department, and with some considerable alarm. that does it for us tonight. $20 trillion in debt. we're going to spend a lot of money, but not on programs that cannot show they deliver it the promises we med to people. >> there's an assumption in washington if it you get less money, it's a cut. >> the resistance president trump's first budget blueprint that calls for deep cuts to federal agencies as members say it will never get a passed. and defiance, press secretary sean spicer goes to bat defend iing the president's wiretapping claums even after leading democrats and republicans say there's no evidence. a a massive fire in downtown raleigh leaving hundreds without power overnight.

good morning, it's friday, march 17th. . kasie hunt is in washington. bipartisan leaders have joined together in a view of the wiretap claims. mark warner said there's no evidence to substantiate donald trump's accusation that president obama had trump tower surveilled. but yesterday the white house fired back and offered news articles a as justification for the president's claims. white house correspondent hallie jackson has been following the story. >> reporter: good morning, this all started with that tweet almost two weeks ago now, but the story has not ended.

particularly now after the. president's press secretary says he stands by his claim that tweet that president obama ordered trump tower to be wiretapped prior to the election. a bomb shell statement triggering an explosive respo e response. >> hold on, i'm making a point. >> after the committee president trump wanted to investigate his accusation of spying found there's nothing there. becaused on the information available to us, we see no indications that trump tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the united states government either before or after election day 2016. no surveillance, not even a wiretap, according to the top democrat and republican on the senate intelligence committee. the president not convinced, not backing down. >> he stands by it, but you're mischaracterizing what happened. the investigation in the house and senate has not been provided all the information. >> reporter: that's not what the senate intelligence committee said. >> we have seen no evidence at all about the president trump's

tweets of 13 days ago that somehow obama. tapped trump tower and somehow this was affecting the presidential race. >> reporter: the press secretary refused to say whether the president accepted the findings. instead for a full eight minutes sean spicer cited a series of news reports accusing reporterso bolster his unproven accusation president obama broke the law by spying on him. >> i have been read iing about things. i think it was january 20th a a "new york times" article talking about wiretapping. >> reporter: that article had the word wiretapped in the headline, but referred to surveillance targeting russians and did not mention president obama. . classified information would have been sayed by james comey with lawmakers.

they have seen no evidence. . comey will testify publicly on monday potentially putting to rest the story. the e question what happens next. how will the president respond to his own fbi director. more on that as this story developing. but for now, back to you. >> much more on this story with bobwoodward on "morning joe." the president's budget was met with skepticism from democrats but also inside his own party. paul ryan welcomed the blueprint, but others cast do t doubt. the budget director tried to sell the plan tr the podium in the briefing room. the skinny blueprint, a as it's called, adds billions to defense spending but slashes everything. >> we had measuring first candidate. you have an america first president and shouldn't surprise anybody we have an american first budget. this is the message the

president wanted to send to the public, to the prs, to capitol hill. e he wants more. money for defense, more for border enforcement, vets, school choice and then to offset that money with savings elsewhere so all of that is done without an additional dollar add ed ed to deficit. he's going to spend less money overseas. there's a deliberate attempt to send a message to our allies and friends and adversaries in other countries. which is this is a hard power budget. this administration tends to change course. and that's a message that adversaries and allies should take note. >> senator john mccain said it was clear the budget can't pass the senate and even though the outline does add $54 billion for defense, that's not enough. bob corker said, quote, the fact is that until the president and congress are willing to address the real drivers of our debt it,

medicare and social security, we'll will complicit in shackling future generations with the financial burden of our own lack of discipline. . and the former chairman of the house appropriations committee said, quote, wile whef a a responsibility to reduce the federal deficit, i'm disappointed many of the reductions proposed in the president's skinny budget are draconian and counterproductive. many are speaking out against the budget saying the cuts would jeopardize services and undermine efforts to fight terrorism here. >> under the. president's proposal, all federal funding to the nypd would be eradicated. it is the cornerstone of effective preparedness and prevention against terrorist threats. >> officials say the cuts would cripple departments like the intelligence analyst program.

the mayor, who had been vocal in his criticism of the president, says new york is in the cross hairs of the president's cuts, which include $190 million in counterterrorism funding, $100 million for public schools, $150 million in cuts to public housing and cuts in infrastructure projects and even meals on wheels for seniors. a a lot more on the fight over the budget in washington. all of that on "morning joe" when congressman dave brath anden kevin brady join the conversation. president trump is vowing to fight the court orders blocking his revised travel ban. he's getting some legal advice from professor. stop talking. this after federal judges in hawaii and maryland used the president's own words to make their case that despite a change in language, the order still amounts to a ban based on religion. the judge in hawaii cited the

trump campaign saying, quote, there's nothing vail ed about this prs ve release that the president calls for shut down of muslims entering the united states. the judge also cited rudy giuliani's televised remarks that the president found a legal way to ban muslims. the l revise ued ban, is quote, same basic policy as the first order that was blocked. and then there were these remarks tr the president himself the other night. >> this is a warted down version of the first down. this is a watered down version. let me tell you something. i think we ought to go back to the first one and go all the way, which is what i wanted to do in the first place. >> that's just one more statement that president trump has made that will support the fact that really this supposedly neutral travel ban that's in his sb

executive order is a pretext to discriminate against people tr their religion. >> federal law i read out gives the president. the authority. this is what we argued in the first one. for a judge to talk about tweets or interpreting something that happened during the campaign trail is not in keeping with how they are supposed to interpret the law. we tailored that second executive order to comply with the judge's order. i think so to go back and say base ued on how the first order was conceived makes no sense. >> the justice department says it olympians to awe peel and may ask the court to let the ban take effect while the process plays out. the administration keeps pushing forward their plan for health care clearing the budget committee narrowly. but that came with defections from conservative members. three broke ranks. the president. 's plan won praise from the house speaker. . >> i got to tell you.

i am very pleased and very excited and it's something i haven't seen in a long time. this. president is getting deeply involved. . he's helping bridge gaps. he's making it easier to pass health care. the president, his involvement and engagement his listening and negotiating skills are bringing people together. >> but there are problems for republicans on the right and among some sent riss. the senator of maine says she will vote against the current version. and his group is making their own changes because there aren't enough to pass it. a massive fire breaking out in an apartment complex. firefighters arrive shortly after 10:00 p.m. to find the building in the heart of the city engulfed in flames.

people nearby had to be evacuated. you can check out this video from a facebook live stream extremely close to the flames. >> this is one of the biggest fires i have ever seen. not only in raleigh, but anywhere. >> luckily, no injuries have been reported yet. the red cross is on the ground with volunteers to help people displaced by the massive fire u. officials in new york have identified a boy who died after being buried in the snow on wednesday. his body was found by his parents after reportedly being told not to climb on a 15-foot snow pile on the family farm. officials blame the nor'easter

for six deaths. still ahead, a massive e eruption at italy's mount etna as molt b rocks rain down on tourists and journalists. the ncaa tournament tipped off. . we're looking at the first upsets and scares. those stories and a check on weather, when we come roigt back. kevin, meet your father.

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kevin trusted advice for life. kevin, how's your mom? life well planned. see what a raymond james financial advisor can do for you. tand, our adulte children are here. so, we save by using tide. which means we use less. three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. those are moms. anybody seen my pants? nothing cleans better. put those on dad! it's got to be tide.

welcome back. military official says an airstrike in syria killed several is suspected terrorists yesterday. the strike targeted one of the terror group's e meetings locationing locations.

a watch group says it does not know who conducted the atarks but monitoring are accuse accusing it was the united states. a military official tells nbc news that the u.s. was not responsible adding that although the mosque was 50 feet from the intended target, there's photographic evidence showing the mosque ts not hit and still standing a at the time of the u.s. strike. we are going to have more in the show. rex tillerson is in south korea as part of his trip through asia. he met with the foreign minister and freedprime minister and tra to the demilitarized zone. he's the most senior u.s. official to visit the site since president obama in 2012. they are open to proposals in dealing with north korea as long as they are meant to quell growing tensions. it comes after secretary

tillerson said days ago theffor of the past 20 years have failed. it was time for a different approach. north korea responded at a news conference tr its embassy yesterday saying the honous is on the u.s. to preen vent nuclear war. ten people were injured including two bbc journalists following a violent explosion. the volcano has been erupting for days. which can then explode. luckily none of the injuries are serious, but very scary vud owe there. a scientist injured says he suffered some brucises and is deserving a beer and after that it scary experience, he deserves that. >> imagine that hot lava falling all over the place. >> if you watch that whole

video, it's pretty terrifying. you have more bad news pr us. >> just a little more snow and cold. a snowstorm for areas in long island and. cape cod. remember how cold it was yesterday morning? e we warmed up in alabama and here in florida. still chilly by florida standards. 33 in jackson. so here's a little weak storm that's bringing light snow this morning through much of the great lakes. chicago could have some showers. here's the timing of everything. this is at 7:00 this it morning. still showing snow around green bay and a mix across areas of ohio. the roads should be warm enough there won't be any problems on the roads. so by 5:00 p.m. this evening, snow could be possible in the detroit it area. we tracked this to pennsylvania. . a little more snow tr you. just a coating. same for areas around binghamton. saturday evening, the storm tries to redevelop off the coast.

the roads should be warm enough that it will melt. we'll get some accumulations off the roadways. and then by noon sunday, it looks like areas towards cape cod could get a little snow. here's our snow forecast. this happens over areas of michigan. this maybe 3 inches through central pennsylvania. i told you there's a little sneaky stuff here. up here towards long island, that's where we could possibly get 3 to 5 inches. mostly slushy on the roads. that will be off the rods on top of the snow pack. we'll watch that as we go throughout your weekend. . the fravt for the rest of the day looks nice in some areas. denver, great. dallas is in the 80s. new orleans is finally warming up. we recover nicely in the southeast. it's the northeast and great lakes that's is a struggle. probably not until next weekend we really warm it up. >> i know the folks in sa vanna will be happy the weather looks pretty good. thank you for that. still ahead, a look at the

biggest bracket action. northwestern wins its first game. this is the story of green mountain coffee and fair trade, told in the time it takes to brew your cup. let's take a trip to la plata, colombia. this is boris calvo. that's pepe. boris doesn't just grow good coffee, boris grows mind-blowing coffee. and because we pay him a fair price, he improves his farm to grow even better coffee and invest in his community, which makes his neighbor, gustavo, happy. that's blanca. yup, pepe and blanca got together. things happen. all this for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. green mountain coffee. packed with goodness. you could start your search at the all-new carfax.com

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this morning. b vand ir built lead northwestern by one point with less than 20 seconds to play. they need to play defense now. but wait. fisher intentionally fouls sending him to the free-throw line. that mistake cost them the game as they are unable to score again. northwestern gets their first ever ncaa tournament victory. willie geist is not happy this morning. vand erbilt rallied from a 15-point defer sit. he called the move a a dumb mistake and explained though his team was trailing by a point instead of leading. a couple first upsets number 11 xavier rejuvenated after the end of their season take itting down b maryland. after scoring 3 points in the first half. xavier had gone hot.

they will meet florida state, which beat fgcu in saturday's second round. there was an upset yesterday afternoon. middle tennessee state favored against minnesota knocked off the number five gophers. the blue raiders will need to defeat butler to break swoo the sweet 16. we'll see if they can do that. a lot of brackets nearly busted as a few top seeded teams survive scares in the first round. virginia trailed by a 15 points against unc in the first half. but 24 points helped the c cavaliers to a 76-71 win. close one there. and on the eve of st. patrick's day, the luck of the irish for notre dame. a three-pointer settling on a tip in. 15 seconds to play there and then they would miss a

game-winner at the 3 second mark. the irish take it, 60-58 in a close match there advancing to west virginia, which after jumping out to a 15-point lead allowed the 13 seed to crawl back in. but then mount nears would hang on for the win. perhaps the most painful moment so far is a bucknell inbound face right to the face. e he returned after a brief stint to gather himself on the sideline. that looked like that hurt. let's switch gears here out of the spring training. don mattingly takes motivating his team allowing a man wielding a sledge hammer to smash a cinder block resting ob his chest. he's unscathed. that was pretty wild. finally an unintended hazard on

the links yesterday. takes matters in it his own hands nulking the gator back into the drink. i wonder. it he gets extra pay for that one. >> can we talk about how calm he was as he walks up to that alligator. >> that's it. still ahead, the speaker of the house, the intelligence senate chairman and ranking democrat all agree there was no wiretap on president trump. plus white house budget chief tries to defend proposed cuts to programs like meals on wheels. not without facing criticism from the president's long-time loyalists. all that when we come right back. the more... powerful you'll think they are. it's time to see what power really looks like. new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair with accelerated retinol sa. clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in just one week.

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welcome back. kasie hunt joins us from washington, d.c. lewis and here at 30 rock. it's the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's. top stories. "time" magazines last two persons of the year are meeting for the first time. angela merkel's meeting with president trump was set for tuesday, but ended up being postponed because of the storm. it comes ahead of the german elections in september. you may remember when candidate trump blasted the chancellor on the campaign trail accusing her of ruining germany. she's also criticized the policies, notably his travel ban. the federal judge who blocked the president's original

order has denied a request to apply that hold to the second revised ban. washington and several other states asked for an automatic extension arguing that the two orders are essentially the same, but the judge will issue a new ruling. the president's revised order has been blocked by federal judges in hawaii and maryland. the administration says it intends to appeal. this it morning the white house is standing by president trump's claim is of being wiretapped by president obama despite leaders saying there's no such evidence. in a joint statement, the top republican on the committee rebuked the president's claim writing based on the information available to us, there are no indications there was the subject of surveillance by any element either before or after election day 2016. here's how paul ryan described it. >> in the broadest sense of the definition, is there any evidence to back up the

president's claim at this point? >> i don't know what else you want me to add to this, chuck. i said this for a few days now. the chairman and the ranking members on both committees have not seen any evidence. i have seen no evidence of wiretapping, as you say or a court order. i have nothing else to add. >> president trump made aen comment about the cia being hacked during the obama administration. now the top democrat cans on the intel committee is suggesting that the president disclosed classified information in that statement. any separate statement in it his effort to blame obama, the president appears to have discussed shotgun that if true and accurate would otherwise be considered classified information. the white house isn't backing down. during yesterday's press briefing, sean spiceren spent b seven minutes reading through a

list of reports having to do with the president. he sparred with the president's claim. >> the president has been very clear when he talked about this last night, we talked about wiretapping, hen meant surveillance and there have been incidents that have occurred. >> are you saying that the president still stands by his allegations that president obama ordered wiretapping or surveillance of trump tower despite the fact that the senate intelligence committee say they see no indication it happened. does the president standby it? >> you're mischaracterizing what happened today. he was clear about this last night. he said he meant it. it was very broad. so that's what he meant by the use of the term. >> was it phone tapping? >> it was surveillance. >> the house intelligence committee will begin holding public hearings on monday. james comey is expected to testify.

lawmakers say he will be questioned about the president's wiretap claim. and chuck todd asked about the president's wiretapping claims and whether the american people can trust the president's words since no evidence has been found so far. >> he's got to sell the country on a health care plan. sell the country on a budget that's going to polarize the two political parties. if he's not credible on this, how is he going to be credible selling thesen important proposals to you. >> i'll say what i have say for months now. it's going to be an unconventional presidency. twitter and facebook and all these things, as americans, we haven't processed this new system we have. >> it's going to be an unconventional presidency. i'm not going to defend every

tweet. i'm here in congress focusing on my job trying to get thing its done. >> your advice simply is ignore him at sol point? >>. >> yao you're putting words in my mouth. i don't really have anything more else to add. >> i find twitter confusing myself as well. now back to the president's controversial budget blueprint. the omb director faced tough questions throughout the day about the deepest cuts including the budgets that fund foreign aid, the national institutes of health and programs like the national endowment for the arts, meals on wheels and after school programs. >>en don't get me wrong. there's waste in the defense department as well. they have tasked to work on the defense department. one of the questions we asked is can we continue to ask a coal miner in west virginia to pay for these programs. the answer was no.

we can ask them to pay for defense, but we can't ask them to pay for the corporation for public broadcasting. >> as you know, or i think you know, meals on wheels is not a federal program. we spend $150 billion since the 1970s. they have been identified as programs since the first or second administration as ones not showing any results. ween can't do that anymore. we can't spend money on programs just because they sound good. meals on wheels sounds great. ween can't can defend that anymore. we're $20 trillion in debt. we're going to spend a lot of money, but not on programs that cannot show that they deliver the promises that we have made to people. >> there's a program called the shine that's in pennsylvania. rural counties l of pennsylvania that provides after school

educational programs for individuals in those areas. which so happens to be the state that propelled president trump to the white house. i'm curious what you say to those americans in a community they tell me 800 individuals will no longer be provided the educational care they need. >> let's talk about after school programs generally. they are supposed to be educational programs. that's what they are supposed to do. help kids who dent get fed at home so they do better in school. guess what. there's no evidence they are actually doing that. there's no evidence they are helping results. which we wh we said we're going to spnd the after school patrol, they are going to help them do better in school and get better jobs. >> even some of the president's loyalists had a difficult time agreeing with some of these cuts. >> my mor in law prior to her passing on, she had meals on wheels at her apartment five days a week. it's notten serve days a week.

they bring that extra meal for on the weekends and it was her way to know she was safe. she lived alone. this is the president's budget. . i'm not sure where the details came from, but i can pretty mush assure america the congressional budget. when we get sbo appropriations, meals on wheels is a wonderful program. it is one i would never vote to cut even one dollar. >> they received 35% of their total funding through the federal government. and the chief medical officer for medicaid tweeted out a study reporting that home delivered meals improved diet quality and reduced food inu security. at the same time, the trump administration keeps pushing forward with their plan for health care, which cleared the committee yesterday, barely. three conservatives defected breaking ranks to vote against the plan. but with behind the scenes questions swirling about how

committed president trump is to the plan, the house speaker insisted republicans are all on the same page. >> i am very pleased and very excited and i got to tell you it's something i haven't seen in a long time. this president is getting deeply involve involved. he's helping bridge gaps. he's making it easier and better for us to pass health care. the president, his involvement ask his engagement, his listening and negotiate iing sks are bringing people together. >> problems persist for republicans on their right plank and with centrists. mark med e does, chir of the freedom caucus, says his group is making their own changes because he says there aren't the votes to pass the bill. let's turn to business where mcdonald's has become a trending topic on twitter. it comes after a tweet about president trump was posted from

the company's account. nancy joins us live. it seems like the account was compromised in some way. >> that's rugt. mcdonald's moved quickly to remove this tweet that took aim at president trump. a spokesman said based on their investigation, we have determined that our twitter account was hacked by an external source. we apologize for this tweet sent through. that original tweet targeted specifically towards the donald trump handle saying you are a disgusting use of a president and would love to have barack obama back. also you have tiny hands. you can see why they moved very quickly to try to clear up this confusion. making everyone sure they knew it was an external hack. and elsewhere keep an eye on aerospace sector because shares of airbus are trend iing lower

after they opened a corruption investigation into airbus chrks is a top rival of boeing. now the aerospace giant says the probe centered on fraudulent practices related to selling planes. we'll watch movement in the shares this afternoon. and finally in a case that sounds like deja vu. goldman sachs is going on a buying binge for dlin b kwent mortgages. a recent report from "the wall street journal" says that goldman sachs has become the largest buyer of dlelinquent hoe loans. this is a result of a settlement that was reached with federal authorities. and the agencies, as a result of this deal, they were had to buy and go ahead in part of this deal to provide u $1.8 billion in home relief. that headline will certainly grab attention on wall street. >> nancy, thank you.

thank you for bringing us back to the housing crisis. another day, another report on michael flynn's ties to foreign interest. i'm sure you can guess which country it involves. yep, russia. bill karins with your st. patrick's day forecast. we're back in a moment. i had frequent heartburn, but my doctor recommended...

...prilosec otc 7 years ago, 5 years ago, last week. just 1 pill each morning, 24 hours and zero heartburn. it's been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10... ...straight years, and it's still recommended today. use as directed. welcome back. the house committee investigating moouk l flynn revealed that flynn was paid $65,000 by companies linked to russia in 2015 two months before he became a formal adviser to president trump's campaign. according to a letter released, the fees were for speaking engagements that came before he was a official adviser to trump's campaign.

the companies that paid flynn include d the russian government's seven-day forecast channel. involving russian officials at the u.n. and an american branch of a cyber security if you remember believed to have ties to the intelligence services. he became an official adviser in trump's campaign in 2016. he resigned after just 24 days as national security adviser after failing to tell white house officials that he had contact with the russian ambassador. turning to developments in a scandal rocking usa gymnastics. the president of the organization resigned yesterday amid-the controversy surrounding a team doctor who was accused of sexually assaulting athletes including one olympian. there are new questions surrounding the university where the doctor was on staff and where they handled similar allegations against him. stephanie gosk has more on this nbc news exclusive. >> reporter: back in 2014, dr.

larry naser was the head doctor for usa gymnastics when a student went to school officials with a troubling story. >> i felt so violated. >> reporter: the incident took place during an appointment with dr. naser for her hip and back pain. >> e he started to actually insert his fingers. that's when i pushed him off me. i told him to stop. >> did he have gloves on? >> no. >> did he tell you he was about to do that? >> no. >> she immediately reported the incident to officials. . the university suspended him and conducted an investigation. nbc news obtained the report. the conclusion, we cannot find the conduct was of a sexual nature. the procedure was medically appropriate. the report reveals that msu interviewed three physicians and a trainer. all of whom worked for the university and knew naster personally including one who said they were very good friends. all four were women who said

they have used the same technique for pain, but never under clothes and always with gloves. police conducted its own investigation. the prosecutor decided not to press charges. amanda was shocked. >> i knew that what he was doing to me was sexual. >> reporter: nast sar stayed on the job two more years. amidst new allegations from former patient, he was fired. lindsey was his patient for three years when she was a teen. he believes what nassar called treatment was sexual assault over hundreds of sessions. >> around 500 or more. >> reporter: she says the school seemed to be more concerned about keeping a lid on the allegations against dr. nassar than offering her team it support. some other members of the team were his patients. >> never were we asked do you feel you're a victim or need to talk to somebody these are the

people you can talk to. >> reporter: she and two others tell nbc news the head coach and director of athletic communications told the entire team not to talk to the immediamedia. the university declined a request tr an interview citing the ongoing investigation, but in a statement, michigan state said we have consistently and repeatedly tried to get information to the msu community pointing to media interviews, web postings and a letter from the msu president, which was isn't nearly four months after nassar was fired. >> as you hear details after what people allege he did, what affect does that have on you? >> i have to think about it all the time. i have to think about the fact that i knew it was wrong. and i came forward. i stood up for myself. i was silenced. >> reporter: lawyers have said his techniques were medically accepted and appropriate and

called the allegations against him false and untrue. more than 80 women have already come forward alleging assault. the michigan attorney general say they keep getting call cans. stephanie gosk, nbc news. let's turn over seas. an airstrike killed 42 people feet from where u.s. strike killed several suspected terrorists. however, a senior military official says they were not responsible for that attack. joining us is ali aruzi, great to have you with us. . syrian civilians still paying a high price. >> that's right. 30 people were killed yesterday after suicide bombers struck the syrian capital of damascus on the 6th anniversary of a bloody war that's showing no signs of e baiting. e today was another violent day in syria.

42 people mostly civilians were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in northern syria. the raud was carried out by unidentified planes in the province of aleppo. forces kuked an airstrike killing several terrorists but didn't strike a mosque. they struck a meeting of al qaeda. a spokesman said the mosque which is 30 to 40 feet away was not targeted and was still standing after the airstrike and their intended target was destroyed. the observatory and witnesses at the scene say it was hit during prayer time. they are looking into the possibility of civilians injured or killed in this strike where the building took place, but a mosque was not hit. >> live for us in london, how complicated that remains, thank

you. we're back in a moment with the forecast. stay with us. can i get some help. watch his head. ♪ i'm so happy. ♪ whatever they went through, they went through together. welcome guys. life well planned. see what a raymond james financial advisor can do for you. it helps put some distance.. between you and temptation. clinically proven to help reduce hunger between meals. from metamucil, the #1 doctor recommended brand.

welcome back. a lot of places in new york the snow is gone, but not in times square. a massive pile of dirty snow there. let's bring in meteorologist bill karins, who is wearing his green for st. patrick's day. >> there's some good news. not a lot. we are watching another cold morning in the east. over the weekend, chilly and no big warm-up. rain and snow this morning. chicago has had some rain and

snow showers too. so here's the snow forecast for this little area today. areas through the great lakes, detroit a little snow this afternoon. only 1 or 2 inches. we move in through new england. come saturday the storm redevelops and throws back a little moisture. you do have the potential for a couple inches of snow. the grassy surfaces, also out here on cape cod. chicago, a a chance of showers. but it's hit and miss. savannah locks gorgeous. 52 degrees and that's going to melt the snow. over the weekend rksz not a lot of problem. i mentioned the snow there. middle of the country gets the big warm-up. 84 in dallas. 84 in oklahoma city. the southeast gets better too. it's going to be awhile for the northeast. another cold blast coming in the middle of next week. >> i don't know if that tie institute constitutes official

green. it looks like a florescent pistachio. i'm not even wearing green so you're doing better than me. coming up next on "morning joe," the trump administration is working on a lot. travel ban, health care overhaul, will any of this land. we'll talk to three republican congressmen who hold the keys to those answers. and later we'll talk to one of the people who oversaw the implementation of obamacare. sylvia burrwell joins the table live. "morning joe" is moments away.

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welcome back. before we toss it over to "morning joe," we want to get a check on the stories in the day ahead beginning with hallie jacks jackson. good morning. >> good morning to you. today a very busy morning a day for president trump here at the white house. he's meeting with german chancellor angela merkel. the two of them set to hold talks and what is expected to be a news making press conference. a lot to discuss with the president. particularly after his press secretary says he stands by. those claims that president

obama ordered trump tower to be wiretapped prior to the election. even with now top members of the senate intelligence committee saying they have seen no they have seen no indication that surveillance happened. we will have more from throughout the day. >> hallie jackson, thank you for that report. tom price meets with his old colleagues in the house to try to save the health care bill. >> that does it for us on this friday. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ does the president believe that former president barack obama committed a felony? >> i think the president's tweets speak for themselves. >> all right. explain this to me like i'm a 2-year-old. there is an element of this thing i cannot get through my thick head. >> nothing he is walking anything back or forgetting. >> are we clear? >> when i say wiretap those things ewords are in quote. >> huh? >> you have a