0 under way. after he designated the pulse nightclub where 49 people were killed in a mass shooting back in 2016 and let's listen tine the president right now because he's talking about the condo collapse in florida. >> and i promise you the administration, the congress will do everything possible to be of assistance now and after this occurs. after they decide exactly what the stay of play is. i am glad to welcome everyone here to the, to the white house here and in person virtually. survivors and family members, victims and the pathbreaking leaders like senator baldwin, just over five years ago the pulse nightclub, a place of acceptance and joy became a place of unspeakable pain and loss. and we'll never fully recover but we'll remember. and we have to, what we're going to do is with the members of congress here did and enshrine in law as a consequence of that law and a literal monument to the loss that occurred there and determination that we're going to deal with this every single, solitary day and make sure that we're not in a position to see this happen again. behind me you see on either board there the 49 lives lost. family members, parents, veterans, young, black, asian, latino, all fellow americans and in their memory and for the countless others scarred is why i sign this today. let me say how much i appreciate it. i mean this sincerely. the commitment of the members of the house and senate to make sure that we don't forget that this isn't forgotten. there is a tradition when the bill is signed that the president gives a siping pen to each of the people who had something to do with the law or the decision being made in the first place. i promise you i have all the pens put together and i couldn't figure out how to sign them all. but don't leave without the pen. all right. all right. >> thank you, mr. president. >> may no president ever have to sign another monument like this. thank you. one last thing, as i said to the survivors and those who lost folks a little earlier in private. you know, what the congress has done means a great deal. and it's important. but it's really hard. it brings back everything as if it happened yesterday. and every time there's a memorial service for our son, you are flattered, you feel good about it, you think it's wonderful the recognition, but it's tough. as if it happened yesterday. it happened the day before it happened the moment. i want to thank the folks that are here and the folks who are survivors on zoom with us. i want to thank them for their courage. i really mean it. for their courage. but i promise you, none of the members of congress in here and our children will not let up until we deal with equity across the board. thank you so much. you have to come back and get your pens. >> we have been watching president biden there sign a bill that turns the pulse nightclub into a national memorial. the president was surrounded by florida delegation and advocates. we're following developments from the scene of the terrible condo collapse in florida. at this hour four confirmed dead and 159 people are still unaccounted for. there's a massive rescue operation that's under way with first responders conducting a dangerous and desperate search for anybody who could still be alive under the rubble. also new details today about structural concerns with that building dating back years. we'll start this hour with news out of minneapolis where now we're just about 30 minutes away from the start of the sentencing hearing for derek chauvin. the former police officer faces up to 40 years in prissen for the murder of george floyd. we're expecting to hear from members of mr. floyd's family as well as potentially, potentially from chauvin himself. joining us now shaquille brewster in minneapolis and also with us former chief defender mary and the president and ceo of the national urban league mark morielan. you covered the start of the trial from top to bottom. what should we expect to see in about 20 minutes from now when this sentencing hearing gets under way and do we know who will deliver these impact statements? >> we don't know that for certain, geoff. we did get earlier today on msnbc hallie was interviewing benjamin crump and asked if george floyd's daughter would give one of those statements and the family attorney said it was possible but wouldn't go beyond that. we don't know who will give the victim impact statements. we do know it is usually the first thing that will happen during a sentencing hearing. we then know we'll hear from the prosecution. they're arguing for derek chauvin to serve 30 years in prison. we'll then hear from the defense. they're arguing for time served and probation saying that derek chauvin is 45 years old and he would be a threat in prison and saying he was the product of a bad system and then we know the sentencing guidelines which suggests that someone like derek chauvin for this second degree murder charged with typically face between 10 1/2 to 15 years in prison. so, there's a lot of discretion here over what will exactly happen. we don't know what that number will ultimately be. but we do plan to get a sense of that after those statements from the defense and prosecution and we'll hear the judge, judge cahill explain his sentence and then deliver that sentence and that's all coming up as you mentioned in about a half hour. >> mary, i mean, you know the county as the former chief public defender. you know this judge. based on what you know about the case and the people involved and the defense memo that was submitted in this case, what kind of sentence are we looking at, do you think, for chauvin? >> one of the things that judges look for is whether a person takes any accountability, responsibility for their actions or show insight into what they may have done differently. they're also looking for expressions of remorse or empathy or even an i'm sorry. but we didn't get that at all. in fact, in that defense memo, the defense says that chauvin was a product of a broken system. they say he was simply doing his job. if he knew he was committing a crime, he wouldn't have done it. he was just following his training and experience. and he also wrote that this death was relatively quick, which was really interesting because judge cahill gave us some insight what he is thinking about when he wrote the memo four aggravaing factors. he said this was particularly cruel give on the fact that george floyd was begging for his life. it must have been terrifying. it took a long time. he also talked in his memo about the fact that chauvin abused his position of trust as a police officer. so, the audience for that defense memo clearly wasn't judge cahill and i think that chauvin lost his opportunity to maybe have judge cahill take that into consideration and give him a lesser sentence, which is not going to be probation or less than the guidelines and i do believe he will be depart upward. >> mary, a question about what we're going to hear today. the victim impact statements. chauvin himself is allowed to speak, although that appears unlikely. do the statements themselves actually aifect the sentencing or will judge cahill walk into the courtroom knowing the sentence he is going to give derek chauvin? >> judge cahill knows what he will give derek chauvin. the impact statements will have an impact on judge cahill as they will on all of us. this is an opportunity for george floyd's loved ones to uctaabout how this meant and how this has affected them. the fact that george floyd was murdered by a police officer in the way he was murdered. so, this is a particularly emotional part of the sentencing. it could be hard to listen to judge cahill and i'm sure it will have an effect on him. i think he already knows what his sentence will be. >> mark, it's great to have you with us. civil rights groups made the case that derek chauvin's conviction on all counts back in april marked a turning point of sorts in police accountability. what then significance does his sentencing hold? >> his sentencing holds great significance because the conviction is only the first step in ensuring that he is held accountable. only the first step in demonstrating and sending a message to other law enforcement personnel that there are consequences for violating people's constitutional rights, engaging in misconduct and engaging in brutality. i also think his sentence because this case is put, if you will, the entire justice system on trial in the court of public opinion. a life has been taken. even a sentence of 30 years for a life taken in my estimation is not enough. it was a heinous murder. it was a brutal murder. it was a murder of no remorse. and even at this moment, chauvin is refusing to accept, take any responsibility but to, quote, blame it on the system for what he did. so, i think from the perspective of the civil rights community and the national urban league, we want to see a significant upward departure from the guidelines because that's the only way justice can be complete and the family can have true closure in this matter. >> on that point about policing, has the national urban league seen a marked or discernible change in the way police conduct themselves following the chauvin verdict? >> it's difficult to measure, geoff. what is clear is that there have been continued killings of unarmed african-american men that the rate of unconstitutional acts does not seem to be significantly dissipating. what has changed is that there is now movement in many communities because of public pressure, because of public outcry to change policing. to reenvision it and reimagine it. and key, i think, is going to be whether the congress, particularly the republican caucus, shows the leadership and the courage to embrace a strong george floyd justice and policing bill. we've been intimately involved in those discussions and conversations and they continue. but that bill is not symbolic. we do not need a symbolic gesture for politicians to show up at a signing ceremony. we need something that begins to demonstrate that there's going to be accountability and if you will, for the relationship between police and communities. >> marc and mary, my thanks to the both of you. shaq, you'll stay with us and come back in about 20 minutes when this hearing gets under way. for now we'll head to south florida because we're expecting to hear from miami-dade police as soon as the death toll has risen to four in the beach front condo tower. and the number of people unaccounted for stands at 159. we should note that unaccounted for does not necessarily mean they're all missing. but as the days go on and they haven't checked in to confirm they're safe, a gut wrenching reality is setting in for the crews digging through the rubble. let's bring in ali velshi at the scene in surfside, florida. ali, is this dangerous such and rescue operation, it's really been complicated by the weather today, as i understand it. high winds and there was rain earlier today. what's the latest from officials there? >> in fact, a downpour probably 15 minutes ago. really quite a bit. technically the rain doesn't stop them, by the way, for searching. but the lightning does. there was lightning last night. this was a big thunderstorm that rolled through. this is south florida, it happens quite a bit. moments from now we're expecting a press conference and i'm keeping an eye on it over there from miami-dade police. the scene is back there about two blocks. that is where the building it. can't see it from here because back here you see city officials heading towards the press conference which we can take in just a moment. they're all gathering there and police officials there. and the governor ron dedesantis turning the corner. i may stop talking when that happens as we get that. we may be getting a new death toll. we know four people have been found dead. 35 or so rescued. 159, you're right to point out, have been unaccounted for. that does not mean 159 people trapped in that building. it means 159 people are thought to maybe have been in there and have not been able to be located by their families or have not checked in. a family reunification center a couple blocks away where families are waiting for any news. but we have not seen either -- >> i'm going to hop in here, friend. >> let's listen in. >> there you go, governor desantis. >> particularly by our first responders. they are searching nonstop and they are searching and trying to save people's lives. so, we thank them for what they're doing. those operations, of course, are ongoing. we have a lot of support. there's going to be more support that comes in with our federal partners and we're grateful for that. we also thank everybody who has been involved in helping the people that have been displaced. fortunately, a lot of people got out of that building. they don't have a home any more. so the efforts of the community have really been fantastic. i know there's a couple charities that we've been telling people about. they've been getting a lot of support. we are also fortunate to get a support from fema to provide individual assistance to people who have been impacted. we typically would not probably hit the threshold. of course, you can waive that and the biden administration waive that minimum threshold and stepping up to the plate. was able to speak to the fema director last night. she's been great. wants to be helpful and then i just spoke about an hour ago with president biden and he reiterated his administration's full support. they're all in and so we really appreciate having the support of the president and the people of florida really appreciate the president and his administration stepping up to help people who are in need. we're fortunate about these relief efforts on the private sector. i just spoke with one of our great companies here in florida, lennar homes and their ceo stewart miller. they're doing $1 million for the relief efforts. and we have people from all across the country that are donating money to be able to help for both, we have the one at and then you also have the one here for the surfside relief fund. both of those are great. we're going to be supporting both of them with some of our stuff and i would urge people to help out with that. we are working very closely with mayor cava in addition to working with the federal government. as needs arise the state is here to help and the federal government. we feel like we have all hands on deck to be able to assist with the search and rescue mission. and that, obviously, help people who have been displaced and then help the families who still have loved ones who are unaccounted for. i mean, when tragedy strikes, it's a very difficult thing in any circumstances but speaking with a lot of these family members when they're unaccounted for, it's a really, really difficult thing because they just don't know. i know first responders are working around the clock to get all those answers and to save as many lives as they can. but this has been a really, really difficult thing. so, i just thank the community for really coming together both here in surfside and miami-dade and really florida and throughout the country. we really appreciate that. i've also been talking with mayor cava, we both agree. we need a definitive explanation for how this could have happened. and that's an explanation that needs to be an accurate explanation. it's an explanation that, you know, we don't want to get wrong, obviously. but at the same time, i do think it's important that it's timely because you have a lot of family here. you have families that lost loved ones in this building collapse. they have a right to know. you have other folks who were able to get out safely, but then lost their homes. when we were walking out one of the things that they were cleaning up were all the family photos that would be strewn around. so they have a right to know, as well. then a lot of other people throughout this community and really throughout florida who want to know how can a building just collapse like that? i think it's a really important thing and so we've said whatever the local efforts are under way with that, the state will support whatever we can to do this right but also to do it timely so that we get the answers to the families and then we get the answer to the people of florida. so, they have our support for that. and when i spoke with the president he indicated if we need support on that investigatory end, they would send help, as well. thanks to everybody who stepped up. we have a lot of heroes in our midst here over the last day and a half. god bless them and also just thank people who sent their thoughts and prayers and have made donations. i think that when you see something like this, it really is a unique type of tragedy to have in the middle of the night, half a building just collapse like that. and it's tough. it's been gut wrenching for an lawful out of people. but i tell you nobody is quitting here. and we are going to stand by those families and we're going to stand by everyone that has been displaced. you can guarantee that. mayor. >> thank you. >> thank you, governor. >> thank you so much. thank you, governor. thank you to our chairman, our commissioners. to our local elected. this has been an extraordinary day and a half and i want to start by saying that our hearts are with our first responders who have been going in desperately seeking people, motivated to find them, hopeful that they will find them and confident that their efforts will pay off. and to the families who are suffering and waiting and wondering for wanting news of their loved ones, our hearts are with you. we are going to work as hard as we possibly can. leave no stone unturned and you can see the activity. these first responders are going in through tunnels. they're working from the top. they're working from the bottom. it has to be done very, very carefully. they can't dislodge pieces of debris that could injure them in the process. they can't dislodge debris that could possibly make it more difficult to continue the search. so, we are fully, fully behind them as they do this daring and brave work and we are making sure that they are safe so that they can continue these efforts. i want to say, as well, that these are the best first responders in the world. these are the ones that are sent to trouble spots. they've been to 9/11, they've been to haiti. they've been wherever there is a disaster and they are bringing that expertise to bear right here for our residents, for our visitors in surfside. so, while we continue to do everything we can locally and with the support of all of these jurisdictions, we are so grateful that fema has come to our side. we have this extraordinary decision by president biden to move those dollars and that support forward expeditiously. waiving the minimum amount that has to be generated before the support will kick in. and with the emergency declaration by our governor, we're able to move forward. so, this is very, very important. it's important to our search and rescue efforts. it's important to our debris removal and it's critical for the families who are going to need help in the long term as they recover. so, i think you all know the numbers have not changed since the morning. we have 127 people that are accounted for. 159 that have been identified as possibly being on the site unaccounted for. and we have four, sadly, who we have lost and we will be burying. so, we are now providing briefings to the waiting families every four hours. and the family reunification center. they are getting detailed descriptions of the operation so they can really understand what's at stake and how critical it is that we proceed cautiously and that they have patience. we're very grateful to everyone who has contributed, lennar corporation, that's