hillary is a birther. >> donald trump tells a half-empty room at a black business event that hillary clinton is to blame for the birther movement. now clinton is firing back. and the pairs among the military's most elite. the first women to pass the gruelling ranger school. the army says they're ready for combat. but one congressman is apparently not convinced. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, this is "way too early." good morning. it's thursday, september 24th, i'm jonathan capehart in washington. we begin this morning right here in washington, d.c., where in just a few hours, pope francis will deliver a speech before a joint session of congress and become the first pope in history to do so. after that he'll bless a meal

before catholic charities before taking off for new york city, where he'll arrive in time for evening prayers at st. patrick's cathedral. and it will all come after what was a jam-packed first full day for the pontiff here in the nation's capital. he spoke at the white house and met privately with president obama. he then toured the streets of d.c. in the pope mobile, waving to a crowd of about 50,000 as he went. he traveled to saint matthew's cathedral where he celebrated midday prayers with u.s. bishops. and his day ended at the national shrine of the immaculate conception on the campus of catholic university for a canonization mass. and if the pope's very first set of remarks here on u.s. soil are any indication, he won't be holding back when he speaks before congress later this morning. >> mr. president, i am finally encouraged that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution.

accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem we can no longer be left to our future generations. >> after their speeches, pope francis and president obama headed inside the white house together. the pope even got to meet the obama's dogs, sunny and beau during his tour. overshadowing the politics yesterday, the pope's interaction with the people. he's been called approachable and unpredictable and yesterday on the streets of washington, d.c., he lived up to his reputation. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: on a perfect sun-drenched day, pope francis emerged from the papal tour to the cheers of the faithful and the delight of catholic schoolkids. >> it was really cool.

>> we got to touch him and stuff. it was so -- >> shook his hand. it was really awesome. >> reporter: to those who'd risen early for this day it was awesome. francis blessed a crowd, even stopped to take selfies. this 16-year-old's selfie quickly went viral. >> it was a once in a lifetime experience. it felt great. it was amazing. >> reporter: but the pope himself had a special request. >> i will. >> i promise. i promise. every day. >> reporter: tens of thousands poured onto the streets of washington, francis riding down constitution avenue, smiling, waving, blessing the crowd. so many came with heartwrenching stories of sadness and loss. this family from virginia lost their twin sons who'd been named after two previous popes. they came to get their daughter close to francis. >> it was a very joyful experience for the family. >> yes. tears of joy. absolutely. he's just amazing. >> reporter: of the many indelible images today, this

one. 5-year-old sophie cruz broke through the lines and was scooped up by security. but francis called for her to come close. a few words and a hug, and she handed him a t-shirt with this letter. her parents are undocumented workers from mexico who traveled from los angeles. she had rehearsed her message to the pope, please protect my parents. >> because every day i am scared that one day they will take them away from me. >> reporter: her proud father relishing her moment with papa francisco. a day of special moments and memories. >> that was nbc's tom costello reporting. there's plenty of controversy surrounding the pope's visit. some are criticizing the pontiff this morning for what he said, or in this case didn't say, about the sexual abuse scandal involving priests. yesterday while holding a prayer service with hundreds of bishops at saint matthew's cathedral here in washington the pontiff praised the way u.s. bishops have responded to the scandal. but a group representing victims calls that a slap in the face, claiming the bishops only acted

under the threat of hundreds of lawsuits. advocates are also angry because francis did not use the words sexual abuse. instead he referred to the scandal by calling it a difficult moment in the church's recent history. the vatican says the pope will meet with victims during his trip, a move that's also drawing criticism from victims' advocates. the pope also made waves for canonizing a man whom many believe is not worthy of sainthood. in 1769, father junipero serra went to what is now california and began many of the catholic missions there. at the time, tens of thousands of native americans were converted to catholicism. many say their ancestors were beaten into submission, and had their cultures erased. >> these are people who went beyond the era of their time to be, you know, somewhat superhumans. i don't think junipero serra was better. >> 50 different native american tribes protested serra's elevation to sainthood. he is now the first saint to be

canonized on american soil. now to breaking news out of saudi arabia. the associated press is reporting that at least 220 people were killed this morning in a stampede outside the muslim holy city of mecca. some 2 million people are there performing their annual hajj pilgrimage. almost 400 more people were reportedly injured in the incident. new polls released just moments ago from bloomberg politics shows that last week's debate had no effect on donald trump's standing in the republican field. though his top rivals all saw an increase in support, trump's lead -- trump leads ben carson by five points, within the margin of error, while jeb bush is also up from august, now at 13 points. carly fiorina also sees a ten-point increase, moving up to fourth place. outsiders taking 48% of the vote. and if you're wondering where all the increases in support for the top candidates came from, look at the bottom of the field. mike huckabee and rand paul losing support, but most notably

governor scott walker, who exited the race on monday. and trump also holds the lead in the latest fox news poll, up one point since last month with an eight-point lead over ben carson. carly fiorina, marco rubio and ted cruz all leading jeb bush, who has fallen in to sixth in this national poll. although still very close with the third place finishers. this while a new poll of republican voters in florida also spells trouble for bush where the former two-term governor trails trump and senator rubio by wide margins. the florida poll also shows the top republican contenders leading hillary clinton with carson up 12 points and donald trump winning by the tightest of margins. on monday, donald trump accused hillary clinton of sparking the rumors that president obama was a foreign-born muslim during a 2008 democratic primary. and yesterday clinton responded directly to the claim. >> did you or your campaign start the whole birther thing?

and did you have -- >> that is -- >> -- a confrontation with the president? >> no. that is so ludicrous, don. you know, honestly, i -- i just believe that -- first of all, it's totally untrue. and secondly, you know, the president and i have never had any kind of conversation like that. this is such a bad example of what's wrong with, you know, instantaneous reactions, and americans getting all worked up, and people feeding prejudice and paranoia like donald trump. and, yeah, obviously all of us have to stand against it. and you know, i have been blamed for nearly everything. that was a new one to me. >> numerous reports have found that the rumors did original among clinton supporters, though it's not clear if any of it came from the official campaign itself. and obama's former personal aide reggie love recently wrote that he witnessed then-senator obama confronting her about it in 2008 after she apologized for

a surrogate talking about the candidate's drug use. and yesterday, trump doubled down on his claim while speaking in south carolina. >> hillary, who's become very shrill. you know the word shrill? she's become shrill. she was saying what i said about obama -- and yet in 2008, she was the original birther. she's the one that started that whole thing. hillary is a birther. by the way, don't switch your votes to hillary, please. but hillary is the one that started it. and then she acted so indignant, like, how dare he? give me a break. >> political observers have taken note of the timing of hillary clinton's announcement in opposition of the keystone pipeline. perfectly coinciding with the pope's arrival on wednesday. yesterday the presidential candidate continued her focus on climate change, releasing a detailed energy plan just as the pope was speaking about the issue at the white house. it involves partnering with

mexico and canada. what clinton calls a quote, clean, secure and affordable north america -- north american energy future that she claims is bigger than a single project like keystone. and now a look at the latest polls on the democratic side. fox news finds clinton down five points since august at 44%. but still with a 14-point lead over bernie sanders. vice president joe biden gaining in support at 18%. when biden is removed from the equation, though, clinton is back over 50%, seeing a gain of 12 points, while sanders adds just two. looking at the toll the past few months have taken on clinton, her support among female democrats has declined 12 points since june. dropping below 50% in this national poll. and most believe she's lying about how her state department e-mails were handled. though only 31% of democrats do. among the broader electorate, concern that scandal will affect her potential presidency has remained roughly the same since may.

62% very or somewhat concerned. and 35% not very or at all. let's turn to business now, where u.s. stocks posted their fourth loss in five days. investors continued to react to recent turmoil, including weak data from china, and now there are concerns about how badly the volkswagen scandal could impact germany. cnbc's steve sedgwick joins us live from london. and steve, the fallout from volkswagen has been stunning. >> yeah, absolutely stunning. and it continues, jonathan. there are some really big news headlines hitting the wires literally in the last half an hour. what we do know, of course, is that winterkorn has resigned. he might still get $32 million in pension after leaving as well. the three big bits of news within the last hour is one, the company said they will potentially announce a new ceo tomorrow. a lot of hot money saying it could be the boss of the vw brand or indeed the boss of porsha, as well, which is part of the -- another bit of news they're going to start naming

names on friday of who is actually responsible for this so-called defeat device algorithm which changed those emissions so dramatically. and another bit of news coming from a german publication, which is now accusing potentially bmw of having worse emission results in some tests than potentially volkswagen's were. i can tell you as i speak bmw shares are moving down over 5%, whilst volkswagen shares seem to have found a bit of a floor moving up around about 4%. >> steve, some of the biggest names in silicon valley met with chinese president xi jinping in seattle yesterday. what did he have to say? >> yes. president xi just trying to cement those ties with big business. huge orders aannounced from boeing in seattle, $38 billion worth of airlines. big investment by boeing in china, as well. but those big ceos you mentioned, the likes of dell as well, likes of the bosses of other big tech companies including bezos and tim cook, as well, they want intellectual property rights recognized in china, as well.

and president xi was saying, look, we will recognize those rights as well and we will also guarantee more market access as well. president xi talking very positively about u.s./chinese relations as well. that comes at the same time i'm afraid that there's been another development in the opm, office of personal management hack from the summer, where it now seems 5.6 million fingerprints were stolen in the cyber attack. that is five times as many as previously thought. no one is officially from a government point of view blaming the chinese but unofficially some people around the intelligence community perhaps looking at china as a source of that cyber attack. >> a lot of news there. steve sedgwick live from london. thank you. despite bitter divisions, european leaders agreed on new measures to alleviate the continent's migrant crisis at an emergency summit early this morning in brussels. leaders pledge more than $1 billion in aid to u.n. agencies supporting syrian refugees still in the middle east, des signed to discourage more of them from setting out for europe. cautioning the greatest tide of

refugees and migrants has yet to come. eu chairman donald tusk said the measures are, quote, all necessary steps in the right direction. and now we turn to egypt. yesterday egypt shun president el sisi pardoned people on accusations of aiding a terrorist organization and broadcasting material harmful to egypt. just last month at a retrial the journalists were sentenced to three years in prison. upon their release, the journalists expressed joy and relief. >> our families have suffered so much since the beginning of this trial. and we're very happy that president sisi took this action and released us. i will continue fighting for press freedom. >> this whole nightmare is over. the whole nightmare is over. we can live like normal people and go back home, enjoy my life. and that's it. this morning historic moment for women in our military. it's being called into question,

though. a congressman from oklahoma wants to know if the first female soldiers to graduate army ranger school actually passed the test. "people" magazine reports that representative steve russell requested the army secretary hand over the records of the first two women who pass at georgia's fort benning. the congressman is concerned after he said sources came forward claiming first lieutenants received special treatment. the two graduated last month. commanders at fort benning have said repeatedly that women who attempt the course are always held to the same standards as men. still ahead on "way too early," ball parks across the major leagues pay tribute to yankees legend yogi berra, who was just as famous for what he said off the field as for what he did on it. and the penalty is in for the two texas players who targeted and tackled a referee during a high school football game. those stories and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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a disciplinary hearing held yesterday has determined the fate of two texas high school football players who targeted a referee during a game earlier this month. according to the boys' attorneys, the two teams will spend 75 days in an alternative school. they'll be eligible to return for the start of the school's spring semester. the school district issued a statement saying it cannot release the details about the punishment because of privacy laws. video was released showing the two football players apparently blindsiding a referee during the game. an espn report published earlier in the day says john jay high school assistant coach mack breed has admitted to the school's principal that he directed the two players to hit the referee as retaliation for alleged racially charged comments made by the official. meanwhile, a high school football player in tennessee has been suspended after colliding with a referee during a game last friday. according to the gallup news the official has spoken out saying

he warned the player to avoid him during game play after the player complained about the ref being in his way. both the player and the athletic association say the collision was unintentional. now let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill? >> is that story just fishy? why did it take so long for the guy to come out and admit that he did that. >> i'm with you on that one. >> the kids have been taking the rap for like two weeks now. >> a couple of weeks now, right. >> oh, well. let's talk about what i do know about, that's the weather and as far as areas from omaha go up to sioux city, yesterday morning at this time i was showing you thunderstorms over there. they had five inches of rain in omaha. that's like as much rain as some areas in the northeast have gotten in like six months. today another one to two inches of rainfall is going to occur in this area. that's why we have the potential for some flash flooding. those thunderstorms will be soon over sioux city and omaha. now back to the east coast. if you've been to any of the

beaches lately, they've been very rough. the seas have been rough. rip currents have been very dangerous and that continues as this onshore flow. now we're starting to watch some of the heavier rain in the outer banks. definitely very dangerous conditions over the next three to four days right into the weekend here for the east coast. two to three inches of rain is possible raleigh all the way down to wilmington. and as far as today's forecast goes i've got a big hunk of donny next to me. jonathan that is something to be jealous of. >> he knows what he's talking about. >> you know, i want to know where is donny's tie? >> where is donny's tie? >> come on, donny. >> ties aren't cool. that's why you and i are wearing them and he's not. >> okay, all right. whatever you say, bill. up next, a look at the pope's historic visit through the eyes of the young. "way too early" is back in a moment. are you moving forward fast enough? everywhere you look, it strategy is now business strategy.

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pope francis is visiting the u.s. so yesterday the pope's plane couldn't land right away because he arrived earlier than planned. that's right the pope's flight was early. i guess he really can perform miracles. president obama picked up pope francis in his motorcade yesterday and everyone was wondering if they'd be able to spot the pope. well, a vatican spokesman gave us a tip on how we could find him. >> he came, as you might have seen, in this characteristic motorcade that is done, built by

big cars, and there is a clear little car, and that is the pope. >> the pope had a private meeting with president obama in the oval office, and then buffalo wild wings. it was a nice day. the president presented the pope with a gift. he gave him a sculpture of an ascending dove made out of metal taken from the statue of liberty and wood grown in the white house garden. and i'm sure the pope's cleaning lady's really going to like it. >> there you have it. late night takes on the pope's visit. as pope francis greeted thousands along d.c.'s parade route, a pint-sized pope had a parade of his own. students at saint jude regional catholic school hosted a papal visit complete with a 4-year-old pope escorted by 8-year-old cardinals led by a fourth grade secret service agent. the preschool pope emerged from

his car to a waving and adoring crowd compromised of the entire student body. that's just adorable. and check this out, nuns turning the papal visit into an all-day tailgate. this picture showing several sisters taking a breather before the pope's mass. that does it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," pope francis begins day three of his whirlwind visit to the u.s. we'll preview his speech, his rare speech over a highly polarized joint session of congress. and the front-runner for the republican presidential nominations, donald trump joins the conversation. he'll join "morning joe" live at 6:30 a.m. joe and mika also talk to former texas governor rick perry about the future of the gop after dropping out of the 2016 race earlier this month. that and much more coming up on "morning joe" next. this bale of hay cannot be controlled. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch,

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