deportation, two dduiest, he wa protected in riverside, california. sanctuary. the judge, the d.a., they knew who he was. they gave him probation after his second dui. five weekweekings later, he kil my child. and this is my only child. i have no family. that is it. the public needs to know and they deserve to know that this could happen to each one of you at any given second. you hug your child, you send them off no matter what age they are. and then you get that ugly phone call that will forever change your life. and thank god our president and vice president, my family of aviac, they rallied behind us.

they were the only ones. gave us a little light. i was going to end my life. i had no purpose. but president trump coming down that he is came later that day and talking about illegal immigration, stopped me in my tracks.later that day and talking about illegal immigration, stopped me in my tracks. i had no clue at that point that i would ever be at the white house. and i thank president trump, vice president pence, everybody behind me. i thank you, i thank everybody out here. make sure that you get our stories out. i brought my son. this is what i have left, his ashes. i wear his ashes in a locket. this is how i get to hug my son. so remember when you go home and hug your kids, that there are many of us, thousands of us who don't get to do that anymore. and let's work together and get this done. all politicians. i don't care what side you're on. you don't want your child in a

casket or an uchlts rn. so get it to god's sake for this country, for our citizens. thank you. >> my name is ray tranchant. i retired from the navy. i flew off of aircraft carriers and had a great navy career and then started my family in the '90s. i had two little girls. tessa and kelsey. and they had a bigger brother, dylan. and i raised them and their mother and her -- >> the president meeting with families whose loved ones were killed by undocumented immigrants. obviously our hearts go out to them. i'm not sure why attacks on the media are necessary there, but he is of course hosting this event as he faces criticism over the separation of families along the border. and right now federal agencies are grappling with how to

implement president trump's executive order. you have senate and house leaders struggling to pass some sort of bill and the president's advice this morning, quote, republicans should stop wasting their time on immigration until after we elect more congressmen and women in november. stop wasting their time. and with this tweet, the president effectively killed any hopes for now an imgrapgs bimig bill in con. b but the president himself said that he was quote 100% behind their push to pass an immigration bill. and on the house floor, drama today, democratic congressman ted lu was just accused of breaking the rules of decorum by playing the recordings of wailing children who were taken from their parents at the border.

>> that was the audio of the cries. and nthen the speaker called th sergeant in arms threatening to remove thimt h remove him and congressman yielded. but the drama and confusion we're seeing on capitol hill is nothing compared to what thousands are experiencing right now. nick valencia is joining me from outside the port isabelle detention center. we talked to rosa last hour who said that when the parents heard that president had signed that executive order, that they started crying tear of happiness, but now many are realizing the president's signature doesn't actually equate to a plan of reunification. what are these parents saying to

you? >> reporter: not only that, but some people inside this detention center don't even know that zero tolerance is over. we would love to give you a you are to inside this facility, in fact we asked i.c.e. go inside. they said a lack of resources presented them a challenge with facilitating that tour, so they denied our request. we did however talk to two immigration attorneys who are working pro bono, they just came from meeting clients. they are going to the federal course houses where the undocumented immigrants are making their court appearances, writing down the i.d. number that they get, coming here to this facility, cross-referencing and then able to talk to people who end up becoming their clients. they told me i.c.e. officials inside say this reunification is not currently happening, it could take as long as a month, perhaps more. here is what one attorney just told me. >> my understanding is there is no process set yet. they are still in the process of figuring out the procedure for that. what i was told is it might take

about a month just for that reunification to happen. the people inside the jail actually had no idea that was even a possibility, what they are getting information from the new, they h new, they had no idea. >> reporter: in some cases they are watching spanish language tv which is playing. i asked about the conditions in there and she said that they are good conditions, they are being fed well. it seems that those that are detained inside which is men and women, about 1700 in all, are getting proper care. but the fact that they don't know that the zero tolerance policy is over, that they are not being communicated to by these government officials is just shocking. >> awful. nick valencia, thank you. and we mentioned congressman ted lu and what happened on the floor a while ago on capitol hill. watch this with me. >> what must that sound like?

>> the gentleman will suspend. >> for what reason, madame speaker? >> the gentleman is in breach of decorum. >> cite the rule, madame speaker. >> rule 17 of the house that prohibits -- >> the rule says i can't play sounds? >> the gentleman will suspend. >> why are you trying to prevent the american people from listening -- >> the rule 17 of the house prohibits the use of that device. >> why do you not let the american people hear what they are saying? >> no to tw the department of de preparing to house the children on military bases, 20,000. and that is a child in nearly every seat at new york's famous madison square garden. if you translate it into school

buses, 60 kids per bus, you would need 333 school buses. the department of health and human services is taking a look at bases in arkansas, texas, new mexico. let's talk to our military analyst colonel layton. when i first heard the number 20,000, socked me in the gut. and now trying to understand what does that look like on these bases, period? >> it is a huge thing because most of these bases, biggest one ft. bliss has a population of active duty military about 27,000 personnel, a little over that. so they have as many troops as we have stationed in all of south korea right on that one base and that one army post. most of the other bases are much smaller than that, and for them to house those 333 school buses worth of children would be a considerable undertaking for a

base like goodfellow, dias or little rock. and any of those bases have an operational mission. goodfellow has a training mission. near a abilene is the home of the b-1 bomber. so if they get this particular mission, they will have to have massive expenditure of resources, create a tent city or something like that in order to house all of these kids and possibly their families. >> so maybe a tent city? that is 20,000 beds spread out across the country. are we talking about like parts of the base sort of turning in to a daycare? what modifications would be made? would the kids be with their families? >> that depends on the decisions, the policy decisions, that are made here in washington. but if the families are going to be reunited per the latest executive order from the president, then it will be a situation where they would have to have facilities to house both the parents and the children.

and if that is the case that brings up a whole other series of policing functions which kind of take you back to what we did for the vietnamese refugees when they came to this country after the end of the vietnam war. and that was a lot of work that went into that, a lot of planning had to be done. and i don't think we've done any of that based on what i've seen so far. >> so i'm making almost like a list then of the cost. so if you are saying policing functions, and then you have the 20,000 people getting to these vary base various bases, the housing, food, do you have any idea how much that would cost and who foots that bill? >> as far as who foots the bill, it is definitely the american taxpayer. the amount would really depend on a lot of different factors such as the length of stay, the type of facility, whether or not you you had to build a facility from scratch and in many cases

you would have to do that. so you would be talking easily in the it ens of millions of dollars. and again, that really depends on the type of tenure we're talking about, how long these people would be housed on these bases, what kind of court proceedings they would have, how competent addition slus those cou expeditious the court hearings would be. so a lot of different factors. and any budgetary estimate would be probably quite inaccurate at best. >> then also how the military feels about this. colonel, thank you very much for that. meantime the mother who sued the trump administration to get her son back is now with him. their emotional reunion and her lawyers join me on what is next. plus another mother says that she would rather stay in mexico and risk death than be separated from her daughter at the border. is the trump administration's efforts to deter immigrants from

crossing illegally working or is it hurting desperate families? brighthouse financial allow you to take advantage of growth opportunities... with a level of protection in down markets. so you can be less concerned about your retirement savings. talk with your advisor about shield annuities from brighthouse financial- established by metlife. i'm a tin can tied to your bumper, cause.... i don't think enough people heard about your big day. but nothing says "we got married" like a 12 ounce piece of scrap metal. yo! we got married!

honk if you like joint assets. now you're so busy soaking up all this attention, you don't see the car in front of you. and if i can crash your "perfect day", imagine what i can do to the rest of 'em. so get allstate, and be better protected from mayhem. like me. ♪ ♪ when you combine ancestry's with its historical records... you could learn you're from ireland donegal, ireland and your ancestor was a fisherman. with blue eyes. just like you. begin your journey at ancestry.com

i thought i was managing my moderate to severe crohn's disease. then i realized something was missing... me. my symptoms were keeping me from being there. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure.

before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. anyone can get you ready, holiday inn express gets you the readiest. because ready gives a pep talk. showtime! but the readiest gives a pep rally. i cleared my inbox!

holiday inn express, be the readiest. the cries of some of the youngest children separated from their families at the border may now become part of the congressional record after the sound was played on the house floor today. but for one mother, this audio means so much more to her because this was the closest she could get to her daughter for no now. rosa flores tracked down the mother of one of the children

whose cries you just heard. she had a plea for the first lady. a trump administration administration official says 500 children are being reunited with their families and we are seeing some prove of that and it is powerful.

that little boy in the blanket, his name darwin. he is 7 and he and his mom are from guatemala. and with me now are two people who were right there when darwin finally saw his mother again. mario williams is the attorney who represents darwin's mother. and also with us the ceo of the company who bailed her out. so gentlemen, welcome to both of you you. what a win for this family and for you. mario, i want to start with you as she was your client and tell me about what it took for this emotional reunion to happen, to

have this mother finally embrace her child. >> it was a long journey, brooke. we started off, we filed a lawsuit early 5:00 a.m. tuesday morning. at that point the mother had not even known where her child was. although she marie peted pleas try to find out. no one would tell her. we filed for in-junk difference relief that was granted. we had a hearing. but before the hearing,differen relief that was granted. we had a hearing. but before the hearing, s mother was actually promised that the child would be released the day before the hearing. all the way up to the point of let willing the mother talk to the child and represent that she was going to see her son on that day, the government decided to press the pause button, waited to five minutes bfrt actubefore actual hearing to say that they would release the child. so by the time she saw her child as she was seeking asylum, being

separated, not beinged to where the child is, it was very emotional, very responsive reaction. >> sure. and just to put it in perspective, this is one child. we're talking about 2,000 children on the border who have been separated. and to underscore again what you did, you sued several government agencies and top trump administration officials asking this federal judge to basically release the son. that is a lot to take on. >> it is a lot to take on. but the amazing thing and i guess one thing that makes me feel so good about being an american is that only in this country could a migrant from guatemala who walks across two countries with her son on her back, who experiences horrible trauma from this trump policy that is out of control, only in the united states of america could she sue the president's administration and haul them into federal government and win and get her kid back. so i guess if there is a positive to think about this, it

is more that se went through it, but they are together now and the court system worked. the government should have done it sooner, but thank god she has her kid back today. >> will we see more scenes like these play out, are you taking on more clients? >> i've authorized funding for a class action to represent other similarly situated individuals. and i know mario and his team are working on that as we speak. in addition to that, we are offering to post charitable bond for any immigrant who was separated from their family as a result of this policy. we need to get these kids in the hands of their parents and close a chapter on this dark, dark spot in american history. what we've done is wrong, but we can make it right. we have to all work to make it right right now. >> mike, mario, gentlemen, thank you so much for shedding light on this one case. let me also point out florida

senator marco rubio is weighing in on this crisis at the border and on the president's rhetoric. here is what he told david axelrod. >> the president has deikted i depicted the people who are coming as dangerous, he said they are not sending us their best. rapists, murderers. >> not based on a lottery. they could be murderers, thief, and so much else. >> the vast 98%, 99% of these people are being charged with a misdemeanor, they don't have criminal histories. is it fair to -- >> i don't think it is ever wise to cast a broad net, a generalization over any group of human beings. so, yes he, there are people that cross the pore der that b criminals. the vast majority just want a

better life. if a family is living in a dangerous situation, i'd do almost anything to protect my children and find a better life. so we have to understand that elements of it. doesn't mean we don't have to have laws on you are on he said. mexico and canada have immigration laws. i don't think that we should jean ligeneralize. i think vast majority just want something better. >> you can watch the full interview tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern when senator rubio joins david axle reco elrod for "the files." next, president's for e's f personal attorney appearing alongside tom arnold who is hosting the show the hunt for the trump tapes. this is the latest move raising eyebrows.

let's see why people everywhere are upgrading their water filter to zerowater. start with water that has a lot of dissolved solids. pour it through brita's two-stage filter. dissolved solids remain? what if we filter it over and over? (sighing) oh dear. thank goodness zerowater's five-stage filter gets to all zeroes the first time. so, maybe it's time to upgrade. get more out of your water. get zerowater. (male friend) thanks for the invite! getshow me the movies.ater.

(anna) front row? nobody puts baby in a corner. i'll pre-order what she's having. wax on, wax off. yippee ki yay movielovers. (vo) introducing atom tickets. (anna) was that too much? (vo) download the atom app and get $5 off your first ticket. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. billions of problems. morning breath? garlic breath? stinky breath? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath fresh breath oral rinse instantly fights all types of bad breath and works for 24 hours. so you can... breathe easy. there's therabreath at walmart.

i'm a small business, but i have... big dreams... and big plans. so how do i make the efforts of 8 employees... feel like 50? how can i share new plans virtually? how can i download an e-file? virtual tours? zip-file? really big files? in seconds, not minutes... just like that. like everything... the answer is simple. i'll do what i've always done... dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network.

president trump's former fixer long time attorney under criminal investigation just pretty with one of the president's biggest critics, comedian tom arnold who is working on a show for vice called the hunt for trump tapes. arnold tweeted out this photo and says michael cohen, quote, has all the tapes. the photo is raising so many eye brows. arnold just clarified with this, michael cohen didn't say me and him were teaming up to take down donald trump. michael has enough trump on his plate. i'm the crazy person who said me and michael cohen were teaming up to take down trump. of course i meant it. cohen tells cnn appreciate his apology in correcting the record. let's start there. with me is columnist for the

washington examiner and also senior politics writer for u.s. news and world report. we had a bit of fun with this last hour with tom arnold and michael cohen, but it is the latest bizarre move by cohen. he has been critical of the president's immigration policy. and now he retweets this photo of tom arnold who is trying to find all these unsavory tape of the president. what is going on here? >>ave -- the theory that you have is as good a theory as what i can have. but i think what may be happening, and again i feel like i'm spinning theories like i'm coming up on the west world finale, is that as someone who has gone through a lot of nonsense in defending donald trump, and now that he has had the fed raid his offense, he may be done putting up with nonsense to defend donald trump.

>> david? >> i i think we know that the way to get attention is through media outlets. whether fox and friends in the morning, whether twitter in the evening. so i don't have any inside read on this, but i would think if michael cohen is going to allow himself to be photographed with tom arnold, an enemy of the president, it could be a signal to the president saying look, hey, look out for me in the end if i get hit with charges. send a pardon my way. otherwise i don't understand why, you know, trump's long time fixer would be collaborating or colluding with someone who wants to take down the president. >> that is the big coincidence on this friday afternoon. but let's move to what is happening on the border a congressman wants stephen miller gone. watch this. >> i believe miller advised him on the border, on this recent problem in terms of tearing

families apart. that lack of understanding of the significance of how that played out has stephen miller's fingerprints on it. and so i think the president needs a different adviser. >> stephen miller part of that hard line immigration advising and stance. but do you think for him to go, would pigs be flying first? >> i think stephen miller is a survive in this administration because he consistently does things that the president likes. remember i believe it was last summer where he took on reporters in the white house briefing room, went toe to toe over immigration. and it was a performance that the president reportedly found very impressive. he has survived the purge of steve bannon. he sort of came in as a bannon world type. former staffer for jeff sessions everyone as jeff sessions getting criticized by the president, steven miller oig

continues to survive. and it is important to understand this particular member of congress who is calling for miller to be fired, represents a district that has a lot of latino voters in it. he taught himself to speak spanish to he could better connect with his district. so clearly there is an additional level of heartburn coming from this administration's policies before. >> we have been talking, speaking of heartburn, of some words that a lot of people have criticized. infest was in trump's tweets, wah-wah coming from cory lewandowski and now this from this fox morning anchor. >> like it or not, these aren't our kids. show them compassion, but it is not like he is doing this to the people of idaho or texas. these are people from another country and now people are saying that they are more important than people in our country who are paying taxes who

have needs as well. >> it is those first few words, these aren't our kids. i should point out he later said he didn't mean it like that, but where is the civility? >> look, this was a bad issue, a bad week for the president on this issue across the board. but i wouldn't underestimate the sliver in this country that this is playing to. remember trump won the election i think you could argue on smoking immigration fears, on the wall. so i would -- this is not a winner for them, but they are already in a hole in this midterm election. i think they are talking to that 35% who show up at rallies no matter what and want something done about people coming over the border even in the worst conditions. even heartbreaking conditions when you see children. there is a sliver of american people in this country who want it stopped. and trump is responding to their

voice. and i think the event he held today showed that he is willing to double down on this issue. it is a friday. most white houses would try to move away from immigration, maybe try to do an event on the economy. something else that would put it in a positive light. he put victims of imxwlags crmi crimes behind him on a stage and i think that they are all-in on this issue. >> david and kristen, thank you so much. coming up next here, another day, another epa scandal. scott pruitt under fire again, this time over his e-mails. the big question, where are they? you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement

in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember.

after months of what seems like ethics questions and questions over and over involving the chief scott pruitt, government watch dogs have yet another question for

him. that being where are his e-mails. politico is reporting today a review of through it's government e-mail accounts indicates that he only wrote one external e-mail in his first ten months in office. one. this from an epa chief who has taken enormous steps to conceal his actions including installing that $43,000 sound proof booth in his office. politico's emily holden was the first to discuss the e-mail scandal and she is on with me now. thanks for joining me. one external e-mail in ten months. what is the explanation and why does this matter? >> because the sierra club is a number of groups fighting epa in court and when they got the records back, they got 25 pages, that is all that the epa said that they had and only one external e-mail sent which a lot of oversight groups say that is too hard to believe. but epa says he doesn't use

e-mail, not something that he does. >> didn'toesn't e-mail? are they saying that that is not a concern? >> it seems like a pretty difficult job do without e-mail. but his staff turned up thousands and thousands of e-mail just talking to people on a day to day basis. and this is really one of many transparency concerns that epa, you mentioned the sound proof booth, he also does not tell people where he will be in advance. the staff won't release that information. he won't release police chis ca unless prompted by the courts. >> which i cchick-fil-a franchi mattress. >> the condo, yes. >> emily holden, stay on it. thank you so much. for the latest on pruitt there. but next, we have to talk about the connors. the connors are coming back. but will it be a hit without

disgraced star roseanne? us mone. well, that seems fair. we didn't use it. wish we got money back on gym memberships. get money back hilarious. with claim-free rewards. switching to allstate is worth it. billions of problems. sore gums? bleeding gums? painful flossing? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. so you can...

breathe easy, there's therabreath at walmart. if you have moderate to thsevere rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. help stop the clock on further irreversible joint damage. talk to your rheumatologist. right here.

right now. humira.

i'm a small business, but i have... big dreams... and big plans. so how do i make the efforts of 8 employees... feel like 50? how can i share new plans virtually? how can i download an e-file? virtual tours? zip-file? really big files? in seconds, not minutes... just like that. like everything... the answer is simple. i'll do what i've always done... dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. your society was led by a woman, who governed thousands...

commanded armies... yielded to no one. when i found you in my dna, i learned where my strength comes from. my name is courtney mckinney, and this is my ancestrydna story. now with 5 times more detail than other dna tests. order your kit at ancestrydna.com just weeks after disappearing from abc's primetime lineup, "roseanne" is back. but a spinoff with a new name and slightly different cast. roseanne barr is not returning. the show's working title the connors.

all the other major stars will be back. the reboot had been yanked after bahr posted racist remarks. but you now the question is can the connors survive without her. we wanted to do a blast from the past looking at history. the hits, lisa bonet left for a different world. kim fields became a big star once facts of life spun off different sfrotrokes. and all in the family bore several spinoffs. those were the hits. now the misses. ratings were not very friendly to joey, the iconic mash led to after mash. that didn't last long. everybody loved joan ai nechljoy on happy days. so will this spin over make tv

history, should it tackle race? with me now, host of united shades of america. the connors? do you think it will work? and how do they acknowledge that roseanne went away? >> first of all, why do you got to bring up joey? nobody was thinking about that show. >> a little sensitive for you? >> yeah, like -- >> sorry. >> i don't think we're putting this in the right category. this is really like a new sort of d-boot where you take the major character out and move them on like with "house of cards" where we are seeing can the major shows live without their main characters who left in scandal. and so i think that is a different question. and i mean is this a net plus? roseanne is getting paid for this new show. they had to settle with her to continue the show. and so she is getting paid for a her racist remarks. she gets to sit home and make

money. i don't know that this is a net plus. >> cheering for it? >> i wasn't cheering for it before, so -- >> so you won't be cheering for it now. >> good luck, everybody. i mean, yeah. >> let's talk about you. let's talk about you and canada. so you go to canada to see if our allies to the north can teach us a thing or two when it comes to health care and politics and winter sports. here is a look. >> what is the biggest difference between canada and the united states of america? >> in canada, no matter where i go, people are really informed on what is going on in canada and the world. some of the places i go in the u.s. really don't know a whole lot. and i'm sorry, i really have to be cautious what i say. >> i can't act like that is not true. >> it is not like what is happening in the u.s., there is more -- >> what do you mean by what is happening in -- >> south of the border. >> i don't think of myself as

being south in the border. what is going on south of the border? >> whether white, black, asian, i think that in canada there is a lot more of that understanding, you know, there is a lot of americans that come up here and they go, oh, i can walk safely, i can do this? and yes, this is canada. >> what were your impressions? was it the security threat that trump had recently referred to canada as? what did you find? >> i mean, i just sort of watched that clip going man, we taped that months ago and things have gotten much, much worse. so a pat on the united states to the crew for nailing that. i think that, you know, it is interesting when we talk about south of the border, we are sort of the mexico to canada. and i wonder are how life would be different for mexico if there wasn't the united states between

them and canada. i think the relationship between mexico and canada would go better. but can gha ada is the safe spa when you talk to those who moved there. >> it is the all-new episode of united sharedes of america this sunday 10:00 p.m. thank you. still to come, a mother says she would rather stay in mexico and risk potential death than be separated from her daughter at the border. is the administration's deterrent effort working? ther with powerload™ technology. feed the line. push the button. and get back to work. with an industry first, carbon-fiber shaft... lawn care has never been this easy... ...or this powerful. the new ego power+ string trimmer with powerload™ technology.

exclusively at the home depot and ego authorized dealers. ( ♪ ) your heart doesn't only belong to you. child: bye, grandpa! and if you have heart failure, entrusting your heart to entresto may help. entresto is a heart failure medicine that helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven superior at helping people stay alive

and out of the hospital compared to a leading heart failure medicine. don't take entresto if pregnant. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. and help make more tomorrows possible. entresto, for heart failure. ♪ ♪ ♪ raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ♪ ♪ bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens ♪ ♪ brown paper packages tied up with strings ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ ♪ ♪

all this week we have been telling the story of extraordinary people and organizations that are making a difference. the special series is called "champions for change" to highlight issues important to us. one believing deeply in horses and how equine therapy is helping people with mental and physical challenges including military vets fighting ptsd. >> i was in the navy for a year and eight months. i discharged in 2006. >> what was it like for you when you got out of the navy? >> it was rough. >> what do you mean? >> you go from a very structured timetable and everything and you know when you are doing what to i was like, now what? and it is just a rough spot. it was major depression, anxiety,

ptsd from my dad passing away. >> reporter: stacy opened her barn and heart at special equestrians of georgia to help as many vets as possible, for free. >> it is such a long road. i think for anybody, but for the veterans who are already dealing with life issues and then post traumatic stress and then fly--d then trying to have a family. there is so many things that we as humans have to deal with. >> reporter: in 12 years of offering horse therapy here, she has yet to break even in operating costs but said she can't afford not to do this. >> with ptsd, you can't get out of your head and it is amazing to watch horses connect with people who have something going on but for veterans in particular it is a big powerful animal that seems to understand

them. >> how has it made a difference in your life. >> it pretty much saved my life, going from a very dark place and not having a lot of people to talk to or people i was comfortable talking to about all of the issues i had. for me it was just wanting to run from everything, which i did for a long time. a lot of suicidal thoughts and still battle with them. i still battle with a lot of anxiety, but there is an outlet for all of that now. >> really hits home with me because my dat is a military vet. and my brother is a military vet. my dad, he was a tuskegee airman and served in world war ii, korea war and u.s. army and then later u.s. air force. he would also be an olympian representing usa, representing the armed forces. most of his years he did not talk about his military service. and about five years before his

passing did we as a family even know that he had been struggling with ptsd. learning of his diagnosis and not knowing of the signs and not knowing that he may have been struggling with this all those years also kind of adds to the agony of what it is for so many military vets that many are suffering in silence. >> reporter: like the markings on a horse, there are so many unique ways the massive magical creatures touch our lives. i've loved them from early on. even volunteering as a teen at rock creek horse center in washington, d.c. >> i think when i came here, it was for selfish reasons but i would get a chance to be around horses but at the same time what i end up seeing here was that there was this beautiful therapeutic riding program and i would see how transformational it would be when you have have

riders who had down syndrome, who had neurological, who had spinal issues. >> i have cerebral palsy. i know in horseback riding, the horse doesn't judge you, on how hard you try and they judge on your success and feelings and they want to help you. >> everyone is looking for new outlets in which to address things that they have encountered, whether it is in combat or in training. the technique of equine that therapy is challenging that it is being tackled differently today. >> you are changing people's lives. >> i hope so. i like to help however i can. i think our most vulnerable population is also one of our most special populations, especially our vets.

>> those are gorgeous creatures, aren't they? >> they are. >> wow! >> i know. >> a couple of questions. you mentioned the barn owner has yet to break even. >> let me tell you, everyone knows just owning a horse, if you have one it is expensive. and now imagine having about 20 horses and you have a barn and land. for stacy edwards and she is my -- my champion for change, more than $70,000 in operating costs a year. now she takes in some money for lessons that she teaches there. but for the most part, it is donations that helps keep this going. and if not for the donations, then she's reaching into her own pocket, she and her husband, maintaining this facility, making sure that the doors are open, whether it is for young kids who have various challenges from cerebral palsy to

neurological disorders, to of course she opens up her barn and her hearts to all of the vets. it is really important to her given that she has vets in her family. she understands the need and she has seen the difference not just in rusty, but in so many others and said, it is more than worth it. but again, she would love more assistance out there for people to see what it is she does so she could continue doing this pass the 12 years she's already committed. >> i loved hearing that young woman say, these horses don't judge us. you are transported into a different place on these beautiful creatures. >> they are magical. >> the 30 seconds i have left, for the people who aren't in a condition to go to her, go to her, can she get the horses to them. >> she does. and that is extra ard nair -- extraordinary and she brings the mini horses to nursing homes, to childcare facilities, to

schools. because getting sometimes to a barn is one of the biggest obstacles that even vets have. she created a situation where she loads them up into a trailer and she brings the horses, these mini horses to them, magical and amazing. she's so generous. that is stacy edwards, special equestrians of georgia. >> fred, thank you so much. appreciate it? . watch the special at 8:00 tomorrow night. let's start with "the lead." "the lead" starts right now. 1800 children are still apart from their parents. "the lead" starts right now. more confusion, not enough reunions after president trump signs an executive order stopping the family separations he started. and he continues today to describe undocument