>> we're having an unprecedented election. we have a candidate making unprecedented threats against our democracy. just bought it's unprecedented here, doesn't mean that no one saw it coming. that does it for us tonight. de. "first look" is up next. >> i'd like to address an important religious matter. the issue of going to confession. or, as hillary calls it, the fourth of july weekend with fbi director comey. >> people look at the statue of liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants, a beacon of hope for people around the world. donald looks at the statue of liberty and sees a four. maybe a five, if she loses the

torch and tablet and changes her hair. >> dinner and a show. the presidential candidates share a stage at a benefit in new york city, but boos broke out as the candidates took a turn for the serious. plus, from bad to worse in aleppo. a brief cease-fire, hundreds killed in recent weeks, many children, and now bashar al assad claims an iconic photo of a young boy shell shocked is forged. the cubs swing away to take the lead in their hunt to make history. good morning, everybody, it is finally friday, october 21st, i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. all those stories, plus a new champion in the wnba, and we are going to share part of a

powerful post game speech you won't want to miss, believe me. first, donald trump and hillary clinton came together last night, this at the annual alfred e. smith dinner, the catholic church's annual event in new york city benefiting children in need, where they were seated on opposite sides of cardinal timothy dolan. the dinner has become a tradition for the candidates to poke fun at themselves and each other in the midst of a heated campaign, and despite the unusually brutal tone of the debates, this year was no exception. >> cardinal dolan and i have some things in common. for instance, we both run impressive properties on fifth avenue. of course, his is much more impressive than mine. that's because i built mine with my own beautifully formed hands. and even tonight, with all of the heated back and forth

between my opponent and me at the debate last night, we have proven that we can actually be civil to each other. in fact, just before taking the dais, hillary accidently bumped into me and she very civilly said, pardon me. >> but the night was not free of controversy, as trump got heckled when some of his harsher lines fell flat. >> hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the watergate commission. how corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the watergate commission? pretty corrupt. >> all right. well, the audience did not take kindly to those jokes. the reaction of this man behind trump began circulating online. >> that reaction is priceless.

all right, then it was hillary clinn's turn. at first she was full of quips before turning serious, talking about the plight of catholic-americans, before invoking the head of the catholic church to contrast her opponent to spar with pope francis. >> because this is a friendly dinner for such a great cause, donald, if at any time you don't like what i'm saying, feel free to stand up and shout "wrong!" while i'm talking. you know, come to think of it, it's amazing i'm up here after donald. i didn't think he'd be okay with a peaceful transition of power. and, donald, after listening to your speech, i will also enjoy listening to mike pence deny that you ever gave it. but there's nothing funny about the stakes in this election. school boards sent home letters

with children saying that if al smith is elected president, you will not be allowed to have or read a bible. voters were told that he would annul protestant marriages. appeals to fear and division can cause us to treat each other as the other. you certainly don't need to be catholic to be inspired by the humility and heart of the holy father, pope francis, or to embrace his message. his message about rejecting a mindset of hostility, his calls to reduce inequality, his warnings about climate change, his appeal that we built bridges, not walls. >> inspite of the tough tone throughout the night, when all was said and done, the two candidates acknowledged each other with a handshake and quick private exchange. >> very quick there.

earlier in the day trump addressed the fallout from his answer about recognizing the result of the election 18 days from now. trump's debate night response with widespread condemnation, and yesterday the rally in ohio, trump began by making light of the outrage while tempering his remarks and saying he has concerns about noncitizens voting and other forms of mass fraud from the clinton campaign. >> ladies and gentlemen, i want to make a major announcement today. i would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the united states, that i will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if i win.

hillary clinton is the most corrupt and dishonest person ever to seek the office of the presidency. so, it's in that context that i was asked a question about whether i would agree in advance to concede the results on election night if for some reason we should lose, which we're not going to lose. in effect, i'm being asked to wave centuries of legal precedent designed to protect the voters. of course, i would accept a clear election result, but i would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result. right? >> president obama and the first

lady campaigned for hillary clinton again last night. they were on separate sides of the country. president obama in miami, while the first lady rallied in phoenix. they slammed trump on a host of issues, including his claim that the election is rigged. >> if hillary does not win this election, that will be on us. it will be because we didn't stand with her. and it will be because we did not vote for her. and let me tell you this, that is exactly what her opponent is hoping will happen. that's the strategy, to make this election so dirty and so ugly that we just turn off the tv and say, we just don't want any part of it. so, when you hear folks talking about a global conspiracy and saying this election is rigged, understand that they are trying to get you to stay home. they are trying to convince you

that your vote doesn't matter, that the outcome has already been determined and you shouldn't even bother to make your voice heard. they are trying to take away your hope. >> i don't know if donald trump's ever been to an actual polling place, where you have democrats and republicans who are in charge of taking the votes, but, you know, he doesn't even worry if what he says is true. this is just about him worried that he's losing. >> the president wasn't only campaigning for hillary clinton, but also for democratic congressman patrick murphy, who is trying to unseat senator marco rubio. the latest polling shows murphy slowly coming up from behind, now just two points behind rubio, but well within the margin of error. here's president obama last night. >> she is not going to be able to do it alone, so we also have to have outstanding members of

congress, and patrick murphy, when he's your united states senator, he's going to be doing his work. in fact, unlike his opponent, he actually shows up to work. so i don't give a lot of credit for folks who are just now trying to walk away from trump. although i will say, i'm even more confused by republican politicians who still support donald trump. marco rubio is one of those people. how does that work? how can you call him a con artist and dangerous and object to all the controversial things he says and then say, but i'm still going to vote for him? come on, man. come on, man.

alex and betty, let's turn our attention overseas and the dire situation in aleppo, syria. speaking in front of a special meeting of the u.n. secretary assembly, nearly 500 people have been killed in the almost month-long russian bombing campaign in aleppo. more than a quarter of which are children. and he warns that food rations in the city are expected to run out by the end of the month. meanwhile, russia says it's extending its humanitarian pause for another 24 hours. the u.n. says they hope medical evacuations from the city can begin today. it's difficult to forget the heartbreaking images from back in august of this 5-year-old syrian boy sitting in the back of an ambulance injured, covered in dust and debris, but not shedding a single tear. the pictures in the video of the incident garnered worldwide attention and uproar. now syrian president bashar al assad is questioning the legitimacy. assad says the now infamous picture is fake. he goes on to add, "we have real

pictures of children being harmed, but this one specifically is a forged one." >> a lot of people do still remember that picture, though. still ahead, things go from bad to worse with the u.s. relationship with a major power in the pacific. the president of the philippines wants a separation from the u.s., so what, if anything, can washington do? and later on, life imitates the onion. joe biden as you've often seen him before behind the wheel of a muscle car. those stories and a check on weather still to come. we're back after this.

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15 minutes past the hour, welcome back, everybody. the u.s. and particularly president obama has endured insult after insult from the philippines president, but now it's going from insult to injury, as rodrigo duterte calls for separation from the u.s. and

embraces china. joining us from london is keir simmons. explain exactly how the latest relations got to this point. >> yeah, betty, let's do straight talking here, the u.s. needs the philippines in many ways, they rotate personnel, aircraft, ships through five philippine air bases, it gives them a position from which to stand against china, if you like. at the same time, of course, having a very important trading relationship with china. duterte knows that and what he's doing on a visit to china is threatening the u.s., if you like, with breaking that kind of link. it's a negotiating stance. we know that he -- he's a very special kind of negotiator. he's insulted the president, telling him to go to hell, and insulting the president's mother in a way that we can't really talk about in a broadcast. so, he's a difficult character to deal with.

that is washington's problem. it will be the future president's problem, but what's at stake is a very, very important relationship for the united states. >> can be troubling on many levels, all right, we'll be following this, thank you. alex? first president obama did comedians in cars with jerry seinfeld. now joe biden got a chance to get behind the wheel of one of his all-time favorite cars and may have been too excited. in an upcoming episode of "jay leno's garage," biden gets to take his corvette out for a spin. it is just the third time during his vice presidency biden has been able to drive a car. he may need to be reacquainted with how the gas pedal works. >> can we take it for a ride? let's do it. >> i'd like to do that. >> sounds good. >> try your brakes.

>> they are good. >> how does it feel to get behind the wheel? >> feels great, man. feels great. i've always loved to drive. i shouldn't say it on television, i like speed. >> i love it when people like yourself say, i shouldn't say this, but. that's how you know it's going to be good. so you like speed. >> i do. i buried this, you know, when i was younger. >> you had this to 160? >> yeah. i was told it's only 152 at the time. >> only 152. >> jay's hanging on there, as you can see. well, twitter users found plenty of glee in the clip with one user posting this, writing "biden forever." still ahead, champions crowned in the wnba. from chicago to us to you, be careful with headlines like these. this is the front page of "the chicago tribune" as the cubs inch closer to a world series berth. go dodgers. okay. [burke] hot dog. seen it. covered it.

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today we're gonna be comparing the roll-formed steel bed of the hi. chevy silverado to the aluminum bed of this competitor's truck. awesome. wooooow!! let's see how the aluminum bed of this truck held up. wow holy moly. that's a good size puncture. you hear aluminum now you're gonna to go ew. let's check out the silverado steel bed. you have a couple of dents. i'd expect more dents it's truck month! make a strong decision. find your tag and get over eleven thousand total value on this silverado all star. chevy clearly held up better than the ford. just to be clear, i think the cardinal is saying i'm not eligible for sainthood. but getting through these three debates with donald has to count as a miracle. >> another moment from last night's al smith dinner. welcome back. time now for sports. the chicago cubs are on the precipice of a world series return. we start off with a man in los

angeles who needs no introduction. >> it's time for dodger baseball! >> unfortunately for vin scully, it wasn't remembered just a few days ago how the cubs couldn't buy a run. not anymore. chicago went off on the dodgers scoring eight runs on 13 hits with a 3-2 series lead. they are now one game away from their first world series berth in 71 years. it's shaping up to be a tough one on saturday with dodger ace and three-time cy young winner clayton kershaw starting on the mound. let's turn now to thursday night football and a grid iron showdown, packers, bears at lambeau field. packers without james starks and eddie lacy, but if you had aaron rodgers on your fantasy team, you were not disappointed last night. he threw 56 times for a franchise record 39 completions and his first 300-yard passing game since week ten of last season. rodgers had three touchdown passes on the night to davonte

adams, ty montgomery, randall cobb, and adams all had at least ten receptions, making it only the second trio of teammates in nfl history to achieve that one. packers win it 26-10, and if it seems like things couldn't get worse for the bears, quarterback hoyer suffered a broken arm and jay cutler is already out with a thumb injury. the new york giants announced kicker josh brown wouldn't travel with the team to london after newly released documents which appear to show brown admitting to domestic abuse. it all stems from a 2015 arrest following an incident with his wife. so far no charges have been filed. team owner john mara acknowledged he's new about brown's past, telling a new york station brown, "admitted he's abused his wife in the past. that's a little unclear to the extent of that." the nfl says it's reopening an investigation into brown. and finally, let's end on a high note here, epic game five

of the wnba finals between the sparks and lynx. it was close throughout late in the first when they hit the jumper, puts the sparks up two, but should it have counted? the ball appears to still be in her hand as the shot clock expires, but it was not reviewed. nonetheless, with ten seconds to go, sparks were down one. >> rumbles in, fading away, no, denied! another chance, it's good! >> the bucket gives the sparks their first wnba title since 2002. parker had a huge game scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds en route to the finals' mvp honors there. after the game, an emotional parker paid tribute to her former college coach, the late legend pat summitt. >> this is for pat. this is for pat.

>> pretty moving stuff there. congrats to parker and the sparks, for sure. it was really a great game, though, back and forth. it was just a nail biter the whole way. >> i'm sure pat's smiling. >> definitely. still ahead, the latest from iraq, efforts to retake mosul as fighting breaks out with islamic state fighters. also, more from the al smith dinner. jokes that hit and missed. as we go to break, a classic from john mccain, who some felt outshined obama at the 2008 edition. we're back after this. >> i come here tonight to the al smith dinner knowing that i'm the underdog in these final weeks, but if you know where to look, there are signs of hope. there are signs of hope. even in the most unexpected places. even in this room full of proud manhattan democrats. i can't -- i can't shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me.

i'm delighted to see you here tonight, hillary.

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there's only one way we lose this election, just one. if we don't turn out to vote. only way. we got to do it big. we got to leave no doubt,

because you notice the donald's already whining that the vote's going to be rigged before the game's even over. we're just starting to vote now. he's already like, oh, the game's rigged, except today he said, of course, it's not rigged if i win. >> president obama takes on donald trump's closing argument about a rigged election. more republicans are also speaking out, but quiet this morning, the party's top two leaders this congress. and first the debate, then dinner, separated by a cardinal, hillary clinton and donald trump trade shots at the famed al smith charity event, where even the jokes were a bit sour. plus, the middle east in crisis. new fighting in iraq, and we learn more about the first american death as the coalition works to retake mosul.

hey there, good morning, everyone, it's friday, october 21st, i'm alex witt alongside betty nguyen and louis burgdorf. well, donald trump and hillary clinton came together last night. this at the annual alfred e. smith dinner. the catholic church's annual white tie event in new york city benefiting children in need, where they were seated on opposite sides of cardinal timothy dolan. named in honor of a first catholic to be a major nominee, it's become a tradition to poke fun at themselves and each other in the midst of a heated campaign. despite the unusually brutal tone of the debates, this year was no exception. >> i know that so many of you in the archdiocese already have a place in your heart for a guy who started out as a carpenter working for his father. i was a carpenter working for my

father. true. not for a long period of time, but i was -- for about three weeks. this is the first time ever, ever, that hillary is sitting down and speaking to major corporate leaders and not getting paid for it. you know, th president told me to stop whining. but i really have to say, the media is even more biased this year than ever before, ever. you want the proof, michelle obama gives a speech and everyone loves it. it's fantastic. they think she's absolutely great. my wife melania gives the exact same speech, and people get on

her case. and i don't get it. i don't know why. >> got to give it to him, that was good, but the night was not free of controversy, as trump got heckled when some of his harsher lines fell flat. >> hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the watergate commission. how corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the watergate commission? pretty corrupt. >> well, the audience did not take too kindly to those jokes, and the reaction of this man behind trump began circulating online. hillary clinton went second, she joked about wikileaks and invoked her running mate, tim kaine, who is catholic, as she contrasted her campaign with that of donald trump. >> you notice there is no teleprompter here tonight, which is probably smart, because maybe you saw donald dismantle his

prompter the other day. and i get that. they are hard to keep up with, and i'm sure it's even harder when you're translating from the original russian. it is great also to see mayor bloomberg here. it's a shame he's not speaking tonight. i'm curious to hear what a billionaire has to say. we've got the honorable chuck schumer, the honorable andrew cuomo, the honorable mike bloomberg, the honorable bill de blasio, david jenkins, and so many other elected officials, and we have rudy giuliani. now, many don't know this, but rudy actually got his start as a prosecutor going after wealthy new yorkers who avoided paying taxes. but as the saying goes, if you can't beat them, go on fox news and call them a genius.

as you may know, my running mate tim is catholic and went to jesuit schools, and one of the things he and i have talked about is this idea of the jesuits, the more the better. well, we need to get better at finding ways to disagree on matters of policy while agreeing on questions of decency and civility. how we talk to each other, treat each other, respect each other. >> and if the tone of last night's toast was at times hard to take, contrast it rather to 2008, john mccain down in the polls was funny and generous in his praise of rival barack obama. >> began so long ago with a heralded arrival of a man known to oprah winfrey as "the one." being a friend and colleague of barack, i just called him "that one."

he doesn't mind at all. in fact, he even has a pet name for me, george bush. i don't want it getting out of this room, but my opponent is an impressive fellow in many ways. political opponents can have little trouble seeing the best in each other, but i've had a few glimpses of this man at his best, and i admire his great skill, energy, and determination. senator obama talks about making history, and he's made quite a bit of it already. there was a time when the mere invitation of an african-american citizen to dine at the white house was taken as an outrage and an insult in many quarters. today is a world away from the crude and prideful bigotry of

that time, and good riddance. i can't wish my opponent luck, but i do wish him well. >> donald trump saying he would keep voters in suspense about accepting the results of the election drew varied reactions in the republican party. senators who are in tough re-election fights and who have recently distanced themselves from trump rebuked him. john mccain said there are a bit of irregularities in our election, sometimes even fraud, but never to the extent it affected the outcome. i didn't like the outcome of the 2008 election, but i had a duty to concede and i did so without reluctance. a concession isn't just an exercise in graciousness, it's an act of respect for the will of the american people. senator rob portman of ohio said the sanctity of the ballot box is critical to our democracy, expressing his faith in the secretary of state and county boards of elections, a sentiment

echoed in new hampshire by senator kelly ayotte. >> i believe that, first of all, as a former attorney general, that he should accept the outcome and that this is important, you know, i don't believe in -- that there's a rigged election system. if there are allegations that need to be investigated, they'll be investigated. i used to do that as attorney general. >> senate leader mitch mcconnell and house speaker paul ryan have not weighed in. however, trump did receive some support. kansas secretary of state, a trump adviser, spoke out saying noncitizens could tip the election to clinton saying, "i think there's no question that the number of aliens registered to vote in florida is probably in the tens of thousands and the number of voting is going to be in the thousands, so i think there's a very real risk that a battleground state could be decided by noncitizens voting." paul le page said he agreed with him. >> i think it's a stupid comment. i mean, come on, get over

yourself, but saying it's rigged, i agree. there's no question it's rigged. >> donald trump pulled the plug, though, on not one, but two interviews ahead of his rally in ohio yesterday while speaking with reporters, including one from local nbc affiliate wcmh, trump abruptly walked out on the conversation when questioned about the list of controversies that have dogged his campaign in recent weeks. >> 19 days out from the election, you've been labeled a racist, you've been called a sexist. >> thank you very much. >> how do you respond to that? >> i am the least racist person you've ever met. >> there you have it. former rnc chairman michael steele says he will not be voting for the party's nominee. according to buzz feed, steele says donald trump represents only 30% of the republican party, claiming the nominee has, "captured that racist underbelly, that frustration, that angry underbelly of american life and gave voice to that." steele, a former lieutenant

governor of maryland and current msnbc political analyst, said he'll not be voting for hillary clinton either. president obama and the first lady campaigned for hillary clinton again last night. they were on separate sides of the country. president obama in miami, while the first lady rally the in phoenix. they slammed trump on a host of issues, from his claims of a rigged election, to his rhetoric with a close eye on down ballot races. the president also chastised republicans for supporting their nominee. >> my question is, why would it take this long for a republican senators and republican congressmen and republican governors and state reps and state senators, why would it take you this long to figure out that donald trump shouldn't be president? if you've made -- if you've made a career of idolizing ronald

reagan, then where were you when your party's nominee for president was kissing up to vladimir putin, the former kgb officer? you used to criticize me for even talking to the russians. now suddenly you're okay with your nominee having a bromance with putin. >> in all the hateful, hurtful rhetoric we've been hearing, we're losing hope. you see, in this race we have a candidate whose vision for our country is completely and utterly lacking in hope. a candidate who tells us that our country is desperate and weak. that our communities are in chaos. that our fellow citizens are a threat. a candidate who calls on us to turn against each other, to build walls. to be afraid.

well, barack and i and our friend hillary, we have a very different perspective on this country. >> vice president joe biden also unleashed on donald trump over his refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election, calling it a threat to our democracy. while campaigning for hillary clinton in new hampshire yesterday, biden criticized trump and the data she said the republican nominee's words are doing. >> it's either he is so stupid that he doesn't -- no, no, it's possible -- really. it's possible he doesn't understand the damage he's doing. the things that donald trump is saying and doing are genuinely a threat to the democratic process, which is based on trust. think about what it is. no democratic process can be sustained without a sense of trust, trust.

not only is he disqualified by what all the press is talking about today that he's been talking about because he's questioning not the legitimacy of our elections, but the legitimacy of our democracy. if you question, if you assert that a democratic election is fixed, you are attacking the very essence of the notion whether we have a democratic system. >> republican voters were polled on the future of the party, who they see as the next face of the gop, as well as whose views best align with their own. 27% of republicans see vice presidential nominee mike pence as a top choice to be their party's leader should donald trump lose to hillary clinton. pence was followed by trump at 24%, senator ted cruz at 19%, and speaker paul ryan at 15%. when asked whose views better match their own of what the republican party should stand for, 51% said trump, followed by 33% for ryan. as for how many republicans will follow trump should he lose the election, 38% say they'll stick

with him, 33% say they'll likely lose interest, and 24% say they'll give up and not pay attention to trump shortly after the election. turning to the presidential race in the battleground state of ohio, the latest suffolk university poll shows trump and clinton deadlocked at 45%. clinton has made a six-point gain since last month, with trump gaining three points. in the closely watched new hampshire senate race, maggie hassan is nine points ahead of kelly ayotte, 48% to 39%. still ahead, we are live in iraq this morning with two major stories concerning the fight against isis. >> yeah, the terror group attacked another major iraqi city overnight as troops work to retake another. richard engel is on the front lines. >> we climbed into one of the iraqi's special forces old american humvees. it's battle-worn, shot up, and the driver said damaged by an isis suicide bomber. then, it was on foot. quickly, because rounds wizzed by. ♪

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let's turn now to iraq, where a u.s. service member has died in the offensive to retake mosul. a u.s. defense official telling nbc news that an i.e.d. hit that vehicle the soldier was traveling in just north of mosul. happened around 6:00 p.m. local time. he is the first u.s. causality of the recent operation and the fourth u.s. service member to have been killed since the focus on fighting isis in iraq and syria escalated back in 2014. this news comes as the pentagon early this week downplayed any increased role of u.s. forces in the operation to retake that city from the terror group. let's get now to matt bradley joining us live on the ground in irbil, iraq. good day to you. in addition to this very sad development about this u.s. officer there, there are reports coming in that isis militants have attacked government buildings now in the city of kirkuk. >> reporter: that's right, alex. we're starting to hear that this

is on ongoing operation. it started about 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. this morning, something like 20 militants from isis charged into kirkuk, which is about an hour south of here and raided several security buildings. we understand that the kurdish peshmerga and counterterrorism unit, the elite unit tried by the u.s. are going in and contained the situation, but at least one of the buildings is still being held by islamic state militants. most of the fighters were killed. again, that's 20 militants all armed with small arms, grenades, and suicide vests. this is typical islamic state. they tend to have diversion their tactics when they are facing pressure on another front, and this time it's mosul. this has diverted the elite security forces from the fight in mosul to kirkuk an hour south of here. alex? >> okay, thank you very much, matt bradley. betty? >> richard engel is also on the

ground in iraq and saw signs isis fighters are on the run as an apparent living quarters seems to have been abandoned in a hurry. here's richard with more. >> reporter: iraqi and kurdish forces launched their biggest push towards mosul. the main offensive was from the east into the town of bartella, just over ten miles from the city. we climbed into one of the iraqi special forces' old american humvees. it's battle-worn, shot up, and the driver said damaged by an isis suicide bomber. then, it was on foot. quickly, because rounds wizzed by. this predominantly christian village is one of isis's main defensive positions leading towards mosul. they are fighting hard to keep it. isis sending out car bombs. but iraqi troops are advancing faster than u.s. commanders anticipated. we'll be in mosul in two days, a

soldier boasted, but isis has had two years to prepare for this fight. the soldiers showed us a tunnel that was found. this was an isis escape route, also seems to be one of their positions. isis fighters lived here, safe from u.s. war planes. just based on the number of mattresses we've seen, this could have held 20, maybe 50 people, more if they packed them in. the tunnel extended for about a half a mile. at the far end, we came up into what appeared to have been an isis headquarters. food still in the kitchen area. half-made bombs, too, and chemicals for more. on the walls, isis's infamous logo. the sight of the black flag was once enough to send the iraqi army running. that's how isis took mosul. now it's isis on the run. >> richard reports that iraqi troops have captured bartella, putting them in striking distance of mosul, and our

thanks to richard for that report. we'll be right back with a look at the forecast and a look at the weekend, as well. are my teeth yellow? have you tried the tissue test? ugh yellow. what do you use? crest whitestrps. crest 3d whitestrips whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste i passed the tissue test. oh yeah. crest whitestrips are the way to whiten.

welcome back, let's get a check on your weather now. steve, it looks like a wet and windy weekend here for parts of the northeast. >> thank goodness we're getting it out of the way on friday, right? improvements for the weekend, a lot of people have plans out there. this rain does not look good when you look at it, and it isn't. we're looking at some flash flood conditions here in central pennsylvania right now.

we're seeing almost eight inches of rain in some spots in a short amount of time, so we have seen some flooding in areas like state college and williamsport, so we'll be watching that throughout the day. there are flash flood watches throughout central new york state and pennsylvania. that's really the only problem spot here on this friday morning. we have heavy rain in the northeast, so some travel delays there, but meanwhile, look at all this nice weather that stretches from atlanta, through the midwest, even the west coast, really nice if you're headed out west for today, temperatures in the 90s, so t-shirts and shorts continuing out there. then as we head into the weekend, saturday's forecast, some leftovers going on here from let's say new york city up to boston with rain and wind, but i think the afternoon hours improve and then as we take a look at the winter outlook, one thing we need to note, southern california will be warmer and drier than average, so unfortunately, the drought conditions there may get a lot worse as we head here through the winter months. so certainly not good news there. good news for the weekend, though. >> it's going to change.

we're going to bounce back. >> a lot of hair spray. >> you got it, steve, thanks so much. when we're back, a look at the stories happening in the day ahead. 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. ltry align probiotic.n your digestive system? for a non-stop, sweet treat goodness, hold on to your tiara kind of day. get 24/7 digestive support, with align.

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before we toss it over to "morning joe," let's get a check on the stories you'll be hearing about in the day ahead. three men accused of planning a terror plot in kansas are due in court today. prosecutors say the three men are part of a small militia group that planned to bomb an apartment complex. the united nations is set to officially appoint wonder woman as an honorary ambassador for the power of women and girls today. this comes on the 70th anniversary of her debut today. those who portrayed the character are set to be at the ceremony. on the campaign trail today, donald trump will hold an event in north carolina before heading to pennsylvania for two stops. hillary clinton will be campaigning in cleveland, while her running mate tim kaine will be in pennsylvania. trump's running mate attends a rally in new hampshire. clinton surrogates will be out today, as well. former president bill clinton will have two events in florida, while vice president joe biden will be in pennsylvania. coming up later, david petraeus joins "morning joe" to discuss

the fight to free iraq's second largest city from isis. we'll have that for you. that will be a good interview. >> that is going to do it for us on this friday. i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> i would like to address an important religious matter. the issue of going to confession. or as hillary calls it, the fourth of july weekend with fbi director comey. >> people look at the statue of liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history of a nation of immigrants, a beacon of hope for people around the world. donald looks at the statue of liberty and sees a four. maybe a five if she l