the latest on an explosion in florida that left multiple people injured. what we're learning now. g now. and emotionally support children in urgent need. it's not just about opening up your home; it is also about opening up your heart. consider fostering. - hey, who are you? oh, hey jeff, i'm a car thief... what?! i'm here to steal your car because, well, that's my job. what? what?? what?! 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>> reporter: actually the aftershocks at least over the last hour or two have died down. we really haven't felt anything major lately. that by no means means that the threat over. over the next several days or week, the odds of aftershocks are very high, some could be makignitude 5 or 6 and there is one in ten chance that we use see an earthquake that is 7.1 or stronger. so stronger than the one that we have seen so far. as far as damage goes, so far here in ridgecrest, all of the buildings are still standing. there are no reports of any major structural damage or issues november f issues, no fatalities reported. one of the worst things that you see is behind me, the house that caught on fire. there were two structural fires right after the earthquake hit. and neighbors say they looked out their window and saw this house on fire. we spoke with a neighbor would be blodeck, he was at home when the earthquake hit with his 8-year-old granddaughter. take a listen. >> as i hit the door, i could smell smoke and i could see the flames already shooting out of the bedroom windows in the trailer next door. knowing that they have some little kids, i gave my granddaughter to some people to getting across the street and there were several of us in the neighborhood that used shovels and fire extinguishers to try to break out win doers to sdows to boys were still in their bedroom. never in my life in ridgecrest have i been through so many quakes and so strong of quakes in such a short period of time. >> reporter: the fire department did arrive pretty quickly. we're told they were able to put the fire out within about 10 minutes once they xwots on tgot scene. you've heard bob say he never felt anything like that, and for a while he was wondering if it was the so called bi og one tha we've been worried about. of course the answer is no. the faults in this sequence are more than 100 miles away from the infamous san andreas fault which is the fault expected to start the so-called big earthquake. what happened here is not supposed to make a major earthquake at is san andreas anymore or less likely. each year seismologists tell us that the odds of a major is an andre us earthquake happening are about 2%. >> and i saw you last night talking about all of this and noting that this being 7.1, the previous one thinking , 6.4, th five times stronger. pretty remark only. thank you. coming up, the citizenship question. president trump mulls using an executive order to force it on the 2020 census. but does he actually have the authority to do so? does it matter? next. er next cake in the conference room! showing 'em you're ready to be your own boss. that's the beauty of your smile. bring out the best in it with crest 3d white. crest removes 95% of surface stains... in just three days. the census controversy hitting a critical point. the trump administration is now stepping up its effort to place a citizenship question on the 2020 census. the president said that he is even considering an executive order to deal with the impasse. >> we're thinking about doing that, it is one of the ways. we have four or five ways that we can do it. he we're thinking very seriously. we're doing well and we could also ahead an addition on so we can start the printing now and maybe do an addendum after we get a positive decision. so we're working on a lot of things including an executive order. >> and the president saying that before he left for the location where our own hans nichols is located. bedminster, new jersey. we know that he spent the day doing his fafrvorite thing, golfing, but have we heard anything more about this fight to getting the question on the census? >> reporter: well, we don't know if he is actually golfing. he is at his golf course. the white house doesn't read out once the president does once he is at bedminster. but he took a shot at joe biden. and he is also celebrating national air traffic control day. what you are seeing from the white house is an attempt to try to get everyone on the same page. and it was clear that -- >> wait, he celebrated national air traffic -- sorry, i didn't mean to interrupt you. he celebrated national air traffic control day two days after he celebrated george washington and others and their air force? >> reporter: there is a statement from the press secretary noting and marking and commemorating national air traffic control day. after that, what the president said was a snafutell -- teleprompter which caused him to misspeak. they have to get on the same page because last week they basically admitted that they accepted the supreme court decision and then the president started taking a different direction saying that he thought he saw a window of opportunity from the 5-4 decision written by justice roberts to have a redo. the department of justice says we've been in-structured to examine whether there is a path forward consistent with the supreme court's decision that would allow the question on the cens census. we think there may be a legally available path under the supreme court decision. that is lawyer speak for giving it another try. and that is really the urgent traffic right now because the president is acknowledging that the clock is ticking because the census forms are being printed and the president is holding open the option of an addendum. but as long as census forms are being printed without that question on it, they are losing time. >> and they are. and they said the deadline was at the end of june. but the census has to be out by april of next hans nicol, thank you. appreciate the update about the air traffic controllers day. who knew. let's bring in our panel. jonathan allen and also julia manchester, reporter at the hill. what airline do you think george washington flew back be then? >> united. >> i'll go with american. >> air general. >> or spirit. let's talk about the census and this whole battle right now, jonathan, where he is talking about trying to do an executive order. conflicting information are on whether he has the authority to do that. what are you hearing? >> well, i mean, look, this is a hail mary. the president has given up the game a little bit in talking about why he wants to add this question to the census which is that he would like to have reapportionment different meaning how many congressional districts each state has which affects redistricting and also how much each state gets in federal resources. that is something that his side was trying not to talk about in terms of their reasoning for why they have this question. i'm not a lawyer. but it looked like from what the justice department is saying that they have been instructed to see if there is a legally viable path within the spreecup court decision, but the justice department lawyers think it is unlike unlikely. >> and of course those are fighting words. the aclu asked a federal judge to put an end to trump's attempts. how do you see it playing out? >> i think that there will be several court battles against president trump's attempts to put a citizenship question on that census. but i think that president trump's comments to reporters yesterday at the white house, him essentially really admitting that this is being done for political purposes when he said number one, congress in terms of that redistricting. i think he's put more work on his justice department. his own solicitor general has said that the citizenship question would not be used for those political purposes or redistricting. so i think that you will see a lot of scrambling within the justice department to really try to come up with this reason as to why to provide this question. and then they will be tasked with dealing with these more lawsuits from the aclu. remember, the trump administration has had to deal with a barrage of lawsuits ever since the travel bans he essentially put in place earlier in his administration. you are actually seeing the trump administration trying to draw some parallels or potentially draw parallels between his executive order in trump versus hawaii in terms of that travel ban and in addition to the -- his proposed potentially doing an executive order this time. the issue is his reason for doing an executive order back then was national security. but now the justice department has had to upend its entire legal strategy and start from ground zero. >> and a lot of people probably wondering why over the last few weeks we've talked so much about this and why the administration has really been fighting about this. take a look. according to the u.s. census bureau, an estimated 6.5 million people won't respond to the question about citizenship. that is a lot of people. how could adding this question actually hurt i guess the quality of information that they are getting from this? >> well, number one, i'm not a mathematician as much as i'm not a lawyer, but that is about 2% of the country. so that is a significant -- >> impressive. >> that is a significant number. i think that is about 2% of the country. somebody will correct me if i'm wrong on twitter. basically what you are trying to do with the census is count the number of people here. and if you undercount the number of people here, that affects the way resources are distributed. if you take a step back, the census fight has always been a political one. the enumeration clause that you look at is the same clause in the constitution that you find the three-fifths compromise. the people who had power at the time of the writing of the constitution wanted to keep power and the way in which they did that is they counted some people as three-fifths of a person so that they could get some count for those people and at the same time not give those people rights of citizen shin a and not give those people benefits. similarly now you have not counting people fully, trying to relation -- trying to reduce not counting someone at all. >> and is this all about the base? >> i think it is very possible. and if you look at the timing, this is ahead of 2020 and we know that immigration is something that really riles up president trump's conservative base. so i think that president trump is really trying to make it seem like he is really pushing for this issue while at the same time trying to ensure that the districts could be redirected in order to favor republicans ahead of 2020 when they are defending the house and launching a -- defending the senate, excuse me, and launching offensive on the house. >> all right. we'll leave it there. julia and jonathan, who made the university of maryland very proud with its math. >> go turks. up next, royal controversy. why meghan and harry are being criticized for the christening of their baby archie. hmm. how did you make the dip so rich and creamy? oh it's a philadelphia-- family recipe. can i see it? no. philadelphia dips. so good, you'll take all the credit. a big day today for one of england's tiniest royals. this morning, baby archie harrison mt. batten windsor was christened in a private ceremony in the windsor castle. the deputy police chief and duchess of sussex shared photos on social media. however, their happy day was marked by a little bit of controversy. nbc's senior international correspondent keir simmons with the story from windsor. >> reporter: good day to you. there should just be a happy day. the christening of a little boy. instead the duke and duchess of sussex find themselves mired in controversy once again. this time for not giving out enough information about the christening. here at kensington palace, princess diana brought up william and harry away from the cameras, trying to give them an ordinary life. now harry finds himself fighting for his own son's privacy. a royal christening for a world-famous baby. archie harrison mountbatten windsor, a big name for this little boy, now two months old. the ceremony taking place at the queen's own private chapel on the grounds of windsor castle. it's a special place for mom and dad. the duke and duchess was sussex, where they had their fairytale wedding. harry and meghan live in frogmore cottage with their newborn son. archie will wear the same christening gown worn by his dad, prince charles, prince william, and cousins george, charlotte, and louie. the actual ceremony will be a private affair, just the parents, godparents, friends, and relatives, expected to be in attendance. not present will be the queen. she has prior commitments at her estate. >> meghan and harry want this to be a completely private moment. very much in keeping with how they've said they want to raise this baby. >> reporter: and the godparents palace will remain private. keeping people guessing to their identities. another contender, lindsay roth who sat next to meghan at wimbledon. amal and george clooney, former favorites, in the running. harry's lifelong friends mark dyer and jack warren. >> i've covered five or six christenings during my royal career and never come across such secrecy. >> reporter: just one of the many breaks with tradition chosen by this modern couple determined to protect their child from the public. the christenings of archie's cows ips and other royals were celebrated occasions. some wished harry and meghan would share more. >> why keep it so private, you know? >> reporter: leave them be, say others. >> it's entirely up to them. it's a personal thing, isn't it, a christening? >> reporter: harry and meghan under pressure, yet today remains a private and joyous occasion. and there is a lot of criticism. maybe a little bit confusing over there. let me try and break it down for you. the british media say they should be given more information, of course. this is now a very famous family that bring in newspaper sales and online clicks. inevitably they are arguing that. what they are saying is that because the british taxpayer pays for the royal family, they have a duty to play a public role. but of course, these often don't mention just how much free publicity harry and meghan are bringing to the u.k. so there is a lot of hypocrisy. i've got to say, i don't think you can blame harry for wanting to protect his son's privacy. back to you. >> yeah. as any parents would feel the same way. but we did get to see the family photo. take a look at it yet again. look at this diversity here in the royal family. that's kind of awesome, right? congrats to all of them. look at that. who would think that would happen in our time? straight ahead here, a live interview with the mayor of a city that was hit by the powerful earthquake in southern california. how officials are planning to move forward with the risk of more aftershocks. sk of more aftershocks -keep it down there. i have a system. -keith used to be great to road-trip with. but since he bought his house... are you going 45? -uh, yes. 55 is a suggestion. -...it's kind of like driving with his dad. -what a sign, huh? terry, can you take a selfie of me? -take a selfie of you? -yeah. can you make it look like i'm holding it? -he did show us how to bundle home and auto at progressive.com and save a bunch of money. -oh, a plaque. "he later navigated northward, leaving... progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. when you get right down to it... your home and auto freedom is the ability to go where you wanna go... ♪ and do what you wanna do. ♪ so... what do you wanna do? the 2019 jeep compass. hurry in to the 4th of july sales event and get $500 additional bonus cash on select models. visit jeep.com that will do it for this hour of msnbc live. i'll be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. eastern time. you can follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram, as well. the news continues right now with my colleague, richard lui. it is a busy hour ahead. >> a busy day. thank you so much, kendis, for that. we are following breaking news as kendis said from coast to coast this hour including some big breaking political news. after weeks of defiance following an outcry over remarks where he appeared to praise two segregationist senators, this just in to msnbc -- former vice president joe biden just a short time ago said the words "i'm sorry." we're going to dig into that and see what may have brought him to say that again just this afternoon. we'll start with breaking news out of florida. in what you're looking at right now, dramatic images from the scene of an explosion in plantation, florida. it happened at a shopping center called the fountains right next door to an l.a. fitness gym. the plantation police department says that 21 to 22 people were injured, two of them seriously. here's plantation police public information officer joel gordon just a few minutes ago. >> when we arrived, we found patients scattered all about the debris area. so it's tough to really identify where they actually came from. and then we had patients who had wand derred away and came back. >> the good news, there are been no reports of any deaths from this explosion. let's go to

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