of new attacks. why he says the former senator and secretary of state is not qualified to be president. and this -- ♪ ♪ it's a big job getting by at >> willie nelson called him a brother, toby keith said he was the greatest singer and songwriter of his lifetime and this morning we remember the legendary merle haggard. 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." hey, there. good morning. it's thursday, april 7th. i'm alex witt. the gloves are off in the race for the democratic nomination and it all got started yesterday on "morning joe" when hillary clinton was asked in light of bernie sanders' latest interview with "the new york daily news" editorial board if he was

qualified to be president. >> if you look at bernie sanders would you say this guy is ready for president of the united states? >> well, i think he hadn't done his homework and he'd been talking for more than a year about doing things that he obviously hadn't really studied or understood. and that does raise a lot of questions. and really what it goes to is for voters to ask themselves can he deliver what he's talking about? and i will leave it to voters to decide who of us can do the job that the country needs. who can do all aspects of the job. both on the economic domestic issues and on national security and foreign policy. >> and then senator sanders said this at a rally last night in philadelphia. >> she has been saying lately that she thinks that i'm quote/unquote not qualified to be president. [ audience boos ]

let me just say in response to secretary clinton. i don't believe that she is qualified if she is -- if she is through her super pac taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds. i don't think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in iraq. i don't think you are qualified if you supported the panama free trade agreement. something i very strongly oppose and which as you all know has allowed corporations and wealthy people all over the world to avoid paying their taxes to their countries. >> late last night, clinton's

press secretary brian fallon responded to those remarks on twitter saying, quote, hillary clinton did not say bernie sanders was not qualified but he has now absurdly said it about her. this is a new low and he added, bernie sanders take back your words about hillary clinton. well, sanders did no such thing. his campaign released a statement that began, quote, responding to hillary clinton's attempt to portray him as unqualified for the white house, senator sanders linked her to the trade pac by profitable corporations to avoid paying taxes and then went on to spell out the rest of the senator's quotes from philadelphia. that linked readers to "the washington post" article citing secretary clinton's remarks on "morning joe." both candidates have news conferences schedule for 9:00 a.m. this morning. stay tuned? after a double digit loss in wisconsin, donald trump huddled with advisers in manhattan yesterday, with politico reporting a power struggle between manager corey lewandowski and recently added veteran strategist paul

manafort. he was hired to marshal the trump strategy. lewandowski fired the top aide in colorado just as the state's delegate selection began. something that lewandowski denies. cruz is seen as having the upper hand as the rest of the delegates are chosen, speaking at this weekend's state convention. and "the denver post" reports that tentative plans for trump to appear fell through, but trump will be hiring several quote, well known and seasoned operatives for his campaign. trump took his campaign to his home state of new york yesterday with a kickoff rally. that drew more than 10,000 people on long island. his daughter ivanka who gave birth to her third child last sunday opened the rally. but it was not long before trump played to his hometown crowd. >> first of all, it's great to be home. this is home. it's great to be home. we love new york. i love this city and i love this

country and we are going to start winning again with our country because we don't win. we never win. we never ever win anymore. can you imagine what our great generals, general george patton, general douglas macarthur, can you imagine what they'd be saying if they saw what's going on with what we're doing and the way we fight? we don't fight like people from long island. we don't fight like people from new york. >> well, trump couldn't resist the urge to go after ted cruz who smeared the business man for his quote new york values during a january debate. >> do you remember during the debate when he started lecturing me on new york values, like we're no good. like we're no good. and i started talking to him

about the world trade center, the bravery, the incredible bravery of everybody. our police, our firemen, our everybody. the worst attack in the history of the united states, the bravery that was shown was incredible. we all lived through it. we all know people that died and i have got this guy standing over there, looking at me, talking about new york values, with scorn on his face, with hatred, with hatred of new york. so folks, i think you can forget about him. he is lyin' ted. i came up with the idea. you have to spell it right. it's l-y-i-n apostrophe. the bible held high, he puts it down and then he lies. >> well, cruz is in new york at the same time. fresh off his win in wisconsin.

he met the crush of the city's press corps while campaigning in the bronx. he met with hispanic and african-american pastors and addressed the elephant in the room. >> the people in new york know exactly what the values are. they're the values of liberal democratic politicians like andrew cuomo, like anthony weiner, like eliot spitzer, like charlie rangel. all of whom donald trump has supported, given tens of thousands of dollars throughout the years. if you want know what liberal democratic values are, follow donald trump's checkbook. the actions of people like mayor bill de blasio who every time there's a confrontation between criminals and police officers the liberal democrats sides with the looters and the rioters rather than the police officers. i'll tell you the moment when the brave men and women in blue of the nypd stood up and turned

their backs on mayor bill de blasio, i cheered for those new york cops and i'll tell you people all across america did. that spoke to the entire country that when you have politicians that will not stand with police officers and firefighters and first responders and for that matter soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines, that's an example of how these liberal politicians have forgotten who we are. i'll tell you as president i will always stand with the police officers and the firefighters and the first responders. >> cruz was met with protests and this morning's "new york daily news" is not exactly welcoming to the senator from texas there. meanwhile, cruz is collecting half compliments. take newt gingrich who told politico, quote, trump has normalized ted cruz because without him the establishment would be totally opposed. >> kasich is so far behind it's impossible for him to get the numbers so by process of

elimination that gets you to ted cruz. >> you want ted cruz to get the republic republican nomination? >> at this point, there's no choice. >> you're the third senator -- republican senator who now effectively on this program has come out and endorsed cruz. lindsey graham and mike lee, your colleagues, they have. but i haven't seen a whole lot -- >> did i just endorse? >> you sort of said you'd prefer him over the other two. >> i do. >> that sounds like a endorsement, doesn't it? >> i guess it depends on your definition. governor john kasich took a tour to deliver his state of the state address in ohio last night. he began by walking on to the stage carrying the daughter of the state representative telling the crowd he couldn't resist that baby. in his speech, he addressed many issues he often boasts about while come paining from the number of jobs, to the number of new people insured. he made the argument that the time on the campaign trail has helped him spread what he's learned in ohio to the rest of the country. >> as you know, i have done a bit of traveling in recent

months here in ohio. a few other places. and in many places, you know, i have actually met people who have been struggling with some of the same challenges we faced right here in our beloved state. i have been grateful to be able to give them hope by holding up what we have been doing here. how we're getting back on our feet. how we have made progress, all of us, all of us and i mean all of us by pulling together. >> also yesterday, kasich continued to rack up endorsements. the latest from former cia director michael hayden. in other news, the former ceo of massey energy has been sentenced to one year in federal prison. safety lapses have been faulted for the upper big branch mine explosion that killed 29 coal miners. the former ceo, don blankenship said it's important to everyone that you know i'm not guilty of a crime. and as he exited, his interview with the awaiting media was drowned out from the shouting of victims' family members.

>> you don't miss your kids like we miss ours. >> what's your feelings towards the people out here? >> [ bleep ]. >> i feel badly for them. they have a lot of love and emotion, it's understandable. >> [ bleep ]. >> i hope you never have to bury your kids like we did. we buried our kid because of you. >> president obama and vice president biden both spoke at the funerals of the miners in 2010. the world has lost a country music legend. merle haggard died of pneumonia yesterday morning in northern california on his 79th birthday. he had 38 number one hits on the country music charts gave a voice to people living hard scrabble lives, drawing on his own experience of poverty, restlessness and heartache. he took up the guitar and petty crime in his early teens and unlike his friend johnny cash, he didn't just visit san quentin state prison to perform.

take a look at what president obama had to say at the honors ceremony in 2010. >> in a day, an age when so many country singers claim to be rambling, gambling outlaws, merle haggard actually is one. [ laughter ] later after becoming a bona fide country star, he met johnny cash and mentioned that he had seen cash perform years earlier at san quentin prison. that's funny, cash said. because i don't remember you being in the show. and he had to explain to the man in black that he hadn't been in the show, he had been in the audience. >> you know, he owned it. anyway, haggard was all over the political map and played at the nixon white house in 1973 for the first lady's birthday. he wrote a song in 2007 supporting hillary clinton for president. still ahead here on "way too early," wildfire season is back and summer is still months away.

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kellogg's raisin bran. and try tart and sweet kellogg's raisin bran with cranberries. a new wildfire that was reported in arizona yesterday had now spread into california. what's being called the pirate fire has already charred more than 1,200 acres according to san bernardino fire department officials. we are just a couple weeks into spring, but right now several states are dealing with wildfires in areas already devastated by drought. nbc news national correspond end miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: across oklahoma and kansas, wind is driving wildfires. fuelling flames in this region, dry and ready to burn. more than 55,000 acres already torched. hundreds forced to evacuate. many volunteering to help. >> well, i don't want it to keep burning and burning and burning. >> reporter: it's still not

known how many homes have been lost. >> my friend lives around the corner. we don't know never a home anymore. >> reporter: fanned by 55 mile an hour winds, the blaze exploded. >> come on, guy, get. >> reporter: two storm chasers rescued a tractor drive we are no time to spare. a narrow and harrowing escape. >> oh, my gosh. >> thank you, guys. >> reporter: in kansas, a red flag warning. the governor declaring a disaster. flames threatening entire neighborhoods, destroying this school. in new mexico, the wind generating this tumbleweed tornado and increasing the fire danger. >> and that was miguel almaguer reporting. so let's go to bill karins. what a mess out there. when you have the drought and you have the fires that's no relief at all. >> and then, you know, we get the wild swings we go from winter to spring, and summer at times. and unfortunately it continues.

last night we had a serious storm that went through montgomery county, alabama. looks like a tornado with some damage, but no natalifall thait injuries. you see that huge tree that came down there. you can see the destruction too. so those storms have raced all the way across georgia. atlanta got hit hard with a lot of hail. now florence the worst of it is just exiting, so we'll watch the storms approaching myrtle beach and wilmington, north carolina. again, not so much tornadoes but some damaging wind possible. then the storm is going to drench areas of the north as we go throughout the day. we are going to look for heavy rain in areas of washington, d.c., starting as early as 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. philadelphia looks like for you, 11:00 to noon. all of new england from about 11:00 to about 5:00 p.m. is the worst of it. then this should clear out around 6:00 p.m. in maine. behind this as advertised another arctic cold blast for the weekend.

this one is going to have a little bit of snow with it too. today we're 12 degrees below average over the weekend. it stays bitterly cold. saturday, i mean, it's hard in april to get a day where the high temperature doesn't even get to freezing. 30 degrees is it for your high on cleveland on saturday. if anything is falling from the sky it is going to -- first off, it will be snow. secondly, it's even going to stick on the ground too. here's the map no one wants to see. the snowfall forecast through saturday. it looks like from cleveland to buffalo to pittsburgh, state college, scranton, even new york, especially outside the city, alex, there's a chance we will see snow friday night and through the day on saturday. i would say that usually it melts on the road, but in the grass you'll have snow. >> it's going to be bad here. frozen margaritas. okay. right now to business. yahoo!'s financials go from bad to worse and the fed signals that the u.s. economy may not be

ready for another interest rate hike. nancy hu nancy hulgrave what did we learn? >> in april, a rate hike is not on the table, the fed is still concerned about growth. particularly when it comes to the global growth picture. well, that view released in the minutes sent stocks sharply higher in trade yesterday. we did see the dow climb more than a hundred points and the nasdaq hitting the highest level of the year. however, it's not all good news for tech companies today. one tech company being in the focus is yahoo!. there's a report from the tech magazine saying they have obtained access to the sales paper, sales books that bankers use to show acquirers of the core business. according to the documents the financial picture at yahoo! is only set to get worse and they highlight forecasts for the 2016 financial year predicting that revenue could decline by 15% and

earnings by 20%. so that does not come as good news for yahoo! as it is looking at potential acquirers. they're facing april 11th deadline for potential parties to submit their interests in takeover bid. >> yikes. thanks, nancy hull grave. we have sad news out of the world of basketball as 74-year-old hall of fame coach jerry sloan told the salt lake tribune yesterday he's suffering from parkinson's disease as well as a form of dementia. he went on to coach the jazz for 23 seasons said he was diagnosed last fall. he decided to go public after symptoms became noticeable. third on all-time win list for coaches he's known for a being a hard nosed competitor. he told reporters yesterday, quote, i don't want people feeling sorry for me. let's turn to major league baseball. shall we? here's my team in san diego,

righty pitcher mayada after playing eight seasons in japan, he would deliver with six scoreless innings and at the plate. the rookie slugged a home run in the second at-bat, becoming the first dodgers pitcher in over a century to hit a homer in first career game. l.a. wins it 7-0. the padres became the first team to be shut out in their first three games of the season. in phoenix, rockies rookie trevor story makes history as the first player to hit a home run in each of his first three mlb games. yesterday's two-run homer to left center is story's fourth long ball of the season. he hit two in the big league debut. and finally, the 2016 masters kicks off this morning, but ahead of this start of the tournament, golfers geared up with yesterday's par 3 contest at augusta national. playing along watson and nicklaus, it was gary player who stole the show. are you watching this? he's 80 years old by the way.

he teed off, dropping his drive well right of the pin, but oh, that ball is just trickling its way across green and is going to go into the cup for the ace. a record nine holes in one were hit at the contest. they say no good deed goes unpunished. what happened to the little kid who hugged carmelo anthony. yes! earthy... just rustic. [laughing] oh my gosh. wow. [owl howling] [gulp] uh, how about an island? island, yeah. yeah. yeah. [laughing] were you laughing in your fantasy? yeah! me, too. [gasps] ♪ ♪

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now let's get a check on the

morning's other headlines and for that we go to louis burgdorf. >> let's go to a story, a new york judge has dismissed pop singer kesha's sexual assault claims against dr. luke. she claims to have been drugged and sexually assaulted and that he continued to physically and verbally torment here for years. now the judge ruled yesterday that her abuse claims can't go forward because they happened outside of new york. and the statute of limitations has expired. adding that they did fall under hate crime laws. dr. luke has never been charged and has denied the claims. finally, alex, let's go to last week's pelican/knicks game in new orleans. two people are out of a job after a kid was able to run out on the court and hug carmelo anthony. according to the times picayune, an usher has been fired and a police officer will no longer be able to work security at the

arena. management said both failed to do their jobs. now, carmelo anthony obviously played it cool there, but, you know, kind of a tough situation. it's sad to see that, you know, two people lose their jobs over that. >> yeah, a big bummer. you should be talking to the parents too. like let the kid go. >> yeah, no harm, no foul. >> no foul at all. that does it for me. coming up on "morning joe," the democrats kick it up a few notches. hillary clinton claims that bernie sanders hasn't done his homework while he calls her unqualified to be president. plus, donald trump finally gets home court advantage as ted cruz is forced to clarify about what he meant by new york values. the latest empire state battle coming up next on "morning joe." with the tiger image, the saliva coming off and you got this turning. that's why i need this kind of resolution and computing power. being able to use a pen like this on the screen directly with the image, it just gives me a different relationship to it

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but i only had a salad. it was a buffalo chicken salad. salad. . >> we've updated math to make the equations more about stuff modern kids can relate to in a segment called popular mathematics. here we go. if you take bernie sanders, plus the spice girl, it equals old spice. if you take donald trump plus ted cruz plus john kasich it equals president