reporter who has covered trump for 40 years, who knows about donald trump more than maybe anyone not named trump. this continuing story continues. just for the record, though, are you saying that what you said on that bus 11 years ago that you did not actually kiss women without consent? >> i have great respect for women. no one has more respect for women than i do. >> so you're saying you never did that? >> frankly, you hear these things are said. i was embarrassed by it, but i have tremendous respect for women. >> have you ever done those things. >> women have respect for me -- no, i have not. >> it was that moment in this weekend's debate that multiple women said led them to come forward with claims the presidential candidate had touched them inappropriately. now donald trump's campaign is threatening to sue those

outlets. >> hillary clinton is turning up the heat on trump and showing little sympathy for the pro-trump protesters disrupting her rallies. and two boston police officering hospitalized after a shootout. details straight ahead. ♪ good morning, everyone. it's thursday, october 13th. i'm betty nguyen. with the election less than a month away and already more than half a million ballots cast, late last night came a wave of stories accusing donald trump of unwanted and inappropriate touching. rachel crooks tells "the new york times" she was a 22-year-old receptionist working in trump tower. in the case of jessica leads,

she told "the times" she met trump 35 years ago while sitting in first class on a flight. she accuses him of touching her after the dinner trays were cleared. >> he was like an octopus. he was all over the place. if he had stuck with the upper part of the body, i might not have gotten that upset. when he started putting his hand up my skirt, that was it. that was it. i was out of there. >> both women say they support hillary clinton and leads says she hopes her story makes a difference in the election. nbc news, though, has not confirmed the allegations. the trump campaign told nbc news the article was fiction and trivialized sexual assault. trump's lawyer went even further, sending a letter to the executive editor demanding a retraction and apology, calling it reckless.

a senior aide rattled a saber at nbc news saying they were drafting up, a quote, big lawsuit. >> other accusations came in from across the country. donald trump is set to campaign this morning in west palm beach. "the palm beach post" reports a woman who lives there claims she was groped by trump 13 years ago. she says he grabbed her buttocks after a ray charles concert at mar-a-lago. the trump campaign said, quote, there's no truth to this whatsoever. then there's natasha, a writer for "people" mgz, who went to mar-a-lago go interview donald trump in 2005. he told her, quote, you know we're going to have an affair. melania trump went upstairs to change wardrobe in the middle of a photo shoot. she writes, quote, we walked into that room alone and trump shut the door behind us. i turned around and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his

tongue down my throat. he was fast, taking me by surprise. i was stunned and grateful when trump's long-time butler burst into the room a minute later as i tried to unpin myself. the trump campaign denies this account as well, telling "people" magazine it was fabricated and saying it never happened. >> responding to all of this, ab clinton campaign official said, quote, this is disturbing. this story fits everything we know about donald and how he's treated women. last night in las vegas, hillary clinton seemed to take on the latest revelations. >> we've heard for months what he thinks about people, how he treats people. you know, this latest incident about how he treats wimp well, he doubled down on his excuse that it's just locker room talk, and i got to tell you, after he said that in the last debate, the most amazing thing happened. athletes and coaches started

speaking out. they're coming forward, and you know what they're saying. hey, not in our locker rooms. that's not what happens. >> wikileaks has released another batch of e-mails allegedly taken from the personal account of clinton campaign chairman john podesta. this latest dump includes an alleged e-mail from podesta to hillary clinton and a top aide, urging clinton to call prominent latino politicians to ask for support. the e-mail, which mentions former new mexico governor bill richardson and former energy secretary frederico pena, features the subject line, needy latinos and one easy call. another e-mail purportedly discusses religion. responding to comments by halperin on rupert murdoch raising his kids as catholic, palmieri allegedly replied, i

imagine they think it's the most socially acceptable, politically conservative religion. >> i'm a catholic. i don't recognize that e-mail that we saw, and this whole effort is led by the russians. the russians are the ones that orchestrated this hack, we believe, as noted by the statement from the director of national intelligence. that they're also behind the timing and manner of the leaks. we're not going to do anymore to comment or aid their efforts. >> the new e-mails also show members of the clinton team viciously attacking catholics and evangelicals. did you see that? no, the press says they want to report that one. that could be election change. it's just the latest evidence of the hatred that the clinton campaign has for every day faithful americans. >> it's extraordinary. if only on behalf of our

catholic running mate, hillary clinton should denounce those anti-catholic, bigoted, anti anti-evangelical remarks. >> house speaker paul ryan also weigh the in, releasing a statement that reads in part, the clinton campaign's disdain for the catholic faith is staggering. if anything, these statements reveal the clinton campaign's hostile attitude toward people of faith in general. the wikileaks also revealed podesta's alleged response to the iran nuclear deal. kirk compared president obama to neville chamberlain, who handed portions of czechoslovakia over to adolph hitler. podesta has responded to this latest release saying in part, it is now clear that the illegal hack of my personal e-mail account was just like the other recent election related hacks, the work of the russian government. this level of meddling by a

foreign power can only be aimed at boosting donald trump and should send chills down the spine of all americans. new overnight, nbc news has learned donald trump's campaign is pulling out of virginia. three sources with knowledge of the decision say it was announced on a conference call late last night, leaving some republican party operatives in the state blind sided. trump's former virginia state chairman cory stewart, who was recently fired by the campaign, called the move totally premature. trump has trailed clinton in every poll in virginia since august. a recent roanoke college poll had clinton leading in the state by nine points. a source tells nbc news trump's campaign is shifting focus to critical battleground state, including pennsylvania, florida, north carolina, and ohio. in florida yesterday, donald trump warned supporters that a hillary clinton presidency could lead to a, quote, takeover, of the united states by isis. laying the blame for the terror group's rise at the feet of president obama. >> why the hell is obama allowed to campaign for hillary clinton?

he's always campaigning. here's a guy where we have isis that he essentially founded, if you look. remember i said founded and he's going to get the medal. but it's really not that kiddingly. we started off, we had no isis. now 7 1/2 years later, they're in, they think, 32 countries. and she's going to get rid of them? i can tell you this. they are hoping and they are praying -- they are hoping and praying that hillary clinton becomes president of the united states. because they'll take over not only that part of the world, they'll take over this country. they'll take over this part of the world, believe me. >> house speaker paul ryan is starting to see erosion in support after donald trump exerted new pressure on the top republican in congress after stating he was still endorsing but no longer defending trump.

some are questioning whether ryan should continue to lead. one conservative congressman who backed ryan for speaker last year tweeted, given the stakes of this election, if paul ryan isn't for trump, then i'm not for paul ryan. ryan released a video in which he talked about conservative principles. >> i get a lot of young people asking me why should i choose the republican party or conservatism. conservatism means we want to conserve what is good, what is great. we want to the conserve those great principles. liberty, freedom, enterprise. it's hopeful and inclusive because it applies equally to everybody. >> meanwhile, trump went a step further yesterday by calling out ryan by name at his rally, suggesting republican leaders had made a secret sinister deal. >> already the republican nominee has a massive, a massive

disadvantage. and especially when you have the leaders not putting their weight behind the people. if we had a little help from our very weak leadership called republican leadership, we would be sailing like you've never sailed before. these are weak people. you know, pat buchanan wrote the big article today. you saw it. he said -- i'm not bragging, i'm just saying -- maybe a little bit, but yeah. he said it was the single greatest debate performance in the history of presidential politics. wouldn't you think that paul ryan would call and say good going? in front of just about the largest audience for a second night debate in the history of the country. so you know, you think they'd say, great going, don, let's go, let's beat this crook. she's a crook. let's beat her.

we got to stop it. no, he doesn't do that. there's a whole deal going on there. you know, there's a whole deal going on. we're going to figure it out. i always figure things out. but there's a whole sinister deal going on. >> on the trail yesterday, hillary clinton claimed donald trump's campaign has become desperate, saying all they have left is negativity. >> now, look, i know donald trump has taken a very different tone. we've heard it in both debates. his campaign has said today he's going to, and i quote, run a scorched earth strategy, whatever that means. that's how desperate they are. that's all they have left, pure negativity. we can't let that represent our country. >> another day on the trail and another day of protesters interrupting clinton's rallies, this time in las vegas and pueblo, colorado. >> well, you know, you do have

to feel a little sorry for them. they've had a really bad couple of weeks. >> turning from politics now. two boston police officers were shot last night in what officials are describing as a domestic incident gone wrong. officers were called to an east boston home for a report of a man with a gun. when the armed roommate fired on the officers, setting off a gunfight ending with the suspect being killed and the two officers injured. both are in the hospital. one has multiple gunshot wounds and is in critical condition. the other is said to be stable. >> and north carolina is struggling as it tries to recover in the aftermath of hurricane matthew. with much of the state still engulfed in water, the death toll has risen to 20. the governor warning residents to stay away from the flooding. a 50 to 60-foot breach was found. the worst could still be to come for some communities.

many residents are being told to evacuate before flood waters continue to rise. rescue crews have saved more than 2,000 people. nearly 4,000 are in shelters. dozens of school district res main closed. now, hurricane matthew has been the cause of 39 deaths across the southeastern united states since it first hit florida last friday. the magnitude of the storm's devastation in north carolina will not be clear until the waters recede, alex and betty. >> they are dealing with so much there. thank you. still ahead two, major athletes asked to weigh in on donald trump's so-called locker room talk. they're two very different responses. plus, investigators looking into a small airplane crash now believe the airplane may have been brought down on purpose. those stories and a check on weather when we come right back.

♪ americans are buying more and more of everything online.

and so many businesses rely on the united states postal service to get it there. because when you ship with us, your business becomes our business. that's why we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. the united states postal service. priority: you boost it's about moving forward not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up thinking up living up. it's being in motion... in body in spirit in the now. boost. it's not just nutrition, it's intelligent nutrition. with 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. all in 3 delicious flavors. it's choosing to go in one direction... up. boost. be up for it.

a small twin-engine plane

crashed in east hartford, connecticut, in what investigators are saying was an intentional act. moments before the plane, the student pilot was apparently in a heated exchange with his instructor. the plane struck a utility pole and wires, knocking out power to the surrounding neighborhood, and causing a fire that engulfed the aircraft. during a news conference yesterday, police added that the plane had two sets of controls but wouldn't confirm who was flying. the student died at the scene. the instructor crawled from the burning plane and is said to be in fair condition. >> wow. well, let's get a check on your with wnbc meteorologist rafael miranda. good morning to you. now we're talking about nicole. this is bad for bermuda. >> very bad. we're dealing with a major hurricane now, a category 4 storm. we're seeing those winds of 130 miles per hour with gusts up to 160 miles per hour. this storm is headed right towards bermuda. it's still about 100 miles away but moving right in that direction around 15 miles per hour. again, a strong category 4. of course, the devastating winds move in over the next few hours,

through the day. besides the winds, we're talking about a storm surge of six to nine feet. the winds currently at tropical storm strength. 49 miles per hour. the red circle here, those are the hurricane force winds. watch as they move in throughout the morning. i'm going to stop it at 9:00. hurricane force winds across the island of bermuda. that continues for about three to four hours into the early afternoon. now, the eye may pass over bermuda. you may be very quiet throughout much of the day. of course, getting in and out of the eye, that will be the hard part. that's where you'll see those winds well over 100 miles per hour. closer to home, it's a quiet day for the most part across the northeast. we may see a few spotty showers in the ohio valley, even in the big cities like new york city, d.c., and boston. mild, though. temperatures in the low 70s. out west, strong winds and also very heavy rain. an abnormally strong system move manager on shore in the pacific northwest. we could see winds gusting over 80 miles per hour in the higher terrains.

it will be a soaker in washington and oregon. looking much better as you head towards southern california. alex? >> i think it doesn't rain in southern california. >> never does. >> thanks, rafael. still ahead, big papi, david ortiz, offers one more emotional good-bye to red sox nation. sports is next. here's a little healthy advice.

take care of what makes you, you. right down to your skin. aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion with 5 vital nutrients for healthier looking skin in just one day. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results® now that i work there, i value dothe food even more. i feed it to yoshi because there are no artificial colors, preservatives and it's made with real chicken. i'm so proud to make dog chow natural in davenport, iowa.

my bladder leakage made me feel like i couldn't be the father that i wanted to be. now i use depend. i can move the way i really want. unlike the bargain brand, depend fit-flex underwear is more flexible to move with you. reconnect with the life you've been missing. get a free sample at depend.com. how would you respond if your kids heard donald trump's version of locker room talk? >> thank you, guys.

have a good day. >> we don't disrespect women in no shape or fashion in our locker rooms. that never comes up. you know, i got -- obviously i got a mother-in-law, a wife, a mom, and a daughter. those conversations just don't go on in our locker room. what that guy said, i don't know what that is. that's trash talk. >> welcome back. that was patriots quarterback tom brady and cleveland cavaliers' lebron james. two sports icons giving two sharply different responses after being asked about donald trump's defense of his 2005 comments about making unwanted advances on women as locker room talk. all right. let's turn to sports now. as teams face off in the first day of the nhl regular season. to ottawa, number one draft pic auston matthews with a historic debut. the 19-year-old rookie became the first player in modern nhl history to net four goals in his first game. while the feat was impressive,

it wasn't enough to defeat the senators. the nba regular season just is just around the corner. the suns erase a 30-point deficit against the jazz in last night's preseason matchup. after trailing by eight with about a minute left in the fourth, phoenix found themselves within one point of utah in the game's final seconds. >> seven to play. breaks away and hammers it down. >> the suns' archie goodwin throws down the go-ahead slam. phoenix hangs on to win it 111-110. let's go to beijing. the rockets hosting the pelicans in china for the second of two nba global games in that country. if that's not an unfamiliar sight, this certainly is. shooting his free throws underhand. seemed to be working out for him. houston wins it 114-104.

>> and in major league baseball, boston slugger david ortiz took to instagram yesterday to bid one final farewell. ortiz posted a photo of his final salute at fenway following the red sox elimination from postseason on monday with a caption beginning with, quote, well, wasn't the way we planned it, but i wouldn't give up this team or this season for the world. i know he will be very missed. now, the playoffs continue tonight with the nationals hosting the dodgers in a win or go home game five of the national league division series. max scherzer will be on the mound for washington in what he called the biggest start of his life against los angeles. now, the winner will move on to face the cubs in game one of the nl conference series on saturday. alex, i know that you're going to have -- you're going to be on the couch watching that game. you're going to be up late. >> glued. >> tomorrow morning, don't expect much. wow. i was up too late watching the dodgers. >> we've been warned. still ahead, after major fallout after fake accounts, the ceo of wells fargo is stepping

down immediately. plus, rudy giuliani is making an apology after making false claims about hillary clinton. plus, vice president joe biden makes the circuit on late night. we have that next. what are you doing? getting your quarter back. fountains don't earn interest, david. you know i work at ally. i was being romantic. you know what i find romantic? a robust annual percentage yield that's what i find romantic. this is literally throwing your money away. i think it's over there. that way? yeah, a little further up. what year was that quarter? what year is that one? '98 that's the one. you got it! nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. ally. do it right. let's get out of that water. when a moment turns romantic, why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph,

like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas for pulmonary hypertension, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis and a $200 savings card.

stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. it's not just a car... it's your daily retreat. go ahead, spoil yourself. the es and es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection.

women for trump. i don't get these polls. every place i go, i see hundreds of women for trump. then i see a poll. he's not doing well with women. i don't know. i don't get it.

>> donald trump befuddled by his standing among women in the polls, under fire this morning as multiple women come forward to accuse him of unwanted touching. plus, bill clinton is doing some explaining this morning after calling donald trump's base red necks. the former president saying he didn't mean to offend. and wells fargo hit by that sales scandal is under new leadership this morning after its ceo steps down. ♪ hello, everyone. good morning. it is thursday, october 13th. i'm alex witt alongside betty nguyen. we begin with this big story from the business world. the ceo of wells fargo is out amid the controversy surrounding the country's aggressive sales tactics. john stumpf has retired effe effective immediately after it

was revealed employees opened some 2 million accounts in customers' names without them knowing about it. a good morning to you, nancy. wells fargo stock, that surged in the after hours. what about the terms of the departure? what can you tell us about that? >> well, investors definitely cheering this move. there still remain some question marks over the terms, exactly what the outgoing ceo, john stumpf, will receive. the bank has said he will not receive a golden parachute. based on the stock he holds, others are saying he will walk away with tens of millions. but the replacement, who was the president and coo of wells fargo, spoke to cnbc yesterday and said he was saddened by the announcement but john felt that he had become too much of a distraction. so yes, investors were pleased by the move, but politicians not so much. one of the most outspoken critics of the scandal has been elizabeth warren. she took to twitter to show she

was not please the by the move. she does not think retirement goes far enough. she thinks stumpf should resign and return every nickel he made during the scam. she went on to say a bank ceo should not be able to oversee a massive fraud and simply be able to walk away and enjoy his millions in retirement. expect more political comments toment co. elsewhere, another update from samsung. the u.s. consumer watchdog has expanded a recall of the galaxy note 7 dwevices in the united states. go to your carrier for a refund or replacement. they've warned over the burn hazards to these devices. unwelcome news for samsung, although their shares did get a bit of a bounce. >> huge inconvenience. thank you, nancy. betty? this morning a wrath of accusations against donald trump all involving unwanted touching. rachel crooks tells "the new york times" she was a 22-year-old receptionist working for a real estate group in trump

tower in new york when they met one more in 2005. she says they shook hands and then donald trump kissed her on the cheeks before kissing her directly on the mouth. in the case of jessica leads, she told "the times" she met 35 years ago while sitting in first class on a flight. she accuses him of touching her after the dinner trays were cleared. >> he was like an octopus. it was like he had six arms. he was all over the place. if he had stuck with the upper part of the body, i might not have gotten -- i might not have gotten that upset. it's when he started putting his hand up my skirt, and that was it. that was it. i was out of there. >> both women say they support hillary clinton, and leads says she hopes her story makes a difference in the election. now, nbc news has confirmed none of these allegations. the trump campaign, though, told nbc news the article was fiction

and that it trivialized sexual assault. trump's lawyer went even further, sending a letter to be the executive editor of the paper, demanding a retraction and apology, calling the report reckless and defamatory. a senior aide rattled a saber to nbc news saying they were drafting up a, quote, big lawsuit. last night, nbc's jacob rascon spoke exclusively with former miss utah in the pageant trump owned in 1997. >> she says when she met donald trump, he kissed her. she stressed it didn't feel like an assault, but it did catch her off guard. >> i remember him walking over. my dad was very confident. he really admired donald trump. so he went over and introduced himself first. then he introduced me. it was at that time where he turned to me and embraced me and gave me a kiss on the lips. i remember being shocked. i would have just thought to shake somebody's hand, but that was his first response with me.

i remember -- i mean, i was very young. i remember feeling kind of embarrassed, like wanting to turn and almost wipe my mouth, like what just happened. when i first heard the leaked tape, it's very unsettling. you don't want to hear anybody talking about women like that. i have a daughter now. i don't want to get emotional, but yeah, is really hard because you think of sending your little daughter out there -- sorry -- with men like that, that think like that. i'm sorry. i hate getting emotional. but yeah, you look at your sweet little innocent daughter, and you just think this is the world i'm raising her in and this is the type of men that exist out there. you think, if this is somebody that -- sorry -- if this is somebody that could potentially become president of the united states. >> she's not the only woman from trump's time in the pageant world speaking out. a fourth woman, the 2001 miss

arizona, tasha dixon, told a television station, she thinks he owned pa jebts to be close to beautiful women. >> when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked, changing into our bikinis, to have the owner come waltzing in when we're half naked. a physically vulnerable situation, then to have the pressure of the people that work for him telling us to go fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him. >> the trump campaign issued a statement attributed to the candidate himself, saying, quote, i don't know anything about her. i don't even know who she is. she claims this took place in a public area. i never kissed her. i emphatically deny this ridiculous claim. donald j. trump. well, this morning the "today" show has an exclusive look with arianne zucker, who trump was talking to on that bus with billy bush.

she was about to give trump a tour of the set. >> they are offensive comments for women, period, yes. >> you can see much more of that interview coming up on the "today" show. vice president joe biden, who drafted the violence against women act, and who accused donald trump of sexual assault in the wake of the "access hollywood" video spoke out again last night. this time with nbc's seth myers. >> first of all, what i found astounding is that he would so publicly, even though -- no matter who he was talking to, that he would acknowledge that he engaged in the textbook definition of sexual assault. he didn't say, you know, i go up and i ask. he said, i go up and grab and i can do this. i mean, this is absolutely outrageous behavior. for us to -- i've spent most of my career trying to figure out how to begin to change the culture in this country so that

we treat women with respect and dignity. my dad used to say the greatest sin of all is the abuse of power, and the cardinal sin of all is a man raising his hand or taking advantage of a woman. and here's a guy who says i'm a star. talk about power. i'm a billionaire. i'm a star. i'm a celebrity. so i can go in and intimidate women, allowing me to assault them and assume they're not going to say anything. that is the ultimate abuse of power. and i don't think -- and i don't understand how anyone can remotely justify that. now, i can understand -- i can't understand, actually. >> donald trump was fired up on the trail yesterday, talking about the, quote, phone any investigation into hillary clinton's e-mail server and said there could be consequences if he becomes president, which his campaign manager attempted to

clarify. >> she gets a subpoena. she gets a subpoena. after, not before -- that would be bad -- but after getting a subpoena to give over your e-mails and lots of other things, she deleted the e-mails. she has to go to jail. and her law firm, which is a very big and powerful law firm, which is the one that said, oh, they'll determine what they're giving, those representatives within that law firm that did that have to go to jail. >> he's talking about going around the democratic process. talking about jailing your political opponent is something that -- >> no, he's not. he's talking about the result. no, he's not. you're taking it literally. you're stuck on this one thing. >> he is saying she has to go to jail. he's not talking about she has to stand and be judged. he's saying she has to go to

jail. >> and? in other words, what are you saying? you're saying he had to stop and say, here's how you get to jail, here's the process. that's completely ridiculous. >> well, it shouldn't be. he's talking about a predetermined end result here. >> no, he's talking about what a lot of americans want to know why the heck this woman wasn't punished at all. >> let's take a look at some of the latest statewide polling. in missouri, donald trump leads hillary clinton by five points in the latest monmouth university poll, 46 to 41. a month ago, they were in a dead heat. a tight race down ballot as well with republican candidate roy blunt leading. in wisconsin, clinton is up 7%, but the marquette university law school poll was taken before the debate. and the senate race there has tightened. former senator russ feingold leads republican incumbent ron johnson. compare that to august when he

was up in the same poll by 11%. now, bill clinton says he meant no harm when he used the word red neck to describe donald trump supporters at a rally in ft. myers, florida, on tuesday. some have compared his remarks to his wife's deplorable comments. here's the former president tuesday and his remarks last night when he was asked to clarify. >> the other guy's base is what i grew up in. you know, i'm basically your standard red neck. i was the first person who ever went to college in my family. i had a grandfather, as i told you, who was a saint. and he and my grandmother fought all the time. the only thing they agreed on was education and civil rights. he had a sixth grade education. she had a correspondence degree in nursing. they knew we were all the same. so i deserve no credit for what i tried to do. i just raised that way.

but i know how they feel. and i'm telling you, the older you get, the worse it is. if you look in the mirror every day and think you can't do anything to change the future. >> red neck, unless you're trying to make political points and embarrass the person who said it, is a term that applies to basically white working class protesta protestant. hill billy applies to white working class protestants who come from -- [ inaudible ]. my state had both mountains and hill and farmland. so we have both. a lot of us take a lot of pride in it, including me. and former new york city

mayor and donald trump surrogate rudy giuliani is facing criticism this morning after accusing hillary clinton of lying about where she was on 9/11. >> during a 2013 paid speech for which she got $225,000, she told the very rich audience that she was speaking to that terrorism was not a threat to us. don't tell me if you said that that you remember september 11, 2001. i remember september 11, 2001. i heard her say one day she was there that day. i was there that day. i don't remember seeing hillary clinton there. that was like when she said she had to run through gunfire that turned out to be, what do we call it, a lie. >> there's no evidence clinton ever claimed to be in new york on september 11th. clinton was in washington on that day. it wasn't until september 12th

that clinton was able to get to lower manhattan, where she stood in the rubble of ground zero right beside rudy giuliani. a few hours after making those comments, giuliani issues an apology, telling the associated press, quote, i made a mistake, i'm wrong, and i apologize. still ahead, the u.s. military strikes parts of yemen after missile attacks on a u.s. naval ship. what the pentagon is saying. plus, the latest on the flooding in north carolina. rescue crews have saved more than 2,000 people, but the worst of the flooding for some is yet to come. we're back in a moment.

i served in iraq in tikrit in 2009. when i took the ancestry dna test, i mean a few results came up that were really shocking. 11% of me comes from the part where i had served. we all come from such different backgrounds that you never know. 47 minutes past the hour. let's get a check on your weather with wnbc meteorologist rafael miranda. seems like north carolina is still in the danger zone when it comes to flooding. >> that's right. some rivers still rising even though the rain ended more than four days it ago. many rivers still at major, even historic, flooding. the neuse river continuing to

rise. not until later this weekend do we finally see those levels recede. again, we're still expecting a record crest near kinston. major flooding goes on into next week there along the neuse river. looking increasingly likely we'll see strongest hurricane ever to hit bermuda. still a category 4 storm. winds 130 miles per hour, gusting up to 160. the path takes the storm right over bermuda throughout the day today, heading into tomorrow. now, in the northwest, we have our own major storm. very heavy rain and strong wind in the northwest as well. you can see that will continue right into the weekend. a very stormy pattern there. over 10 inches of rain possible in some spots. let's take a view of the national picture. quiet and mild in the northeast. temperatures near 70 degrees. again, it's a mess in the northwest. louis? >> rafael, thanks so much. before we go to break, let's look at a few stories we're not covering today. british rocker rod stewart has

been knighted by prince william at buckingham palace. he'll now be able to call himself sir rodrick david stewart. and a part we left out of the wikileaks stewart from earlier this week. apparently the recipe for a really good risoto. let's just hope it wasn't his secret recipe. we won't be covering any of those stories today. instead, before we go to break, we leave you with presidential debate sensation and the man in the red sweater himself ken bone on comedy central last night. >> it was a real thrill to see ken bone facts trending on twitter on monday night. i loved every one of them, but i can't pick my favorite because i'm undecided. so we're going to read a few of the best ones. he can't attend an ugly sweater party because they all look so good on him. duh. he is the fifth golden girl. and here's one of the original cast photos.

ken's hugs create such dangerous levels of euphoria, they had to be regulated by the fda. you know, that's actually true. you should not operate heavy machinery after you snuggle with me. ♪ using 60,000 points from my chase ink card i bought all the framework... wire... and plants needed to give my shop... a face... no one will forget. see what the power of points can do for your business. learn more at chase.com/ink watry...duo fusiong heartburn relief? see what the power of points can do for your business. duo fusion goes to work in seconds and lasts up to 12 hours. tums only lasts up to 3. for longer lasting relief...in one chewable tablet try duo fusion from the makers of zantac start the interview with a firm handshake. ay,no! don't do that! try head & shoulders instant relief.

it cools on contact, and also keeps you 100% flake free. try head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap.

truth of the matter is, when donald trump becomes president of the united states of america, we're going to rip up the iran deal. we're going to marshal our allies, and we will not allow

the leading state sponsor of terrorism to ever obtain a usable nuclear weapon. >> that was republican vice presidential nominee mike pence in north carolina yesterday discussing the release of an e-mail allegedly from john podesta's personal account and his criticism of president obama's iran nuclear deal. this morning, the u.s. has launched retaliatory missile strikes against iranian-backed rebels in yemen who are believed to be behind the failed attacks on a u.s. navy destroyer. pentagon officials say the "uss mason," which is operating in international waters off yemen, has come under fire twice this week. they say the mistimsiles controd by houthi rebels. lucy, what else are we hearing from the military about these retaliatory strikes? >> hey, alex. the pentagon describes these as limited self-defense strikes to protect its ships and crew in what is a very important waterway linking the gulf of

ai aiden to the red sea. the houthis seized power in yemen, overthrowing the government. saudi arabia believed that they were backed by iran, although experts say that connection is actually quite limited. saudi arabia intervened in an extremely controversial military campaign. it claims to limit air strikes to military targets, but there have been a few documented instances of civilian casualties, including an air strike this saturday on a packed funeral hall in the capital. now, i spoke this morning to a family who lost several loved ones in that air strike, an attack that human rights watch today described as an apparent war crime with nearly 140 civilians killed. i can tell you from my interviews with folks on the ground that the perception among many in yemen is that washington is somehow complicit in these

deaths because of its support for saudi arabia, an ally. that's the perception on the ground, and that may have prompted the houthi rebels to then turn their weapons against u.s. forces. alex? >> a very confusing time. lucy, thank you from london. betty? we're also following this story we first brought you yesterday in germany. the syrian refugee accused of planning to carry out a terror attack there. officials say he hanged himself by tying his shirt to the bars of his jail cell. officials say a guard was unable to revive him after discovering him unconscious. he was accused of planning to carry out a major terrorist attack on one of berlin's two airports this week. and when we come back, a look at the stories happening in the day ahead. the difference between life and death. for partners in health, time is life. we have 18,000 people around the world. the microsoft cloud helps our entire staff stay connected and work together in real time

to help those that need it. the ability to collaborate changes how we work. what we do together changes how we live.

now that i work there, i value dothe food even more.

i feed it to yoshi because there are no artificial colors, preservatives and it's made with real chicken. i'm so proud to make dog chow natural in davenport, iowa. i think it's very fun. it's called nerd core hip-hop. >> nerd core hip-hop? >> yes. it's people who identify as nerdy rapping about the things they love, video games, science fiction, having a hard time meeting romantic partners, you know. it's really catchy and fun. >> losers, in other words.

>> well -- sure. >> i tease. no, i'm teasing you. >> losers. wow. >> all right. before we toss it over to "morning joe," let's get a check on the stories you'll be hearing about. some of the world's most notable names will be gathering tonight to pay tribute to performance. the musical icon of course died in april from an accidental overdose. and the man accused of setting off bombs in new york and new jersey last month is set to be arraigned today. ahmad khan rahami will appear in court via video feed to face the new jersey charges only. let's turn to the campaign trail now. donald trump will hold a rally in florida before heading to ohio for two stops. his running mate, mike pence, will hold two events in pennsylvania. hillary clinton is off the trail, but her surrogates are out in full force. vice president joe biden will be in las vegas. first lady michelle obama will be in new hampshire.

and former president bill clinton will make two stops in iowa. >> okay. busy day. that does it for us on this >> if i lose, i will consider it the biggest waste of time, money and energy i've ever done in my life. >> good morning. it is thursday, october 13th. welcome to "morning joe." >> dramatic shot. >> look at that shot of capitol hill. the sun has yet to come up in washington, but we're already talking. with us on set, msnbc contributor mike barnicle. political writer for "the new york times," nick is with us and mark halperin and willie, joe and me. a lot to get to. >> a lot toal