and as far as we can tell, there has not been a major party candidate in modern history going back 60 years at least that has gone wire to wire all the way to the election without a single endorsement from a 40 days to go, but we might break the record. 40 day and 40 nights until election day. with one debate down, both donald trump and hillary clinton are already strategizing ahead of their next matchup. plus, just three weeks after asking what is aleppo, libertarian candidate gary johnson has another interview stumble. and new overnight, several hundred protesters take to the streets in san diego, walking against traffic and filling up intersections after another police-involved shooting death.

hey there. good morning, everyone. it is thursday, september 29th. reports say there are conflicting opinions on republican nominee donald trump's orbit about whether he needs to reset after monday night's debate. a new nbc survey monkey debate online poll shows 52% said hillary clinton won while 26% said neither, and just 21% declared trump the winner. a "new york times" report says advisers concerned by his lack of focus on the debate stage intend to drill him for round two, but the question of whether he is open to practicing is a major concern with aides blaming monday night's failure on a lack of prep time. meanwhile, the candidate is pushing back against negative reactions. >> i just walked in and saw some of the great people that represent your state. they said, wow, you did so great in the debate. we understand it. i really love the experience of

it. it was amazing. i saw the audience was record setting. i had a great time. i know you say the polls weren't scientific, but every single poll that was taken i won the debate, and some of them by a lot. >> this amid speculation that in the next debate, trump will go after bill clinton's past scandals. politico reports that clinton's campaign has been preparing for a response for weeks, though at rallies yesterday, trump took a different line of attack. >> you see all the days off that hillary takes? day off, day off, day off. all those day offs and then she can't even make it to her car. isn't it tough? all those day offs. right? you ever see her chart? she won't be campaigning today. she won't be campaigning today. had is day in, day out, and i'm campaigning saying, what's going on? follow the money.

and believe me, that's what's happened. the clintons have perfected the politics of profit. you can disregard everything she says and just remember this phrase. follow the money. >> hillary clinton has work to do with young voters in her campaign across the eastern seaboard to try to bring them home in states that once looked secure. clinton was in durham, new hampshire, with none other than bernie sanders, her one-time opponent, and her senior leadership hopes to use as much as they can. they talked about the future, college tuition, and student debt, all in hopes that she can bring home his supporters from their primary. >> there is no group of americanss who have more at stake in this election than young americans. i remember, you know, when i went to college. my dad, who was a small businessman, he had saved up money, but i had to work. one of the biggest issues i heard about throughout the campaign that i hear about from

every corner of our country is how much an education costs. i don't know how we got to where we are, but we are going to fix it. this is wrong. it's wrong for students. it's wrong for families, and it's wrong for our country. >> secretary clinton's proposal tells us that if you are a low-income family, a working-class family, if your kid studies hard and does well, yes, regardless of the income of your family, your kid will be able to make it into college. that is a big deal. >> clinton got a big assist from the obamas with president obama doing a radio interview and michelle obama covering both ends of pennsylvania, speaking in pittsburgh and philadelphia. >> when making life or death, war or peace decisions, a president can't just pop off or lash out irrationally.

no, we need an adult in the white house. i guarantee you. we know that hillary's the right person because we have seen her character and commitment not just during this campaign but over the course of her entire life. and for those who question her stamina to be president, hillary's resilience is more than proven, as she said on monday night. she's the only candidate in this race who has traveled to 112 countries, who's negotiated a cease-fire, a peace agreement, a release of dissidents, who spent 11 hours testifying before a congressional committee. and when she gets knocked down, she doesn't complain, she doesn't cry foul. no, she gets back up. she comes back stronger for the people who need her most. >> president obama warned voters about seeking out third-party candidates, calling it a vote for trump, and the third-party

candidate snagging the majority of those critical votes, gary johnson has suffered another major blunder just weeks after this moment on "morning joe." >> what would you do if you were elected about aleppo? >> about? >> aleppo. >> and what is aleppo? >> you're kidding. >> no. >> aleppo is in syria. it's the epicenter of the refugee crisis. >> okay, got it. got it. well, with regard to syria, i do think that it's a mess. i think that the only way we deal with syria is to join hands with russia to diplomatically bring that at an end. >> well, speaking with msnbc's chris matthews last night, johnson had a self-described aleppo moment. >> who's your favorite foreign leader? >> who's my favorite -- >> just anyone, one foreign leader you respect and look up

to. >> mine was shimon peres. >> i'm talking about living. you got to do this. anywhere, any continent. canada, mexico, europe, over there, asia, south america, africa. name a foreign leader you respect. >> i guess i'm having an aleppo moment in the former president of mexico. >> anywhere you like. any leader. >> the former president of mexico. >> which one? >> i'm having a brain -- >> name anybody. >> fox. >> who's your favorite foreign leader? >> fox, he was terrific. >> any foreign leader. >> merkel. >> okay, fine. >> well, johnson has gained some support from the detroit news, which announced their historic move this morning of endorsing him in its 143-year history r the paper's only backed republican candidates in the presidential contest, though that excludes three elections the paper picked no one. its editorial board writes, we

recognize the libertarian candidate is the longest of long shots with an electorate that has been conditioned to believe only republicans and democrats can win major offices, but this is an endorsement of confidence, reflecting our confidence that johnson would be a competent president. >> and alex, congress has passed a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown that would have taken place at the end of the week. the house passed a measure by a vote of 342-82. the vote would fund the current level. the measure was approved by the senate earlier in the day yesterday. it came after top leaders reached an agreement to authorize aid for the flint water crisis as part of separate legislation. congress was clearly in a get things done mood yesterday after reaching agreement to fund the government, members overwhelmingly voted to override president obama's veto of a controversial piece of legislation that allows families of 9/11 victims to sue saudi arabia for any role in the plot.

this is the first time congress has voted to override a president obama veto. the senate passed the measure by a whopping 97-1 vote. harry reid was the only senator to side with the president. the house also overwhelmingly voted in favor of president obama and was defiant last night in a town hall with cnn. >> i think it was a mistake. and i understand why it happened. obviously, all of us still carry the scars and trauma of 9/11. those families deserve support, and they deserve resources. that's why we set up a victims' compensation fund. and the concern that i've had has nothing to do with saudi arabia per se or my sympathy for 9/11 families, it has to do with me not wanting a situation in which we're suddenly exposed to liabilities for all the work that we're doing all around the world. and suddenly finding ourselves

subject to the private lawsuits in courts where we don't even know exactly whether they're on the up and up in some cases. >> press secretary josh earnest called the override, quote, the single most embarrassing thing the u.s. senate has done, possibly since 1983, adding that the administration worries it could make american interests vulnerable to similar legal action overseas and that it will increase the risk facing our troops and diplomats abroad. fbi director james comey continues to defend the bureau's decision not to seek charges against hillary clinton. during a hearing yesterday, comey again rejected the idea that political considerations were a factor when the fbi decided not to the prosecute clinton nor any of her aides despite the presence of some classified information being found on the server. >> you can call us wrong, but don't call us weasels. we are not weasels. we are honest people. and we did this in that way. whether you disagree or agree with the result, this was done the way you would want it to be done. i hope people will separate two

things. questions about facts and judgment from questions and accusations about integrity. as i said before, you can call us wrong, you can call me a fool, you cannot call us weasels, okay. that is just not fair, and i hope we haven't gotten to a place in american public life where everything has to be torn down on integrity basis just to disagree. >> comey also said the fbi has no plans to reopen the investigation into clinton's e-mail server despite some republicans calls to do so. >> and alex, there's been another school shooting, this time at an elementary school in south carolina. one teacher and two students were injured. one of the students critically after a 14-year-old boy opened fire outside the school. the suspected gunman was taken into custody. authorities say it happened on a playground and that he never actually entered the building. the superintendent says the school was prepared and knew how to lock down the school. now, the suspect was subdued by a 30-year veteran of the town's volunteer fire department, who was able to take down the teen without useding any weapons.

meanwhile, the suspect's father was found dead at his home about two miles away. officials say that just after 1:30, the teen called his grandparents crying, and when they went to the teen's home, the father was found dead there and had been shot. police say they believe it's re related to the school shooting but would not comment any further. the south carolina governor released a statement saying, everyone in south carolina join us in praying for the entire townville elementary school family and those touched by today's tragedy. >> that's tough. outrage continues this morning following yet another police-involved shooting in this country. in el cajon, california, several hundred protesters took to the streets angry over the shooting death of an african-american man. he was shot and killed on tuesday in a shopping center parking lot. investigators say he took a, quote, shooting stance, rapidly pulling an object from his pocket and clasping his hands together.

police revealed yesterday that the item he was holding was a vape smoking device. investigators have not released video of the shooting, only this still image. the fbi will investigate the shooting along with local authorities. still ahead, iraqi forces are gearing up for a key battle in the fight against isis, and the u.s. is stepping in to help, sending in hundreds of personnel. and later, former nfl quarterback tim tebow swings for the fences during his first instructional league game, and he doesn't disappoint, at least at his first at-bat. those stories and a check on weather when we come right back.

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welcome back, everyone. president obama is again ramping up america's military presence in iraq. another 600 u.s. troops are being deployed ahead of a major offensive to take back the city of mosul from isis militants. the white house says the new forces are there to assist kurdish and iraqi fighters and not in a combat role. it brings the total number of

american forces on the ground to around 5,000. the operation to retake mosul could begin by early next month. meanwhile in neighboring syria, america's relationship with russia appears to be unraveling as the sides support opposing forces in that country's civil war. the obama administration now says it may stop working alongside moscow and targeting a mutual enemy, isis terrorists, and their supporters. that's because russia has been bombarding the city of aleppo at unprecedented levels. hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped there. if the u.s. does suspend its coordinated cooperation with russia, it could spell yet more chaos in the war-torn nation where the battle lines are increasingly blurred. >> well, scientists have released frightening new figures showing earth has hit a dangerous new milestone. co2 levels consistently remained at the 400 parts per million threshold this month. scientists say september is usually the lowest month for atmospheric carbon di oxide.

they say that signals the planet will likely not drop below that level again in our lifetime. not good news. >> they measure that out in hawaii on an observatory on top of mountains. it's not obscure. just a little fact. >> well, bill karins, you're very knowledgeable. what's going on in washington? looks like some rain. >> yeah, we were thinking this was going to happen. it's a dangerous day. we're going to have to watch the flash flood threat. not so much in d.c. proper, but into the mountains. we've already had significant flash flatting in the fayetteville, north carolina, area. these have trained right over the same spot. areas around the maryland and delaware border, flash flooding is occurring this morning. so for today, 11 million people at risk for flooding in the areas of green from southern pennsylvania all the way down to the north carolina/virginia border. the heaviest rain will be focused right over the top of washington, d.c. it'll shift to the mountains

throughout this afternoon and this evening. when we're all said and done over the next especially two days, here's the rainfall projection map. heaviest rains today, then later on tonight head into the mountains. this bull's eye into the mountain, that's when you get the possibility of the flash flooding. this heavy rainfall heading into the valleys and the canyons in the appalachians, that could be a problem. but that's 5 to 6 inches of rain. that's a significant event. the small streams and rivers there have problems. then it looks like tomorrow some heavier rain is going to move into areas of new jersey, possibly clipping new york city. you can expect travel delays at the airports. worse today, baltimore and d.c. tomorrow, the new york city airports will have the biggest problems. the forecast for today, there's some good news. for the first time this fall season, the cool air has made it all the way down into louisiana, alabama, mississippi, and even to atlanta. you're finally going outside and getting relief after a very hot summer. gorgeous air mass for you. low humidity, too, from dallas to san antonio. stray showers and storms from tampa up through the carolinas

today. and we just got our new update in on tropical storm matthew. has strengthened a little bit, up to 65 miles per hour. it's pretty much heading due west the next three days. then it takes that turn to the north. when it takes that turn is very important. we're still at risk in jamaica, haiti, and also eastern portions of cuba. notice the cone of uncertainty does go up through the bahamas. it is looking for the most part that the east coast still has to watch this carefully. but nothing is sending it directly our way. and florida is looking better too, especially the gulf coast states. a little trend offshore overnight. >> and i see the epicenter of that rain is in harrisonburg, virginia. my alma mater. students there, break out the umbrella today. still ahead in sports, boston might have lost last night, but the yankees can't spoil this celebration. we'll have that coming up next. >> wow. didn't they lose? >> they lost, but not really. these goofy glasses.

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welcome back. time now for sports and major league baseball. toronto with one swing of the bat, tightening the american league wild card race, trailing 2-1 in the top of the ninth. the two-run homer gives baltimore the lead. they hang on to beat the blue jays 3-2, moving within a game of toronto for the a.l. top wild card spot and maintaining one game cushion over detroit. the win also crowned boston as a.l. east champions. the red sox, meanwhile, were taking care of business in the bronx, heading into the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead over the

yankees. in the bottom of the frame, the bases were loaded for mark teixeira. >> high drive, right center. going back. track, wall, see ya! >> teixeira caps a five-run ninth inning with a grand slam to walk off the yankees with a 5-3 wicn, keeping boston from celebrating on the field at yarn key stadium, but it wouldn't stop the party at the visitor's clubhouse. the champagne flowed as boston celebrates its third division title over the last decade after finishing dead last in the division two seasons in a row. >> it means a lot, being that we were in last, the last couple years. to go from worst to first, seems like the red sox way. >> we come a long way. being able to be in the playoff right now is special. >> looked like a good

celebration there. other baseball news, former nfl quarterback tim tebow had his big day in his first instructional league game with the new york mets. tebow sent the very first pitch he saw over the fence in left-center field. he would end up 1 for 6 with no strikeouts and played left field for five innings. as for the pitcher who gave up peabo's long ball. quote, i thought we agreed you were taking the first pitch. nice to see tebow doing well there, alex. 1 for 6 is not great though. >> i'm still happy about big papi getting into the playoffs. >> his final year. very, very cool. >> still ahead, donald trump tries to clear up questions over whether or not he pays federal income taxes. plus, the controversy continues over trump's miss universe comments, and president obama's weighing in. we're back right after this. >> it's all part of trump's new campaign slogan. trump 2016, seriously, ladies, you could lose a few pounds.

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donald trump continues his attack on a former miss universe. what trump's now saying about his past with her. plus -- >> bernie's campaign energized

so many young people, some of you in this crowd. and there is no group of americans who have more at stake in this election than young americans. >> and hillary clinton turns to former opponent bernie sanders in an attempt to woo millennial voters as she faces a shrinking lead. and president obama dealt a political blow. the white house's scathing response and what it could mean for a key u.s. ally in the middle east. good morning, everyone. it is thursday, september 29th. i'm alex witt alongside louis bergdorf. we're going to talk about all those stories and how the mighty have falling. blackberry will no longer make their own hand sets.

but first, donald trump responded to the backlash over his comments and treatment of former misuniverse alicia machado, saying not only did he barely know her but saved her from being fired because of her weight. >> do you have anything further to say on this miss universe thing? >> no, not much. i mean, look, i hardly know this person. this is a person 20 years ago. a lot of things are coming out about her. i'm not going to say anything. i couldn't care less. but it's somebody i don't know, don't know certainly very well. i saved her job because they wanted to fire her for putting on so much weight, and it is a beauty contest. say what you want, bill, they know what they're getting into. it's a beauty contest. i said, don't do that, let her try and lose the weight. can you imagine i end up in a position like this. that's the way it is. i really just don't know her. >> yesterday president obama called out trump for his comments, saying that isn't someone he wants in the oval office. >> you had somebody who

basically insulted women and then doubled down, i think, this morning in terms of how he talks about them and talks about their weight and talks about, you know, how they look instead of the content of their character and their capabilities, which is not something i want -- not somebody i want in the oval office, that my daughters are listening to, and that sons are listening to. and so across the board, you've got somebody who appears to only care about himself. >> meanwhile, democratic senator claire mccaskill raised the issue of donald trump's own weight when she tweeted out, the democrat women senators have talked and we're concerned about donald's weight. campaign stress? we think a public daily weigh-in is called for. she later stated her tweet was a joke. the fallout continues from monday's debate in an interview

last night. donald trump attempted to explain his reaction when hillary clinton said he won't release his tax returns because maybe he doesn't pay any. >> it's the only years anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax. >> that makes me smart. >> i have to tell you something. tax is a big expense. i wouldn't mind paying taxes a lot less if our politicians knew how to spend the money, but they don't. they waste the money. they don't know what they're doing with the money. in some cases they do and they have bad motives. >> i'm hillary clinton in the next debate, and i say to you what she said in north carolina. if he's not going to pay any taxes and he thinks that's smart, what does that make us? we pay taxes. are we stupid? how are you going to answer that? >> first of all, i never said i didn't pay taxes. she said maybe you didn't pay taxes. i said, well, that would make me

smart, because tax is a big payment. i think a lot of people say that's the kind of thinking that i want running this nation. >> hillary clinton was the winner of monday night's debate, this according to a majority of likely voters who either watched or said they followed the coverage. the nbc news survey monkey debate online poll found 52% said clinton won while 26% said neither and 21% said donald trump was the winner. and clinton seemed to reassure her base monday night. among democrats, 50% said their opinion changed for the better, 2% for the worse. while among republicans, 26% said their opinion of trump changed for the better, 6% for the worse. and clinton appears to have improved her standing among women, with nearly a third saying their opinion of the democrat changed for the better after the debate, 11% said that of trump, as 27% said monday night changed their opinion of trump for the worse. and 53% of people who watched the debate said clinton has the personality and temperament to serve effectively as president,

while only 34% said the same of trump. 63% said trump is lacking those qualities. and as hillary clinton watches the polling tighten in key battleground states, she's trying to shore up her support among younger voters. clinton was in durham, new hampshire, with none other than bernie sanders, her one-time opponent and the man her senior leadership now hopes to use as much as they can. >> i went all over this country during the campaign, and i talked to too many young people and people who were not so young, who were paying off student debts of $30,000, $50,000, $100,000, and in some cases it was taking them decades to pay off those debts. i want young people to leave school excited about the future. the new businesses they'll open up, getting married, having kids, buying a house, not being saddled with tens of thousands

of dollars in student debt. >> now, clinton has seen third of party candidates erode some of her support with young voters. >> if there's one message i want to deliver to everybody, if you don't vote, that's a vote for trump. if you don't vote, that's a vote for trump. if you vote for a third-party candidate who's got no chance to win, that's a vote for trump. so the notion somehow that, well, you know, i'm not as inspired because barack obama and michelle, they're not on the ballot this time, you know, maybe we got to take it easy, my legacy is on the ballot. >> michelle obama campaigned across pennsylvania as well yesterday and defiantly took on donald trump's attempt to put questions about her husband's birth place to rest. >> and then of course there are those who question and continue to question for the past eight

years whether my husband was even born in this country. [ booing ] and let me say, hurtful, deceitful questions deliberately designed to undermine his presidency, questions that cannot be blamed on others or swept under the rug by an insincere sentence uttered at a press conference. let me take a moment. but during his time in office, i think barack has answered these questions with the example he set and the dignity he's shown by going high when they go low. >> well, in a first for president obama, congress has overwhelmingly voted to override his veto of a bill allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue saudi arabia for any role in the plot. ayman mohyeldin is joining us with more on that.

lots of potential repercussions abroad from this vote. >> yeah, this is certainly a bill that put president obama against congress but more importantly against members of his own party within congress. it really came down to a position that the white house, the obama administration, as well as the department of defense, as well as the cia have been warning about, which is if congress goes ahead with this bill, which is what they have now done, this is going to make american service members as well as american institutions that operate abroad, such as the cia, susceptible to the same kind of lawsuits. so for example, just to kind of give it to you point-blankly, if you look at something like cases where the u.s. has in the past made mistakes or committed crimes, they're going to argue that those individuals in iraq or in afghanistan could now sue the u.s. government for those actions as opposed to just having those members return to the u.s. to face military justice here. so this now opens a can of worms. some are calling it a pandora's box. that's one repercussion. the other is for countries like

saudi arabia who are investing in the united states, that i now have to protect their assets here that could be, you know, susceptible to decisions by american courts and seized as a result of court decisions. they have in the past indicated they have to consider removing some of their assets here. that could be hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage to their economy as well as potentially to the u.s. economy, alex. >> and real quickly, ayman, how much do you think this is a reflection of what people think about the state of u.s./saudi relations? >> that's an argument that's been made a lot. the fact that the saudi arabian government, they've been able to lobby congress. a lot of people respect that relationship on many levels. the fact you had an overwhelming two-thirds majority in both the senate and house shoot that veto down suggests that saudi arabia is not seen as favorably among members of congress as it once was on so many policy issues, including this one. members of congress are saying

the saudi government has nothing to fear if they were not involved and they should be able to express that in court. >> that's a point. ayman, thank you. let's turn to business where all 14 oil-producing nations in opec agreed to scale back their oil production later this year. cnbc's carolyn roth joins us from london. how are the markets reacting, and what does this mean for oil prices? >> this is a historic deal, and because of that, markets were very, very surprised. no one expected a deal to come out of algeria. what we saw yesterday was a spike to the tune of 5% in wti crude. also brent seeing similar percentage gains. wti crude having its best daily gain since the month of april. this morning we're seeing oil prices slipping back a little bit, giving up some of yesterday's gains. why? it's because some doubts are creeping in over whether that opec cut can actually be impleme implemented. now we're waiting for the producers' meeting taking place in vienna in november, to see

how this cut will be divided up among member. keep an eye on iran, which has welcomed yesterday's deal, but we'll see if they can stick to it. in other news, want to talk about blackberry. yes, they're finally stopping the production of smartphones. once the leader but lost all the market share to the like of apple and samsung. now they instead want to focus on the more lucrative business of software and managing rivals' devices. shares were up some 5%. investors really liking the news. further retrenchment from that loss-making business that was producing hand sets. didn't really work for blackberry in the end. the ceo said less than 100 jobs will have to go. back over to you. >> definitely an end of an era. carolyn roth live from london. thanks so much. still ahead, he's an award-winning actor who's hosted "snl" more than anyone else. the huge role alec baldwin is taking on for the show's new season. plus, anger in the air.

the alarming new statistics about unruly passengers on airlines. and president obama and one of the people vying for his job weighing in on colin kaepernick's game day protests. how the 49ers quarterback has become such a political lightning rod. the microsoft cloud helps us stay connected. the microsoft cloud offers infinite scalability. the microsoft cloud helps our customers get up and running, anywhere in the planet. wherever there's a phone, you've got a bank, and we could never do that before. the cloud gave us a single platform to reach across our entire organization. it helps us communicate better.

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san francisco 49ers back-up quarterback colin kaepernick remains a divisive figure with new controversial comments yesterday while speaking with reporters about monday night's presidential debate. >> to me, it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates. both are proven liars and it almost seems like they're trying to debate who's less racist. at this point, talking to one of my friends who was -- you have to pick the lesser of two evils. in the end, it's still evil. >> meanwhile, both president obama and donald trump reacted to his political protest last night. >> i believe that us honoring

our flag and our anthem is part of what binds us together as a nation. but i'm also always -- try to remind folks that part of what makes this country special is that we respect people's rights to have a different opinion. >> i think what he's doing is disgraceful. he's -- is he starting yet, or is he still the second string? >> he's a second string guy. >> he's making a tremendous amount of money. he's making a tremendous amount of money. he's leading the american dream. he's trying to make a point, but i don't think he's making it the correct way. personally, if it was me, i would not be happy if i were the team owner. i think what he's doing is very bad for the spirit of the country. at the same time, he has the right to protest. >> and alex, if it felt like political satire has been in short supply this season, the wait is nearly over.

"saturday night live" returns this weekend with a new leading man cast as donald trump. ♪ >> that's pretty good. >> baldwin is trump. you got to love that. it's going to be good. >> that's must-see tv. >> all right. nbc meteorologist bill karins. some flooding going on. >> yeah, d.c. is not going to be a fun spot. fredericksburg, it's heading northward towards i-95. that drive from richmond to d.c., even pennsylvania, it's a little spotty, but the torrential stuff is going to head into the d.c. area. that's going to get there throughout the 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. hour. that's getting into the heart of rush hour. 11 million people at risk of flash flooding during the day. we have a couple flash flood warnings here in southern portions of maryland and delaware. let's get to the tropics.

a very interesting forecast through the upcoming weekend. we already know for sure -- once you get a storm in the caribbean, you can't escape and safely head out to sea. it looks like our most at-risk islands are around haiti, jamaica, and areas of eastern cuba. we're up to 65-mile-per-hour winds. remember to get to hurricane strength, we only need about ten more miles an hour on top of that. it's going to move west at 16. the further west it goes, the better chance it has of hitting somewhere on the east coast. if it makes that turn earlier, there's a better risk, a better chance it heads out to sea and misses us. it's going to hit somewhere in the islands here as a category 2, maybe category 3 hurricane. we'll watch these, what we call, spaghetti lines over the next couple days. a lot of them are heading almost due northward through the bahamas, avoiding florida. right now our concerns, we still have to watch the east coast for next week. if you're out there in the carolinas it or possibly cape

cod, they stick out. they jut out into the atlantic. those areas have to watch the storm closely. >> thanks for the heads up. thank you, bill. some troubling new figures for anyone taking to the skies to travel. there's been a spike big time in the number of air rage cases. some in the industry are calling for new rules to deal with out-of-control passengers. nbc's tom costello has more. >> take a seat. >> no. >> i said take a seat, sir. >> i don't want to take a seat. >> reporter: august 2nd, an intoxicated passenger gets physical with a pilot and flight attendant. >> sit down. >> reporter: march 10th, an all-out brawl involving five passengers over loud music. july 2014, a canadian s.w.a.t. team storms a plane after an angry passenger makes threats. a group of world airlines reported 1500 more air rage incidents last year alone. nearly 11,000 cases worldwide.

that's 1 for every 1200 flights. while the majority involved verb verbal abuse, 11% got physical. the problem, say flight attendants -- >> our aircraft are fuller than ever. the conditions that lead to an air rage incident are higher than ever. and there's fewer of us to be able to de-escalate the situation. >> reporter: no surprise, drugs and alcohol were a factor in a quarter of all air rage cases. post-9/11, pilots very often choose to defer to the nearest airport for police help. >> i am a captain that has had to make that decision before, and the consequences to the passenger were quite severe. >> reporter: in the u.s., up to a $25,000 fine and 20 years in prison. but the punishments vary from country to country. now the world's airlines say it's time for a crackdown and an international agreement on fines and prison time. >> nbc's tom costello reporting there. before we go to break, let's get a check on the stories that we're not covering today. nissan is introducing self-driving chairs. yes, self-driving chairs.

one more time, self-driving chairs. they're equipped with sensors that allow each chair to detect and follow the one in front of the other. if you're wondering about the exact moment human civilization began its decline, put a bookmark in this one. all right. speaking of travel, "the daily mail" reports on a new plane with butlers and high-speed wi-fi. for a mere $50,000, you, too, can be among the first passengers. we're not covering that one. and finally, computer security company mccalf fee says amy schumer has topped their annual list of most dangerous celebrities to search for online, saying users are more likely to get a virus by googling the comedian than others. instead when we come back, we'll talk about a new low in american relations with russia that has things starting to feel like a tom clancy novel. back after this. ♪

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with each new day, it seems that any hope at diplomacy over syria slips further away. the obama administration is threatening to end talks to russia about any possible cease-fire unless the russians take immediate steps to stop their current offensive in aleppo. joining us from london, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. a good day to you. there's a lot more now complicating our relations with moscow, yeah? >> thanks, alex. it's not exactly the cold war all over again, but you could call it a sequel. relations between moscow and washington have become impossibly more acrimonious and

complex, as you just mentioned. proxy wars, high-tech spy craft, and disputes over downed aircraft. just like during the cold war, the bad blood between these two powerful nations is expressed in violent, impoverished places like syria. this expanding diplomatic row is dimming hopes that they might seek a cease-fire. yesterday, u.s. secretary of state john kerry delivered an ultimatum to his russian counterpart. he threatened to end all discussion over ending the syrian civil war if the syrian offensive on rebel-held aleppo continues. hundreds of civilians have been killed there, and two important hospitals were leveled in the fighting in the last several days. all of this as russian officials lash out at a dutch report that moscow provided the many its si -- missile that downed the malaysian airlines flight in ukraine in 2015.

it just goes to show that with conflicts throughout the world, all roads are leading back to washington and moscow. alex? >> okay. busy times. thank you so much, matt bradley from london. when we come back, we're going to get a check on the stories happening in the day ahead. constipated?

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see that plane? see that plane? that plane was built in america. >> that's good. >> the best. >> before we turn it over to "morning joe," first, happy national coffee day. i see you have yours there. let's get a check on the stories you'll be hearing about in the day ahead. the ceo of wells fargo heads back to capitol hill today for another grilling over the bank opening unauthorized accounts. john stumpf is set to appear before the house financial services committee after testifying before the senate banking committee last week. there he apologized for the bank opening more than 2 million fake accounts. >> oh, no, you don't. it's joe scarborough joining the gang here. but let's talk about the parents of the slain muslim soldier who

found themselves in a feud with donald trump. they're set to be honored tonight. they'll attend the american arab civil rights league's gala. >> and hillary clinton heads to iowa for an early vote event in des moines. >> i swear he was here. joe scarborough made an appearance here on "morning joe" first look set. but now he's over there where he's supposed to be at "morning joe." that does it for us on this thursday. "morning joe" starts right now. good morning. it's thursday, september 29th. >> you felt the fall yesterday, didn't you? >> it's here. >> feel it this morning. >> welcome to "morning joe," everyone. with us on set, we have veteran