Episode 1.2 - Studenttalk with Donatues

Who rises with the Texas Sun to fuel America? People like Alfredo do. As a lifelong Texan, he's passionate about delivering the oil and gas that fuels the Texan way of life. From the ground to our cars, every part of how Chevron makes and moves energy happens here in Texas. Where American energy shines as bright as Friday nightlights. Learn more about what our people do at chevron dot com slash Texas. Good morning. It's Sunday, September 27th. Today alarm bells are ringing for Republicans only five weeks ahead of the midterms. But Trump is ignoring all the warning signs and continuing to double down on his unpopular policies and rhetoric. We'll dive into the latest data. Then we've entered the eighth month of Trump's war with Iran, which appears to have no end in sight as Trump continues to contradict himself on his goals, former CIA director John Branton will join us. And Trump and Republicans continue to attack the right to vote and relitigate past elections. Senator Cory Booker and Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar join us later in the show. So grab your coffee, three or matcha, and settle in and welcome to the weekend. Welcome to the weekend. I'm Jonathan K. Parter, along with Jackie Alimani and Molly John Fast who's in for Eugene Daniels. We begin this morning with President Trump's distractions and diversions that are pushing Republicans further away from him with just 37 days until the midterms. Just this week he rolled out the red carpet for Communist Chinese President Xi Jinping, taking him to the National Archives and hosting a lavish state dinner where Trump's focus appeared to be touting his new ballroom, actually taking the time to invite Xi and the other guests to tour its construction site. Trump also escalated to stand off with the free press launching fresh attacks on his social media platform and ranting about the quote, fake news. In one post he appeared to be bothered by the real factual coverage about how bad things are for his party ahead of the midterms, claiming the press refuses to report what he calls quote. And as you can see, it's on all caps, the best financial numbers ever as he's shouting at us all the time. Then there's the mixed signals he continues to send on the Iran War. In one breath, he's claiming victory while the Wall Street Journal reports that he told AIDS he expects to resume military strikes after the midterms according to US officials. But as Susan Glasser points out in the New Yorker quote, Washington is increasingly consumed not by Trump's endless antics so much as by the rapidly clarifying political reality of the predicament in which the president, deeply unpopular and trapped in an unwon war of his own choosing in the Middle East, has got himself and his party. Reckoning one far harsher than was expected even a few months ago now seems imminent. And here's the reality. The new Reuters poll shows Trump's approval rating hitting a record low of 32%. To point out that the disapproval rating is 66%, but in that same poll, Democrats hold the edge over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot. It's safe to say that Republicans are taking notice and hitting the panic button. Said the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the President not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America. The war with Iran needs to end and quickly. When it does, energy costs will plummet. People are getting really good at barely getting by and we've got to address it and we haven't done anything to address it. We haven't done anything really since the one big, beautiful bill. And it's going to be a factor in this election. Joining us now, George Conway, co-founder of the Mark Pack, host of the Psychopolitics podcast and contributor at the bulwark, and Aiden McLaughlin, Washington correspondent for Vanity Fair Gentlemen, welcome back to the weekend. Susan Glasser, right, that a reckoning is imminent. George, I mean, I read that and if these were normal political times, I would think, yeah, the reckoning is coming and these polls are -- but part of me just thinks, I don't know. Talk me off this lid. I know why you don't know because what's happening is that the crazy seems to be leading the Republicans over a cliff. And the reason why you're skeptical is you would have thought that would have happened in 2019. 2016. Yes, but I really do think it's happening now because I mean, this war is bad, the tariffs are bad, he is less connected -- you're going to hear me beat this drum again like I come here every week -- he is less connected to reality than before and this is a man who is never really well connected to reality. I mean, he's Cuckoo for Cuckoo Buffs. And you know, I mean, we talk about, you know, the lead in there, he's -- people talking about she. It's like, this is the guy who's now using our tax dollars to talk about how America will never be a communist country and there he is, pallying around, saying, look at my wonderful ballroom. You know, the ballroom -- remember, they had these renderings in the ballroom where he's up there, like, looking -- we're in gold in a gold statue that's about 30 feet tall, looking like, like, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, or a, or a, or a, or a, or a, a, or a, or a, or a, or the, or the North Korea, his friend, the North Korean guy, who is he who's going to write some love letters? Yeah, right. So, you know, the Cuckoo, Cuckoo for Cuckoo Puffs is catching up to him now and this is, this is, they, the, as, as his poll number shop is people wake up and say, you know, this is actually cost to be money. It's not entertaining. Owning the lives isn't fun anymore because I, I'm paying $5 a gallon for gasoline. And you're seeing, you know, that, the canaries and the coal mines are those Republican senators. Right. And, you know, we shouldn't be hosting a dinner. It's different now. He's almost wheels down. But is it about waking up, or is it about something that Aiden said, which usually our conversation pre-show is off the record, but I don't think you would mind me repeating this, which is that -- That's right, we'll see. -- to believe that we are potentially living in a no-consequence zone is -- that is what it feels like a little bit more to me, although as Susan Glasser wrote in that piece that you quoted, Jonathan, it does feel like we are at the week of no panic, but at the very same time, all these Republican lawmakers who are currently defending their seats despite the panic still voted against the resolution to end the war in Iran. So I don't know, explain this to me Aiden. Well, I do think in a lot of ways we're, we're in a no-consequence world. I think the guardrails that previously conditioned President's behavior, Trump has proven are far weaker than we thought they were. Elections are still the thing that keep the score. And so we're barreling towards midterm election. I think, as you point out, I think very accurately owning the Libs isn't fun anymore. I do think a lot of the things that Trump is doing right now, the attacks on the press, feeling out President Xi and having him sit before the auto pen portrait of Joe Biden and market, that stuff may have played two years ago. It doesn't play now, because individually on the polling level, the press is obviously very unpopular, as we all know, broadly. But poll after poll shows that Americans feel like Donald Trump is not focused on the right things, the things they care about, and this stuff, the state dinner, the attacks on the press, the ballroom, that's additional things. And all of that adds up, I think, to a general feeling that he's not focused on the right things. >> It feels very Marie Antoinette, right, like he's having dinners and building ballrooms and people can't afford gas. >> And that's reflected in the polling. We talked about this yesterday, the polling that stood out to the numbers that stood out to the most from that New York Times Santa poll last week, where that voters have switched on who they think is the party of the elites, and that it is now Republicans and no longer Democrats. >> But here's my question, Republicans need to break with Trump in order to not be drawn down by him, right, by his polls. So and then you have this representative, Salazar, who won by 20 points in a district that Trump won by like 15, breaking with Trump on this immigration message, which is clearly wildly unpopular in Florida, and Trump is mad and won't let her. Does that, is that a problem? >> It's a massive problem, I mean, in 2006, when George W. Bush's approval rating was in the gutter because of the Iraq war, his White House told Republicans that we're running for the midterm campaigns, you do not need to tether yourself to our administration, because you know, go out there and do what you need to do to get reelected, because the, you know, the success of the Republican Party is more important than our own ego. Donald Trump obviously is not doing that. I mean he threw the midterm convention in Dallas. it was entirely about his own record. And he insists upon Republicans that are running for these midterm elections on tethering their own political fortunes to his own popularity. His own popularity is at its worst it's ever been. It's also the worst that I think that a president has ever had going into a midterms in the history of polling. So it's a massive problem for Republicans. And I think if the party has spent the last 10 years, basically tying itself to this man, and when he's unpopular, it's gonna be a problem in a midterm election. And the contrast that it had just pointed out between the Trump administration and the George W Bush administration is absolutely on point. They weren't gonna put the president's ego or the white people, the ego people in the White House over the survival of their team. Donald Trump could not give a flying again. As I am again, I did it again. I can't help it. But there are only so many words that you can use. - I understand. - I know, so many more. There are only certain words you can use to describe this. He does not care. It's all about him. And these poll numbers aren't real. He is in fantasy land. And they are, you know, he's taking down everybody with him. - Well, so you know, as Abe was just saying, is a massive problem for Republicans. - Here is proof of just how massive a problem this is. Listen to these voters in Ruby Red Kansas, but they have to say about the economy. - You stop to go fill up your gas tank or go to the grocery store and all this. If you spend $100, you don't feel like you're getting a whole lot. That doesn't feel all that great. Now does it? - Rollin' in older, more taxes, more price on food. And this and that is a lot of, you know, the big impact for being, you know, as a homeowner. - I just moved out on my own. So, groceries, I guess. That's a big one for everyone. Pretty expensive gas is kind of insane. I just saw it one of even more over $4, which is kind of crazy to me. - I mean, if this is what's being said in Ruby Red Kansas, then you can imagine this is also being said in other places where Republicans are now spending tons of money on races where about at the beginning of this year, they didn't expect to be spending millions of dollars in places like Texas, Kansas, Maine. - I have these whiny voters, right? They're complaining about paying $5 a gallon for gas. When we and I have gold leaf on statues. - On those verses, yes. - On those batomic. I mean, isn't it worth it? You know, I mean, that's the problem. Are you not entertaining? (laughing) - I guess not. (laughing) - No, it's great. - That's me, Marie Antoinette. It's whatever, you know, it's crazy. And the fact that he can't react in a normal way is bringing the Republicans down in there. They're gonna pay the price. - A serious question. And this New York Times Santa Paul on the Senate race in Maine, the gender gap here. And this was asked if this year's general election for the US Senate were held today, which candidate would you more likely vote for? Among men, Troy Jackson, am I reading this, right? - Troy Jackson. - Yeah. - I think so. - 38%. Right? - Yep. - But and among women, 53%, Susan Collins got 54% support among men and 44% among women. I mean, we talked a lot about the gender gap and male voters in the presidential election. Should Democrats be concerned about this? Do you think? - I mean, I think this is a continuation of the Trump effect, where, you know, Trump, suburban woman has always been a demographic that he struggled mightily with. And I, you know, as much as Susan Collins has distance from Trump in certain ways, she's still a Republican, right? And the Republican party right now is Trump's party. And so I think, you know, Republicans are gonna continue to struggle with suburban women, so long as Trump is the figurehead. And for Democrats, you know, it could be a problem, you know, Troy Jackson, the time Santa Poles down three points. That's a problem. It's an outlier, but that time's pole is a pretty reliable one and has been a pretty good bell weather for races going forward, so. - Although it should point out, it's a sample size of 619 main voters with a margin of error of 4.9%. So that's a lot. - I am surprised though, by the overall on this pole, 49% to 44%, I mean, this is something we were-- - That's Michigan. - In Michigan, sorry, because that is something we covered Michigan election night and at the time I was feeling like Mike Rogers was gonna have this. That the Trump people outside groups were gonna spend a record amount of money to beat Abdul El Sayed and that the DSA attacks were going to work. And apparently they're not working yet. George Conway and Adem Glothlin, and also we didn't point out, George had a million titles, but Adem we forgot one, which is he is the author of the fantastic newsletter that I highly recommend party animals for vanity fair. Thank you both so much for joining us. - And still ahead, we're entering the eighth month of the war with Iran and not only has Trump rejected Iran's new his ceasefire proposal, he's also suggested renaming the straight of almost two Trumps straight, come straight. We'll talk about that in more next, or we'll take the weekend. (upbeat music) Who rises with the Texas sun to fuel America? Our people do. Every part of how Chevron makes and moves energy happens here. Where American energy shines as bright as Friday night lights. Learn more about what our people do at chevron.com/dexas. - One did work become so much work. The meeting about the meeting, the hundreds of files to find one insight, setting aside the things you want to do for the things that pop up. Here work days gone. But what if the insight surfaced itself? Or you could ship the deck without the distractions? Gemini Enterprise helps you get that done. It's AI that knows your business with agents that take stuff off your plate. Make work less work with Gemini Enterprise from Google Cloud. - Hi, I'm Blue from the UPS store. We print banners, brochures, business cards, basically anything that says my business means business. With over 5,500 locations, there's a blue near you at the UPS store. Visit your local store or the UPS store.com for more information. - Tomorrow marks seven full months of President Trump's war with Iran. As the war enters, it's eighth month. The situation remains as unclear as ever. On Saturday, Trump said he had rejected Iran's latest proposal for a ceasefire and opening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Wall Street Journal, he has told AIDS he expects to resume bombing after the midterm elections. Iran's foreign minister wrote on social media that Iran was waiting for the mediators to confay the definitive views to make a decision and accuse Trump of making contradictory statements in the past. Before rejecting the proposal Saturday, Trump posted an image to truth social of the Strait of Hormuz labeled the Trump Strait. So creative. The latest disagreement comes days after Iran's president suggested his government was willing to make a deal with the U.S. to end the war before Americans head to the polls this November. For his part, President Trump's public remarks about the war of late have shifted between a declaration of victory and resuming hostilities. - The war will be over very shortly after the election. They're hanging out for dear life. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard. We have no choice, right? We have no choice. And the war is going to end soon, and when it ends, your gas prices are going to drop. If we don't hit them with the B-2 bombers, they right now would have a nuclear weapon. - Will the deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly? - We're also learning more about the human toll of the war on American service members. - Sorry, with that prompter delay, the Washington Post reports of the Pentagon quietly added 37 sailors and Marines to its tally of troops wounded during the Iran War this week without explanation. Bringing the total number wounded during the war to 861, the spokesperson for the Pentagon did not return the post-request for comments. We're joined now by John Brennan, former director of the CIA, and MSNOW Senior National Security Intelligence Analyst. David Road, MSNOW Senior National Security Reporter. Thank you all for joining us this morning. Director Brennan, I want to start with you because with this raft now of Republican lawmakers calling on the president to end the war, is that even a possibility at this point and what would that look like? - Well, I think it's like what the Iranians have proposed, which was what was proposed also several months ago, which is that the Iranians would end their blockade of the straight of almost if we, in fact, lift our blockade of the Iranian ports. The nuclear issue needs to be addressed separately. And I think after some type of cessation of hostilities and an opening of the international waterways and again, leaving the blockade of the Iranian ports, so I do think there's a way forward, but Donald Trump does not. not seem to want to go down that road, but he believes that he's going to be able to beat the Iranians into submission, and he won't be able to. So I think the Iranians have his severe interest in trying to gain some type of relaxation of the conflict, but they're not going to do it at any cost. Politically, though, do you think we are at a point where completely separating those two, the nuclear deal and the war ending the war without a resolution to the nuclear deal, is something that Republicans are going to accept? Well, I think they're going to have to. The nuclear deal is so complex and complicated. It's going to take extended negotiations about what we're going to expect the Iranians to do in terms of their nuclear program. You can end the war by just, again, agreeing to a cessation of these hostilities and also opening up the straight and allowing the blockade of Iranian ports to end as well. So I do think there's a sequencing here of the steps. First of all, you have to address the conflict itself, and the reason why the international energy environment is just so, so tied up right now with this. To take care of that, open it up and then be able to have serious negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program. David Red, let me bring you in here because from what I understand, you have some reporting on an incident that has happened or is continuing to happen in Great Britain that's related to this conversation about Iran. Yeah, it's several men have been arrested near a base in the United Kingdom. It's a statement from the Prime Minister's office that our colleagues on the MSNOW News Desk have gotten. They're arrested for suspicions. It's some charge related to explosives. It's next to a base in the UK that US flights have been departing from for Iran. I don't have any other details than that. But I just want to note, and if I can't I want to fact check that claims the President was making in the montage that you said, but this incident, just again, the President has, you know, assailed European countries for not supporting the US and his view in terms of the war in Iran. Over 5,000 flights, 5,000 flights by US jets have left the UK and countries across Europe, other NATO allies. So they have played a role we will see. I mean, it's suspicious, IE men, you know, being charged with explosive offensive right next to. No one has hurt. Nothing has been carried out, but that's the latest from the UK. John, if I can just bring you in here, Dr. Brennan, Director Brennan, because to my mind, we've been hearing reports. We know of reports of Iranians striking the Iranians striking military bases in the Gulf. What does it mean to you to hear this news of what's happening in the United Kingdom in a base where US jets have been taking off from as part of the war in Iran? Well, the Iranians have a long history of being able to sponsor terrorist attacks outside of the region. They've engaged in that previously. Right now, I think inside of the Iranian ecosystem, there are individuals who want to have an end to this conflict, and there are others that in fact would like to stoke it more. There are some rogue elements there. So it's unclear whether or not if these individuals are affiliated with the Iranian government or regime, whether or not this was a policy decision on the part of the senior Iranian officials, or if there are some elements within the IRGC or other elements of the intelligence security apparatus that decide to take these matters into their own hands and see if they can lash out against the US as well as US allies. John, I'm wondering if you could talk about, when we saw that montage, it was so striking to me how much Donald Trump seems to undermine what might be going on behind the scenes. You have been appointed by both Dubya and also Obama. You are totally nonpartisan. Can you speak to having a president sort of telegraph things in national security world so loudly? Well, first of all, I find it very upsetting that you have a president of the United States who continues to lie to the American public into the world. The Iranians were not on the cusp of getting a nuclear weapon. In fact, they were involved in serious negotiations with the United States twice before the United States and Israel decided to bomb them. And so Donald Trump, I think, continues to flail because he got himself into this mess, I think, with the encouragement of Netanyahu, but it was his decision to do this. But now he can't figure out a way out of it. That's why you see flip-flopping back and forth. He'll keep going back to this nuclear issue. This is also important because we've stopped Iran from getting nuclear weapon. No, this was not the real reason why they went to war. It was because Netanyahu and I think Trump wanted to be able to decimate as much as possible the Iranian apparatus, the military security system, believing that it was going to lead to a toppling regime. It's not. The regime is not going to fall. You know, two things can be true at the same time. The Iranian people are suffering now because of the economic impact of all of this. But that doesn't mean that the Iranian regime is going to submit to Trump's demands. They're going to continue. And I think history proves that the Iranians are willing to go on for as long as they can, the Iran-eraq war went for seven, eight years. So I do think the Iranians are going to continue to maintain its position now that they're not going to capitulate. Former Director of the CAH, John Brennan, David Road, our colleague. Thank you both very much for coming to the weekend. Coming up, Trump's pick to lead the FDA side-step questions on key issues. The confirmation hearing this week will talk to many Timuraju next on how her organization is pushing the Senate to reject Trump's nominee due to her, quote, "Record of anti-abortion extremism." You're watching The Weekend. In a stunning Senate confirmation hearing this week, President Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Heidi Overton was pressed on how she would run the agency. And when she faced tough questions on key issues, including abortion, the FDA's method-pressed own review and whether she would push back on the president's falls and misleading claims on vaccines, she largely dodged the concerns. Let's take a look. Do you agree with the FDA approval of Mithra Pristone? Mithra Pristone was approved by the FDA as having met its safety and efficacy standard? I know what the FDA has done. I asked if you agree with the FDA. Will you have the courage to stand up to President Trump? Thank you for your opening comments on the high cost of prescription drug prices and the urgency that we have to address those ideas. Answer the question, please, Dr. If the President asks you to do something that goes against those guarantees you give us today, what will you do? I've had the privilege of working for the President in the first term and again for a year and a half. What I know is that he is driven by outcomes and he wants the best possible solution for the Americans. I'm almost out of time. I'm out of time. That's not my question. Yeah, you heard that right, the nominee to lead the FDA refused to commit to standing up to President Trump if he is wrong. Joining us now is Mimi Timoraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, which said in a statement they're "calling on senators to reject the nomination of Heidi Overton, given her record of anti-abortion extremism and supporting efforts to restrict methapristone, welcome, Minnie." Thanks so much for having me. She, this nominee seems really egregious to me. Will you explain to us some of the stuff she basically didn't even pretend to believe in science? Talk us through what you thought were the most kind of egregious moments of this year. I mean, every single senator on the Democratic side pressed her on medication abortion, Murphy-Pristone. She refused to acknowledge the science that the FDA itself has relied upon to authorize and approve of Murphy-Pristone. This is really important because Heidi Overton comes from a conservative think tank. She is the author of a report that is rife with misinformation about medication abortion. This was pointed out to her by multiple Democratic women senators on the committee. But she, frankly, is highly aware of the politics around this, right? She was refusing to acknowledge or confirm her own study, her own report. And then when pressed by Republican senators, specifically, Josh Holley, who wanted her to go on the record on methapristone, he's the leading opponent of medication abortion in the Senate. Senator Holley has his own legislation. His wife is the lead lawyer for an anti-abortion group out of Missouri that is also suing on medication abortion. She also refused to confirm what Josh Holley was asking her to confirm, again, information from her own reports. Heidi Overton is an extremist. She's got a long record. She's a partisan. She is somebody who was placed in the White House and in this role for partisan reasons to appease anti-abortion extremists, and it was really kind of predictable, but also interesting to watch her squirm for the whole hearing. >> And we should point out that that last senator in that montage that we played, that was Republican Senator Cassidy of Louisiana. So it was a bipartisan affair trying to hold her feet to the fire. I'm going to put up some of her record on reproductive rights. articles from the American first, from American first policy. On overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court delivered a huge victory for the life. That was from June 27th, 2022. Radical abortion policies do not follow the science, that's from June 15th, 2022. Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society, that's from February 27th, 2023. She's confirmed to leave the FDA. What are you most concerned about having her in such a powerful position? Yeah, so medication abortion is the number one way that Republicans are trying to attack access to abortion nationwide. We know that Todd Blanch recently made a commitment to anti-abortion activists, that he wanted to make dobs permanent in all 50 states, and he's talked about invoking the Comstock Act, an old obscenity-based law from the 1800s to limit access to medication abortion through mail. We know that the FDA has been told by the Fifth Circuit to produce updated scientific review on medication abortion as part of litigation from Republican AGs to block medication abortion by mail. This is important. There are 21 states of this country with abortion bans and extreme restrictions. Medication abortion by mail has allowed so many Americans to have access to the scare despite dobs, and it is why it is the number one target for anti-abortion extremists and Republicans in the Senate. It's also very popular, and it's the majority of all abortions of this country, over 60%. And it is a midterm election issue, Susan Collins is on this committee, and she refused to talk about it with Heidi Overton. And many before we are out of time, I'm just wondering if you can help us and our viewers take a step back and outline the most consequential outcomes, if Dr. Overton is confirmed to lead the FDA. Yeah, I think the number one concern is that they are going to roll back access to medication abortion. They have authority through the REMS, through regulation, to limit access to medication abortion, to make sure it's not available through the mail or brick and mortar pharmacies. If we went back to the old rules around medication abortion, you would only be able to get it from your doctor in your doctor's office, and that would dramatically limit access across the country. And they can also just roll back access altogether, which is what the anti-abortion movement would like. Many Tamaraju, smelling it all out for us. Thank you so much for joining this morning. End up next. New findings have emerged in the tragic death of Nolan Wells. MSNOW's Maya Eagle enjoins us with the latest. First, MSNOW's Small will give us a quick update. The powerful Norriser that's hitting the East Coast and remember, if you've got a question or a comment for us at home, please check us out on Blue Sky or Instagram and drop us a line. Our producers will surprise us with them later on in the show, and our handle everywhere is at the weekend MSNOW. Our people do. Every part of how Chevron makes and moves energy happens here, where American energy shines as bright as Friday night lights. One did work become so much work. Here work days gone, but what if the insight surfaced itself, or you could ship the deck without the distractions, Gemini Enterprise helps you get that done. 3 o'clock, kids are home. Your to-do list isn't done. New craft mac and cheese power mac was made for days like this. Craft mac and cheese power mac packs the same irresistible creamy cheesy flavor you love. Now with 17 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, fuels you up, keeps you going, because your day doesn't stop. Craft mac and cheese power mac, find it at your favorite retailer. The best thing ever keeps getting better. A powerful Norris star is battering the entire Northeast this weekend, and it's one of the strongest storms the region has seen in years. It's already killed a long time New York City housing authority employee after a tree fell on him yesterday in Brooklyn. With more than 130,000 other people up and down the coast still without power as crews work tirelessly to get people safely back online. In freeport New York, forecasters are warning high tide combined with this weekend's full moon could bring the most dangerous flooding of the storm thus far. Conductsbury, Massachusetts, a coastal flood warning remains an effect through tonight. And Atlantic City Saturday's high tide already pushed flood waters to some of their highest levels since super storm Sandy. Joining us now is MSNOW, weather reporter and forecaster Moses Small who has been tracking it all across the region. Moses, thank you so much for joining us this weekend. What's going on? And is any of this going to be reaching us farther down the east coast? Yeah, that's great question. I think the next 12 hours are really the most important to look at for this storm. That's when the impacts are going to be the biggest and the impacts are going to be all the way from New England down to North Carolina. You can see the way the storm is curved and this thing is just really big and there are a few hazards going on at the same time. The biggest one, as you saw, is the coastal flooding still a pretty big area of moderate to major risk especially in the most exposed coastlines. Places like Long Island could see another three feet of water in addition today. Now, unfortunately, I've seen the videos just like many other people have of people paddling down this tree in places like Queens that water just isn't going anywhere today, especially with this morning's high time cycle, that is going to be the worst of it moving forward. So we're going to notice some more of that happening throughout the morning. On top of that, this is the rain. If you were in New York City for the most part, you might not have seen all that many showers, but by the end of the night, you could pick up more than an inch for the city. Massachusetts could pick up anywhere for another one to two inches and for the Boston area in particular, this looks like one of the bigger rainstorms they've seen so far this year. Some parts of Massachusetts have already picked up more than five inches of rain. So an additional two inches of rain means they're not only worrying about coastal flooding from the tides, but also with flash flooding. Lock on at the same time here. All right, Moses Small, thank you for that update. After a grand jury decided not to press criminal charges in the case of Nolan Wells, the black teenager who went missing in Mississippi on July 4th and was later found dead, the family's legal team released brand new information this week from his official autopsy, as well as forensic data taken from his cell phone, urging the district attorney to keep the investigation open. In a press conference, family lawyer Ben Crump read the state autopsy reports, which concluded that while the manner of death was undetermined, no water was found in his lungs or stomach. Plus, the forensic expert, forensic expert, the team hired, said he was able to recreate a digital copy of Wells's movements and uncover group chat messages on Snapchat, noting there were, quote, things deleted on his device before and after Wells's death. But Jackson County District Attorney, Angel Myers-McKillrath said there's no evidence that someone accessed Wells's phone and that, quote, the information I have released to the public is true and accurate and I stand by it. Joining us now is MSNOW reporter Maya Eaglen, Maya, I mean, this, thank you for keeping on top of this case. What more do you know? >> Yeah, good morning, good morning, everyone, Jonathan. So, so many developments here, just to recap the timeline of how we got to this point. On July 22nd, that's when Ben Crump released the independent autopsy, the one that the family did. And that also said that the manner of death was undetermined. Then on Monday, September 21st, that's when the grand jury ruled there would be no criminal charges. And they said Nolan's death was consistent with drowning. Fast forward to Thursday, that's when Ben Crump alleged he had over 280 pages of Snapchat conversations discovered on Nolan's phone with Nolan and his group chats and they used an independent digital forensic expert named Andrew Garrett to make a digital copy of his phone. Crump also revealed the state autopsy findings, as you mentioned, Jonathan, and that showed the death as undetermined. But again, no water found in Nolan's stomach or his lungs. So many questions online about what was deleted or what disappeared. And there's a lot of suspicion that that potentially happened on Snapchat where there's a disappearing message function. I spoke to another digital forensic expert about this. His name is Joe Caruso. He's been doing this work for over 20 years. Here's what he had to say to me. What depends how long and how much storage you have and how the application is configured. But most data is Snapchat is a good example because you can delete a message or remove it from your phone. And then it removes it from everybody else's phone that's on that message in Snapchat. And then someone can actually undelete it or put it back. But that message is actually stored in the snapchat database for a period of time. So when you access the phone, you have access to the database and to the messages that are stored in it. As I mentioned, Jonathan D. Jackson County District Attorney, Angel Myers-Mackel-Raff has had some back and forth with Ben Crump and really is standing by the state's investigation. She put out a statement saying, "My interactions with Mr. Crump as well as his conduct in this case have demonstrated that he is not worthy of our trust." The truth is, Crump's team was offered a standing invitation to provide any evidence or witness that they wish to present to the grand jury, including any expert they retain. Now I have to tell you at that press conference, Ben Crump said they did hand over all of that information to the state, but he's not sure that the grand jury was able to review it or not. Guys, Maya, have we heard anything more from Nolan's friends who were with him, at least in the lead up to a certain point in that day? I have personally seen a few of the people who claim to be with Nolan sat-day, speak on podcasts and some interviews here online. A lot of them say that they loved Nolan and that they've received a lot of heaps and assumptions about this whole investigation, but when you've got so many conflicting reports, again, his families are just asking for the truth here, and I think that's what a lot of people want to hear about this case. What actually happened? We know there were bruises on inside. We don't know how they got there. Maya, quick question, picking up on what Jackie just asked, did any of those friends testify before the grand jury? That is something I'm not 100% sure on to be honest, but I know there were witness accounts and I know that the jury reviewed photos, emails, text messages, and I believe over 40 witness accounts. So that's my understanding. I'm not sure who is actually in the courtroom or present, but it does seem like they had a good amount of information, the jury to try and determine this. What the big question is, is if there was no water in his lungs or stomach, Ben Crump wants to know how could the manner of death be determined or consistent with drowning? That part. Yes. Exactly, that part, Maya. And there's nothing else the family can do, right? Is there something else that can happen now to sort of hold Mississippi to a higher standard here? I think they're going to try and keep moving forward with their independent investigation. Ben Crump said it's going to take both experts and a sense of resilience and drive from the family because they do not want to give up on this. They said they are going to keep going until they have the clarity that they need. So if they escalate this any higher, I think that that's to be seen. But it does seem probable given how intense and how emotional and how important this case is to Nolan's family and his legal team and the community there. And Ms. Now is my eagle and thank you so much for staying on top of the story and I'm sure we'll have you back. But don't go anywhere, because we've had, we've got another jam packed hour ahead and Senator Cory Booker is going to join us to discuss Jack Smith's return to Capitol Hill this week. I'm Senator Ron and so much more you're watching the weekend.