met face-to-face after laying out two very different visions to end the civil war in syria. plus -- >> i did the plan with some of the leading scholars and economists and tax experts. they love it. they say why hasn't this been done before? and this is my wheelhouse. that's what i do well. >> donald trump rolls out his highly anticipated tax plan. he claims it's the best thing since sliced bread, but do the numbers add up? it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, this is "way too early." good morning. it's tuesday, september 29th. i'm jonathan capehart. the first chill in the air in new york wasn't fall but the meeting of presidents barack obama and vladimir putin at the

united nations. the two offered each other this terse toast over lunch after putin sat down 20 minutes late. and they had the briefest of handshake photo-ops, their first meeting in two years. in their speeches to the general assembly, they outlined divergent approaches for defeating isis and how to handle syria. putin criticizing the u.s. for arming rebels, and calling for a broad anti-terror coalition. one obama administration official told "the new york times." quote, knock yourselves out. and the two leaders split on whether bashar al assad could remain in power with president putin calling him the only way to secure syria. an option president obama refused. >> we're told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder. that it's the only way to stamp out terrorism, or prevent foreign meddling. in accordance with this logic we should support tyrants like

bashar al assad who drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children because the alternative is surely worse. >> president obama also took the fight to vladimir putin's backyard, calling him out directly for annexing crimea. >> we recognize the deep and complex history between russia and ukraine. but we cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated. if that happens without consequence in ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today. now, within russia, state controlled media may describe these events as an example of a resurgent russia. a view shared, by the way, by a number of u.s. politicians and commentators who have always been deeply skeptical of russia. and seem to be convinced a new cold war is, in fact, upon us. and yet look at the results. >> the two leaders later met on the sidelines for about 90 minutes.

but according to reports, there was little headway there. though putin called it, quote, surprisingly open. meanwhile in afghanistan the taliban has reportedly captured the city of kunduz. if the militant group succeeds in maintaining control it will be the first time in 14 years that they've seized and held that city. fighters raised their flag over the central square, set fire to buildings and apparently freed hundreds of inmates from the city prison. all as government forces retreated. after yesterday's attacks, fighters declared victory on social media posting selfies. last night the u.s. launched an airstrike and afghan officials have promised to retake the city. now let's turn to domestic politics. yesterday donald trump promised to overhaul the tax code under his administration. his plan reduces the number of tax brackets from seven to four, with millions paying no federal taxes at all. though they're required to send in a form to the irs that says, quote, i win. the highest tax bracket would be

lowered to 25% and corporate taxes would be capped at 15%. trump says the plan would be paid for by eliminating various penalties and deductions, and offering a one-time discount on bringing back corporate money from overseas. but experts say it could cost trillions, depending on what tax breaks he wipes out. trump won an early endorsement from influential anti-tax activist groemp norquist. his group helped consult on the proposal but it was also the same group that was attacking the gop front-runner with ads in iowa earlier this month. trump said not to be fooled by the size of the cuts, and that he'll spend money more wisely. >> we're reducing taxes. but believe me, there will be people in the very upper echelons that won't be thrilled with this. we're taking away deductions, and that's one of the reasons we're able to lower it, so -- it reduces or eliminates no of the deductions and loopholes available to special interests,

and to the very rich. in other words it's going to cost me a fortune. i'm the only one that's honest about this thing. i watched romney and i watched did oh, i pay so much tax. i pay so much tax. i watch all politicians, and they say, i pay -- i fight like hell to pay as little as possible. can they say that? i'm not a politician. i fight like hell, always, because it's an expense. and you know? i feel -- and i fight, i have the best lawyers. and the best accountants. and i fight and i pay. but, it's an expense. and, frankly, i would feel differently if this country were spending the money wisely. >> new polling suggests vice president joe biden would be the most popular candidate in the entire 2016 field if he entered the race. according to our nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, 40% of americans have a favorable impression of biden, while just 28% have a negative impression. the vice president's net rating

is 20 points higher than hillary clinton's. mix in there republicans, ben carson does the best among the crowd while jeb bush is upside down by 15 points. donald trump by 33. that same poll also shows biden outperforming clinton in hypothetical general election match-ups with top gop candidates. now if the election were held today, voters say they'd back clinton over donald trump by 10 points. but she's in statistical ties with jeb bush, ben carson, carly fiorina. biden does better against each beating trump by 21 points. bush and carson by 8. and fiorina by 6. it all comes as cnn reveals their criteria for the first democratic debate, exactly two weeks from today. according to their rules, biden would indeed be eligible. and would actually have until the day after the debate to file a statement of candidacy with the fec. with clinton's declining poll numbers and the looming threat of a biden bid, former president

bill clinton is gearing up to take a more active role in his wife's campaign. president clinton is about to embark on a series of political appearances this week raising money in atlanta and kansas city before headlining a democratic event in west virginia. longtime clinton confidant virginia governor terry mcauliffe tells the ap that bill clinton is, quote, ready to get out there. meanwhile, in an interview yesterday with cnbc, the former president may have offered a preview of arguments to come, painting the attacks against his wife, and her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state, as mainly partisan. >> really it's similar to the strategy that the republicans employed against me with whitewater. but i'm glad it happened in 2015 instead of 2016. and i believe it will burn itself out. what the american people have to think of is this. a few months ago she was still the most admired person in public life in america. why? because she was covered because of the work she did. she'd been around a long time.

people knew that she's on the level. she gets up every day and tries to do a good job. then all of a sudden the only thing that matters accept mails. what exactly does it matter? i trust the american people. they'll get this. they'll work through it. they'll understand it they're being sent a heavy signal, we don't want to run against this woman. >> turning now to capitol hill, where today house republicans will meet behind closed doors to discuss their future in the wake of speaker boehner's designation. a notice for a 5:00 p.m. meeting says the gop conference will gather to, quote, discuss the strategy moving forward. it comes as the odds-on favorite to become next house speaker -- house majority leader kevin mccarthy officially throws his hat into the ring, announcing his candidacy in a letter to house republicans. right now, the only other member standing in his way is lit known congressman daniel webster of orlando, florida, who also announced his candidate yesterday. mccarthy's bid is also setting up a race for his current post, next in line for majority leader would appear to be house

majority whip scheeve school ease, but budget chairman tom price has begun gathering support including from wisconsin's paul ryan. house republicans haven't announced yet when leadership elections will take place. by the way, congressman mccarthy will join us coming up on "morning joe." yesterday the senate moved forward on a stopgap spending bill to keep federal services running for a few more months with another senate vote scheduled for today and one in the house tomorrow that will likely avert a government shutdown at midnight wednesday. but the bill has angered conservatives for stripping a provision to cancel federal funding for planned parenthood, and senator ted cruz tried to counter with an amendment of his own. in an unusual rebuke not one of cruz's fellow republicans would grant him the procedural courtesy of a roll call vote. >> mr. president, i move to table the mcconnell amendment 2690 for the purpose of offering my own amendment number 27701. and i ask for the ayes and nays. >> is there a sufficient second?

there does not appear to be. >> cruz railed against republican leaders for what he deemed preemptive surrender. but a new poll shows american people would fault congressional republicans more than president obama and the democrats if a shutdown went into effect. the 39% who would blame republicans and 28% who would blame democrats are both slightly down from where they were before the 2013 shutdown, while more would fault both parties. and the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll finds that six in ten americans oppose totally eliminating federal funding for planned parenthood. 35% would support eliminating funding. the organization's president cecil reege ards is set to make her first appearances before congress since the release of those hidden camera videos later today. let's turn now to business and wall street where yesterday, u.s. stocks tumbled to their lowest level since late august. the dow lost 313 points while the nasdaq plunged 3%.

cnbc's jeff cutmore joins us live from london. what rattled investors yesterday? >> it was china, china, china. we're back in the same old worry about whether this economy is slowing down, and whether they'll get anywhere close to the projected 7% growth rates. the key number, profit in the industrials. an 8.8% decline, again making investors very nervous that this economy is on a gradual path to much slower growth rates, somewhere potentially around 4% to 5%, rather than the 7% projected. so, jitters around china continue. and you know what? the market's not getting a great deal of help today from carl icahn the iconic hedge fund guru has put out his own 15-minute tape explaining why he thinks the u.s. economy is at risk, and also saying he thinks that there are bubble-like conditions and

malinvestment that have been created by the federal reserve and other central banks that have kept interest rates extremely low. so that very slick video available on carl icahn's own website, and of course, all financial media, have been covering this story, carl icahn, one of a number of high profile economists and hedge fund types, who have said they think that asset prices are just too high, and will have to continue falling going forward. so, a lot of nervousness around investing in the markets at the moment. back to you. >> well, i have a google question for you. nearly three weeks after apple announced its latest smartphones, google is set to do the same. what are you hearing about today's event? >> yeah, so what we're expecting here in san francisco today is that there will be two new nexus phones. we'll get a new android operating system, and a look at a new piece of chrome cast streaming technology. so there should be quite a lot

from the new ceo today, as far as new google product to the market. it will be interesting to see whether they can really turn heads with this, and slow down the apple steamroller, as far as the iphone 6 sales are concerned. so keep your eye on san francisco. we'll be looking out for that google announcement. back to you. >> great. we'll do that. jeff cutmore live from london. thank you. the odds of finding life on mars are now better than the yankees winning the world series this year. this after nasa announced yesterday it found signs of liquid water flowing on the surface of the red planet. satellite images captured what scientists say are the telltale signs of flowing water, hydrated salt, seen in the form of dark streaks that trickle down craters and canyons when the surface temperature rises during summer. though the source of the water remains a mystery, scientists suggested it could be from an underground aquifer melting ice or even water vapor in the atmosphere. but for now the only definitive way to determine whether there's life on mars, is to collect and

analyze the soil, which is what the us lander set for liftoff in 2020 is, expected to do. still ahead, highlights from monday night football and philadelphia mayor michael nutter didn't mince words when expressing his frustration over the media's coverage ahead of the pope's visit. we'll tell you why he's apologizing now. plus the punishment is in for the national's closer who couldn't control his anger. find out the price he'll pay for choking a teammate who also happens to be the front-runner for the nation -- for national league mvp. those stories and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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>> i think the reporting on any number of aspects of this was detrimental to the mind-set of many philadelphians and others. i think that, in some instances, you all scared the [ bleep ] out of people with some of the stories. >> oh, man. he later apologized for what he called his, quote, intemperate rourke and said he expected a very timely and terse e-mail from his mother about it. i mean, really. time now for sports. we begin with the nfl to green bay the packers hosting the chiefs on monday night football. quarterback aaron rodgers continuing his mvp caliber start. tossing five touchdown passes in the game, including three to receiver randall cobb. rodgers threw for a total of 333 yards leading the packers to a 38-28 victory over kansas city. now to major league baseball and a frightening moment at pnc park. we want to warn you some of you

may find this video upsetting. >> watch the knee head for the head. >> in the bottom of the seventh inning, st. louis left fielder steven piscati collides with outfielder borges. trying to make a play on a ball hit into the gap in left center. it appears his knee strikes him square in the face leaving him motionless on the field for several minutes. he's eventually strapped to a stretcher, carted off the field and taken to the hospital. luckily he only suffered a bruised head. >> he's tough. real tough. cardinals will -- >> the cardinals reported that all tests came back negative. see he's all right but that he'd remain in the hospital overnight for observation. got that, bill? >> you got through it. >> yeah, i sure did. now to chicago, the cubs and the royals scoreless in the bottom of the 11th inning. >> deep to left! ball game over!

>> ooh. chicago with the pinch-hit solo homer to lead off the inning earning the cubs a 1-0 walkoff victory in extras. and finally, jonathan papelbon will have an early start to the off-season after the nationals suspended the closer four games following sunday's dugout altercation with teammate bryce harper. there it is. oh. that's more than an altercation, bill. >> what would you call it? >> i would call that -- >> a melee? >> i'd call that a beatdown is what i'd call that. >> the choke hold is a beatdown. >> bill, what's going on with the weather? >> a little much. unfortunately, looks like my little vacation from nonactive weather around this country is coming to a big end. first off we have a soaking rain, flood potential tonight into tomorrow. everywhere pretty much in the eastern half of the country has a chance for some on and off rain today, heavy rain tonight in the northeast, and maybe even really heavy rain from new york city northward. computers are hinting the

possibility of four inches of rain. that's a lot of rain in a short period of time. hasn't rained in a long time so the ground is really hard. the runoff is going to be quick into the small streams. then tropical storm joaquin could put a big question mark over the top of this forecast. it's not going to be near any land areas over the next three days. some of our computers have it going up to a hurricane. some have it remaining a tropical storm. here's the item of concern. it then gets picked up friday into saturday heading northwards and the latest forecast from the hurricane center has it somewhere off the virginia coast on sunday morning. strong tropical storm. notice the cone of uncertainty almost goes to d.c., philadelphia, and new york city. our long-range computer model still a little split on this. they do, in general, take it up towards new york city or new england in some matter of form. the strength, the big question mark, sunday, even as late as monday. a lot of questions with this storm. big, heavy rain event tonight and then possibly a significant weather event this weekend. >> i like that cone of uncertainty which might keep me in los angeles this weekend.

thanks, bill. still ahead mixed reaction to trevor noah's "daily show" debut. some calling the transition smooth. others calling it crude and clumsy. we'll have high lates when "way too early" comes right back. ♪ ♪ ♪

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the truth is now i'm in the chair and i can only assume that this is as strange for you as it is for me.

jon stewart was more than just a late night host. he was often our voice, our refuge, and in many ways our political dad. and it's weird, because dad has left. and now, it feels like the family has a new step dad. and he's black. >> ain't nothing wrong with that. that was trevor noah breaking the ice by acknowledging the big shoes he has to fill as new host of "the daily show." reviews were mixed. variety calling the debut a smooth transition. "time" saying the new host has more room to grow. one thing's for sure, he wasted no time jumping into the day's big stories. >> like a rock star was arriving. pope mania. >> pope by southwest. the world series of poper. and what do you give to the pope that has everything? >> there have been a number of new emojis created to

commemorate this trip including one of the pope kissing a baby and another one of him eating a sub. i'm assuming it's a philly cheesesteak. >> finally pope-mojis for when you want to inject just the right amount of confusion into your late-night sexting. what's up girl? you up, because eggplant winkee face caught you in pope likes cheese steaks. good luck figuring that one out. >> how much could the pope really do in one weekend? would he have a really lasting effect on america? well the truth is, he did. >> the beltway bombshell. house speaker john boehner abruptly resigning from congress. >> the move comes a day after boehner, a devout catholic, well companied the pope to the u.s. capitol. >> no! why leave now? i just got here. i got a fancy suit and a new set and i learned how to pronounce your name. boehner.

>> i thought he was pretty funny. but we'll see how it goes. that does it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," clash of the titans. president obama and russian president vladimir putin give duelling speeches at the u.n. over syria and its president bashar al assad. the big question this morning is whether progress was made during their highly anticipated face-to-face meeting. we'll ask secretary of state john kerry and white house press secretary josh earnest when they join the set here at 30 rock. that and much more coming up next on "morning joe." proud of you, son. ge! a manufacturer. well that's why i dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other.

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