we only believe they're authentic. we can't prove it because they won't authenticate them. the question now that the senators are asking, will the epa own up to this process that they didn't want to discuss publicly? will they tell these senators what they are doing? even though they keep giving us the runaround. watch this space. condemning the chemical attack in syria. president trump is signaling a shift in the administration's approach to the war-torn country, saying this latest attack crossed many, many lines. plus, steve bannon ousted from the national security council. there are new reports this morning that he threatened to quit before the shakeup. severe weather whips through the south, leaving damage in several states. millions more at risk of strong storms this morning. good morning, everyone. it's thursday, april 6th. i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. president trump is facing

the first major test in his foreign policy. some of the following images are disturbing. nearly 100 people were reported killed including more than two dozen children following a suspected chemical attack on tuesday on the rebel-held city of idlib in syria. yesterday the president echoed the attack while continuing to shift blame to his predecessor. >> yesterday's chemical attack, a chemical attack that was so horrific, in syria against innocent people, including women, small children and even beautiful little babies, their deaths was an affront to humanity. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. the united states stands with

our allies across the globe to condemn this horrific attack. i think the obama administration had a great opportunity to sofl this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. and when he didn't cross that line after making the threat, i think that set us back a long ways. not only in syria, but in many other parts of the world. >> the president later moved on from the blame game while hinting at a change in his policy stance towards syria without getting into the details. >> i now have responsibility and i will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly. it crossed a lot of lines for me. when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal that people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line.

many, many lines. i will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me, big impact. i will tell you, it's already happened that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. >> as to whether his change and attitude will lead to action, president trump told "the new york times" yesterday, i never talk about what i do militarily. i've been complaining about that for years. in terms of syria, i just don't talk about it. people say, will you do something with syria? i just don't talk about it. meanwhile, president trump spoke with japanese prime minister shinzo abe yesterday to discuss the other ongoing foreign policy crisis, north korea's nuclear threat and their most recent missile launch. the president emphasized support for u.s. and japan in south korea adding the united states will, quote, to continue to strengthen its ability to deter its south and allies with full range of military capabilities. prime minister abe also said the president reiterated that his administration's position that all options are on the table in

dealing with the ongoing threat. the united states has already sent the missile defense system to south korea despite objections of the dpr's main ally, china. last night vice president mike pence spoke of china's role in solving the escalation on the peninsula. >> i know president trump is very much looking forward to welcoming president xi to the southern white house this weekend. i think they are looking forward to a productive discussion on our economic relationship, but our expectation is that north korea will also be a part of that conversation. and as the president said this weekend, if china won't deal with north korea, we will. >> as you just heard there, vice president mike pence saying north korea's missile launch will be one of the main topics of conversation when president trump we will comes china's president xi jinping. ahead of that meeting at the

president's mar-a-lago resort in florida, president trump previewed his face-to-face with president xi at the white house yesterday. >> as you know, i'll be meeting with the president of china very soon in florida. and that's another responsibility we have and that's called the country of north korea. we have a big problem. we have somebody that is not doing the right thing. and that's going to be my responsibility. >> well, the president has described it as maybe a difficult meeting, but our expectation is that both of those leaders are going to have an opportunity to get to know one another, an opportunity to sit down, find in president trump is a strong leader. will put america first. and is going to be willing to talk about the hard things. i think the fact that we lose $500 billion a year in a trade deficit to china that we see

manufacturing leaving this country and going to china, the fact we see china constructing bases in the south china sea far beyond, well into international waters and other areas, i'm sure will all be topics. >> the president's top aide, steve bannon, has lost his seat on the national security council only weeks after his appointment. it comes as president trump made remark says with susan rice, alleging she may have made claims. >> reporter: the president's inner circle in a single file line with notable exception, chief strategist steve bannon, who's been at every other press conference so far. a source familiar with the decision says bannon was working on health care instead but his conspicuous no-show came hours after he was ousted from the national security council. >> steve bannon first raised eyebrows when he was on the national security council. it's hard to tell if he's losing

influence but clearly been diminished. >> this is just a natural evolution to ensure the national security council is organized in a way that best serves the president. >> reporter: the move winning bipartisan support. >> i'd be very pleased that he's not on the national security council. my hope is that he would have no role in government at all. >> reporter: that's not happening. while bannon is not on the nsc, he can still attend meetings and still has one of the highest security clearances in the west wing. a top white house official says bannon was originally put on the committee as a check against michael flynn, the now dismissed national security adviser. bannon's goal, originally sources say, to break down the obama-era structure inside that national security team led at the time by susan rice. she's in the president's cross-hairs now as he accuses rice, with no evidence, of committing a crime by requesting the names of people connected to the trump team be unmasked. >> there is simply nothing

wrong, unexpected, illegal about doing that. what would be wrong and illegal is if that -- is if they took that name and e-mailed it to the press. >> i leaked nothing to nobody. >> reporter: the president y yetting unsubstantiated surveillance claim saying, quote, it's one of the big stories of our time. president trump says he'll elaborate on his claim at the right time. susan rice is declining on what a spokesperson describes as a ludicrous charge. joining us from washington capitol hill reporter for "the hill," molly hooper. good morning. we all remember steve bannon's appointment to the national security council got criticism because of his extremely partisan nature with politics up. heard the geooperative say he thinks he's been demoted.

what does that mean? >> it means folks on capitol hill, especially the defense hawks like senate armed services committee john mccain, are probably jumping for joy. i actually did talk to a few house members on the armed services committee, republicans, who said, you know, this is -- this is probably the best time for this to happen given what's going on with susan rice who's seen as somebody -- who was the press set sore to current nsa mcmaster. she's seen as being political and this is not a political job. especially given what's going on in the world right now with north korea, we have syria. so, steve bannon has taken a couple hits recently in big policy items that have failed under his strategy. >> speaking of those policy hits that steve bannon has taken, "the new york times" was reporting that, in fact, bannon threatened to resign because of this change. so, i'm curious to get your thoughts.

do you think in some way this reflects a power change inside the administration itself, shifting away from one individual to, let's say, like jared kushner is taking on more responsibility? >> listen, that could be. however, keep in mind, he threatened to resign but he's still there. this is something that's not worked very well with capitol hill, this all or nothing approach, especially going back to the health care vote. basically, steve bannon was the one who trudged up to capitol hill late night the night before the house is going to vote and basically said, take it or leave it. you know what, the republicans did take the bluff and they left it. so, in that case, again, i think it has to do with his ability to be effective on capitol hill and move a legislative agenda forward, even one that requires the national security element in dealing with the hot spots around the world. >> molly hooper, great to have you with us. thanks for your insights. house of representatives

will leave a two-week recess without having reached a deal on health care. so far those talks have failed to move the effort forward. party leaders say progress is being made, they're also dialing back expectations of reaching an agreement before going on break. >> clearly a few weeks back congress wasn't quite ready to take the first step to begin the end of obamacare. conversations have continued since then. i think we've made good progress and i've seen good faith on all sides. the president and i are encouraged. not that it will get done in any particular period of time but that it's going to get done. >> obviously it takes time, especially as we take on something as huge and massive as health care. on that bill we're 90% of the way there. we can keep working this for weeks now. we don't have some artificial deadline in front of us. we have time to figure this out. >> when lawmakers return from recess, they'll face a crowded

agenda that includes passing a measure to prevent a government shutdown. the senate is set to make an historic change in voting rules that could alter the way the chamber does business in the future as republicans look to confirm supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. ahead of that rules change, senate democrats took to the chamber floor once again last night, protesting a final vote on gorsuch. it is set for tomorrow. but today senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is said to invoke the so-called nuclear oak to bypass the filibuster of gorsuch. that requires a number of procedural votes that is expected to take up to two hours to complete. that leaves time for a last-minute deal to get the 60 votes needed to avoid the use of that tactic. speaking with reporters yesterday, republican senator susan collins of maine said she's been working with democratic senator chris coons of delaware of drafting a bipartisan bill to bypass that.

senator coons discussed the failed process while discussing with msnbc yesterday. >> i reached out to many of my republican and democratic colleagues, i've had a number of meetings and conversations in recent days, trying to see if there was some agreement we could reach to move ahead with cloture on judge gorsuch and to have the next supreme court nominee be more of a consensus candidate where democrats could have some input on who would be nominated. ultimately, those efforts have been unsuccessful. this is not a good week for the senate. i am not optimistic here about the long-term path forward. but i have no regrets about opposing judge gorsuch. >> still ahead, at least nine reported tornadoes hit the south yesterday. this morning, at least 15 million people are at risk of isolated tornadoes. the severe weather is reeking havoc at the masters tournament in georgia. meteorologist bill karins will have a check on the forecast when we come back. kevin, meet your father.

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welcome back, everyone. strong storms have been battering the south, toppling trees and power lines. at least one powerful tornado touched down in rural georgia and elsewhere across the state. strong winds have damaged homes. the red cross is responding. as the system storm moved east, heavy rain caused flash flooding in columbia, south carolina. several downtown streets had to be closed off due to rushing water. those storms sent those home early from a practice round at augusta national yesterday. for the first time in masters' history, the par 3 contest was canceled. temperature this weekend are expected to make for the coldest temperatures in year. dustin johnson's freak back

injury, apparently falling down a flight of stairs, means a lot of uncertainty in the weekend ahead for the masters. let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, you say these storms could have been a lot worse but we're not out of the woods yet. >> not done with the severe weather outbreak but the fact we had a rare high-risk day and no fatalities reported is impressive and fantastic. let's get through the remainder and then we'll have a quieter weekend ahead. one tornado watch left here to orlando up to daytona beach. one strong storm heading off to the north that will move up to the north of orlando. also a severe weather storm warning for clearwater beach. new storms will regenerate late this morning into early this afternoon from washington, d.c., richmond to norfolk to eastern north carolina. that's the area most at risk. that's an enhanced risk. yesterday we were in the high risk. today we're somewhere in the middle so it will be more

scattered. wind damage is the greatest concern and the likelihood of any strong tornado is smaller than what we had yesterday. we also have to deal with the storm center over the top of the ohio valley. this is blue. this is snow this morning in michigan. there's cold air coming in on the backside of this. very ugly morning in chicago and areas like detroit and dlooef land. you will see snow also. in the northeast, our threat is hef rain here's the timing of it at 7:00 a.m. you can see the portions here of the heavy rain that will be scattered from new york to philadelphia to d.c. around noon today is when the worst of it goes to the washington, d.c. area. steady rains around southern new england. then by 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., the heaviest shifts to northern new england and there's the cold on the backside. that's snow in detroit coming 8:00 p.m. as far as the rain goes in the east, flood watch for 49 million people from philadelphia to boston, new york, including albany to buffalo because we've had a lot of rain lately, the ground is saturated and rivers.

1 to 2 inches of rainfall will cause flooding concerns in the northeast today. when we get all that -- the heavy rain and winds, we'll get the airport delays guaranteed today in the northeast corridor. >> boy, yesterday was a mess in atlanta. still ahead, the cavaliers claim the top spot in the east. and the new red sox ace s wi? we're like a basketball team here at ally. if a basketball team had over 7... i'm in. 7,000 players. our plays are a little unorthodox. but to beat the big boys, you need smarter ways to save people money. we know what you want from a financial company and we'll stop at... nothing to make sure you get it. one, two... and we mean nothing. ♪ ♪ hey julie, i know today's critic...need a sick day.. dads don't take sick days. dads take dayquil severe: the... ...non-drowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat, stuffy...

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conference showdown in boston turned into a beatdown by the kaf here's who dominated the celtics 114-91 last night. lebron james led cleveland with 46 points, the cavs take a one-game lead over boston for top spot in the east with four games remaining in the regular season. in phoenix with 46 points scored by steph curry, the best record in the nba for third consecutive season after dweegt the suns 120-111. in memphis, the thunder's russell westbrook was clutch against the grizzlies last night, tossing up the dagger with 14 seconds on the clock to extend okc's lead by four. another two free throws gets westbrook 45 points on the night and the thunder a 103-100 win against memphis. he also had ten assists and nine rebounds, one shy of the record-breaking triple-double. luckily he'll have a few more

shots to that. turning to major league baseball where a pair of figures are in the running to be the next owners of miami marlins. new york yankee captain derek jeter is interested in bidding on the team. he's reportedly backed by former wall street executive and former morgan stanley chief. reportedly two other groups are in contention, including one headed up by former florida governor jeb bush. as for last night's action on the diamond, let's start in boston. newly signed red sox ace chris sale lived up to his debut against pirates last night, striking out seven and allowing just three hits over seven scoreless innings. this game remains scoreless until the bottom of the 12th. >> high deep drive, left field. way back it goes. back, back, back. gone! >> leone with the first walkoff of his career, three-run homer over the green monster sending red sox home with a 3-0 win

against pittsburgh. to arlington, texas, indian's francisco squaunders the lead in the fifth inning after this throwing error to first base allows two runs to score for the rangers. >> so now the tying run is 90 feet away where a sac fly could knot it up. lindore drives it to deep right. good-bye! a grand slam. >> see ya later, knocking a grand slam to put the defending american league champs on top. indians hang on to win it 9-6. >> man, he crushed that one. >> so glad baseball is back. >> thank you. still ahead, president trump touts his plan for infrastructure, but will it go over well with members of his party? the president weighs in on accusation against fox news' host bill o'reilly. we have that and much more coming up. hey allergy muddlers

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xfini'll get my coat.ek is back. meaning you can catch up on all the moments you might have missed. you seriously can't tell the difference between a bird and a plane? like that time gwen and blake got a little too flirty. that's so inappropriate to talk about us hooking up. xfinity watchathon week ends april 9. the greatest collection of shows free with xfinity on demand. welcome back, everyone. i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. it's the bottom of the hour. let's start you off with the morning's top stories. chinese president xi jinping arrives at president trump's mar-a-lago's estate. the meeting between the world leaders is likely to be dominated by the north korean

nuclear crisis. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is expected to invoke the so-called nuclear option to get neil gorsuch past the democrats' filibuster. senate democrats took to the chamber floor once again last night, protesting tomorrow's final vote. after ten weeks, senior counselor to the president steve bannon has been removed from the national security council. the order issued tuesday and announced yesterday also restored the joint chiefs chairman and intelligence direct toert principals' committee and added energy sector, cia director and united nations ambassador as well putting them under h.r. mcmaster's control. a senior white house official said bannon only attended one meeting of the principal's committee and no longer needed as a check on michael flynn. in a statement, mr. bannon said

in a statement susan rice operationalized the nsc during the last administration i was put on to ensure that it was deoperationalized. general mcmaster has returned the it to its function. last night vice president pence said nothing is out of the ordinary. >> i think the president's action adding chairman of the joint chiefs, adding director of intelligence and moving a couple of our senior personnel off the national security council simply represents a very routine evolution of the national security team around the president. >>, so it's not a demotion for steef bannon? >> well, not for steve, not for tom. these are very highly valued members of this administration. >> in an oval office interview with the "new york times" yesterday, president trump suggested the obama administration national security adviser susan rice committed a crime despite providing no evidence that she did anything

illegal. reports this week suggested that rice asked to include the names of trump transition officials in intelligence reports before leaving office. requests that she and other officials have said were lawful. rice firmly denied leaking any information and claimed the pace of unmasking requests during the transition period were normal, noting they require the approval of career intelligence officials. early in trump's interview with the "times" yesterday the president abruptly changed the subject from the supreme court to say, quote, the susan rice thing is a massive story. a massive, massive story. as to what else could be learned, the president said, i think you'll see a lot. on whether he thinks other people will get ensnared in this and whether it extends to the previous administration, trump said, i think from the previous administration. when directly asked whether he thinks susan rice might have committed a crime, the president responded, do i think? yes, i think. however, trump said he would not provide more information or

answer whether he had intelligence indicating a crime or that others were, in fact, involved. a spokesperson for ambassador rice said, quote, i'm not going to dignify the president's ludicrous charge with a comment. the american people have a right to know if there was surveillance of any private citizen in this country. and the identity of those citizens was revealed. people ought to have a right to know why. the fact it involved our campaign and our transition, i think, is -- should be deeply troubling to anyone who cherishes civil liberties in this country. >> you believe there was a political motivation. do you believe there was reverse monitoring as has been suggested? >> martha, i would hesitate to speculate because those issues are so serious. >> have you seen any evidence or do you have any proof or knowledge of any crime committed by former national security adviser susan rice?

>> no, ma'am. the congress doesn't investigate crime. she's a witness that has relevant information that would be within our committee's jurisdiction. we'll want to talk to her. we don't investigate crime. greta, i -- i don't like it when anybody accuses other people of committing crimes. >> gowdy said he also disagreed with democratic congressman castro who said earlier this week that he, quote, wouldn't be surprised if some of president trump's associates end up in jail because of the russia investigation. also responding to president trump's accusations against susan rice is congressman adam schiff, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee, and the only member of congress other than republican chairman devin nunes, to see the documents in the alleged spying on trump transition officials. tweeting, quote, first potus slanders president obama. now susan rice. who's next? lousy way to run a business. much worse way to run a country. earlier in the day schiff called for information to be shared

with the intelligence committee writing, the scheme. white house only wanted to show chairman documents. then made accusations to distract. i want full intelligence committee to see documents. white house is resisting. we'll hear more from chairman schiff and also from glenn thrush, one. "new york times" reporters who conducted that interview with the president. they both join "morning joe" later this morning. the president's interview with the "new york times" was supposed to focus on infrastructure. the president said he was considering accelerating the $1 trillion legislation, though he offered few other details except to say, he did not do it first because infrastructure is so popular that i might to want use it for another bill, calling it popular with the democrats and pretty popular with the republicans. joining us now from washington, capitol hill reporter for "the hill." good to have you back again, molly. if president trump could find any common ground with democrats, some say it might be infrastructure but yesterday he said he might package that legislation with health care or tax reform.

that's certainly something going to alienate some democrats. no? >> that's true, it could alienate democrats but it could also bring along some republicans. here's why. because after earmarks were done away with in the john boehner era, it mate it very difficult for majority party leaders to help give their members sweeteners, one would say, to pass major legislation, especially like the health care reform bill. moving forward, infrastructure has oodles, oodles, oodles, oodles of sweeteners, so to speak. in fact, yesterday, about 45 members of the transportation committee republicans met behind closed doordz with elaine, transportation secretary and she said this could come up as early as may. according to participants, they were talking about the projects that need to be done in their districts, bridges that need to

be built, railroads that need to be fixed. so, you never know. this could actually help president trump spur along that health care reform and/or the tax reform bill. >> you know, the lawmakers head home for a couple weeks. they take a break. necessity take off later this morning some time. where does that leave this president's agenda, because he really needs a win? >> he does need a win. the house is going to be going home later this morning. the senate is still in session. they'll be here until friday evening. and at that time neil gorsuch should be confirmed to be the supreme court justice, filling the spot left vacant by antonin scalia. even though mitch mcconnell left to employ this so-called legislative nuclear option, at least the senate will go home and president trump will have a newly confirmed supreme court justice. >> molly hooper, thank you so much for that. still ahead, we're following major news from the business world this morning. pretty sweet deal coming from

the restaurant industry and an offer that the nation's police departments may not be able to pass. plus -- >> it shouldn't be in america that you can sexually harass women and then buy your way out of it because you're rich. if they continue to do this in the way that they have done, they need to go to jail. you know, the president's over there talking today about susan rice going to jail. they need to go to jail. >> the always outspoken congresswoman maxine waters reacts after donald trump rushes to bill o'reilly's defense. the latest on that story next. knock out your sinus symptoms with vicks sinex.

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and his decision not to run for president. the deal reportedly went into the seven figures and also including a second book from joe bideen and another book from his wife, jill. joe biden has previously written a book in 2007 called "promises to keep". president trump is defending fox news host bill o'reilly against accusations sexual harassment. o'reilly has been under fire since "the new york times" reported bill o'reilly or fox paid $5 million to women settling cases of inappropriate behavior by o'reilly. when asked about it yesterday, president trump told "the times," quote, he's a good person i know well. i don't think he should have settled. i don't think bill did anything wrong. this comes nine months after sexual harassment allegations forced out roger ailes.

here's presidential nominee donald trump back in july. >> finally, roger ailes, is he helping you? is he advising you? >> i don't want to comment but he's been a friend of mine for a long time. i can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, i know how much he's helped them. it's very sad. because he's a very good person. i've always found him to be a very, very good person. >> well, the justice department is already investigating if fox news failed to inform shareholders about the settlement. bill o'reilly denies the allegations and says he settled to, quote, put aside any controversies to spare my children. spotted leaving the building yesterday, rupp either murdoch asked if he's concerned about the bill o'reilly situation to which he responded, quote, not at all. let's turn to business and one of the biggest restaurant deals. panera is being combined with

carabue coffee and dunkin' donuts. this is just latest in a flurry of recent restaurant mergers. >> that's right. especially for j.a.b. holding who has been moving quickly to expand its portfolio in the united states, now gobbling up panera for $7.5 billion, the second largest deal in north america among restaurants over the last 20 years. let's give you a look at where it ranks because it falls number two behind burger king for tim hortons. shares of panera shot up. taser international, changing its name to axon, is giving away free body cameras to nearly every police officer in the united states who wants them. this is part of taser international's move to a broader software company, focusing on its cameras that

have the axon brand. that's why it's officially changing its name, hoping by giving these cameras away to police officers, they'll receive a full network effect. that's what the ceo told cnbc just yesterday. and finally, jeff bezos at amazon has big ambitions for space. he made an announcement yesterday in colorado talking about his investment in his company, blue origin. in fact, he has a crucial business plan here. he is going to be selling shares of amazon for about $1 billion a year in order to invest in blue other beg origin. he hopes the cost of space will come down to families can eventually travel to space. they want to take paying customers into space next year. >> elon musk better watch his back. thanks so much. one more business story for you. pepsi has pulled its controversial new ad after widespread criticism. the video features model kendall

jenner ditching a photo shoot to join a protest. it sparked an outcry on special media wi media. several moments stood out such as when jenner is filmed offering an officer a can of soda. they said it's too iconic to evans who was detained for approaching police at a louisiana demonstration. the video of a woman wearing a head scarf sparked disapproval for appropriate rating the image of a muslim woman. the youngest daughter of martin luther king jr. mocked the ad, posting a picture of her dad with the tweet, if only daddy would have known about the power of #pepsi. the company released a statement saying it was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding but also acknowledges it, quote, missed the mark and apologizes. >> any time companies weigh in

on social issues, it's a hit or miss. >> it's a miss. let's get a check of the weather with meteorologist bill karins. good morning to you. >> another busy travel day. it was a nightmare at atlanta hartford airport. thunderstorms for four straight hours. this is what it came down to. endless delays. today will be a catch-up day in southeast and, unfortunately, northeast. we'll be with scenes close to this. tornado watch has been trimmed a little bit. no longer including areas near tampa. a little sliver from orlando to volusia county. today couple additional storms from d.c., baltimore, maybe down to south carolina. the tornado warning 10 a.m. to 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. the rain will be moving into new england. this is snow back here in michigan. i mean, that's just cool around lansing.

they could get a couple inches of snow. winter weather advisories. flood watch as the ground is soggy. we had the snow melt, recent heavy rains, rivers running high. a flood watch for 49 million people. we're expecting about 1 to 2 inches of rain, maybe at worst a couple places could get 3 inches of snow. a couple places could get snowfall. lansing around 4 inches of snow. this area outside eerie to buffalo, that's 6 to 8 inches of snow. that's cruel. that's not nice heading into the weekend. >> we were hoping -- >> first part of april and still getting snow. still ahead, defiant new comments from syrian president bashar al assad this morning. >> it comes after president trump accused the syrian strongman of crossing many, many lines with that lethal chemical attack. the latest from nbc's richard engel. anything, text me. do you play? ♪ ♪

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in syria, nearly 100 people are reportedly dead including at least 25 children following a suspected chemical attack on tuesday. it happened in idlib. >> an attack president trump called heinous and an affront to humanity which cannot be tolerated. nbc's richard engel reports. >> reporter: a day after an alleged chemical president by syrian president bashar al assad's regime, the victims are still struggling to breathe, quivering uncontrollably. doctors say it's consistent with exposure to a nerve agent like

sarin gas. president trump said the images of the victims made a deep impression on him. >> a chemical attack that was so horrific in syria against innocent people including women, small children and even beautiful little babies, their deaths, was an affront to humanity. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. >>. >> reporter: it's a big reversal. days ago the administration seemed willing to and dat assad. a after blaming former president obama for not taking action after drawing a red line on chemical weapons, that, too. >> i now have responsibility and i will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly. >> reporter: but confronting

assad means challenging his biggest backer, russia, which offered a very different explanation for the victims, saying assad's troops bombed a terrorist chemical weapons depot, but video obtained by nbc news of what witnesses say is the impact site shows a crater in an open road, no depot nearby. at the un security council ambassador nikki haley made an emotional address. >> look at those pictures. how many more children have to die before russia cares? >> reporter: so will the president respond with military action? he left open that possibility. >> i'm not saying i'm doing anything one way or the other. >> reporter: but there are risks like syrian air defenses and possible russian resistance. >> our thanks to richard engel for that report. joining us from london, nbc's lucy cavanaugh. this is playing out at the international stage, even the united nations.

what's the reaction been like from other world powers? >> condemnation from across the globe. trump squares up to aside as the american president raises the threat of military action against syria. the british ambassador to the un saying this attack bears all the hallmarks of president bashar al assad's government. he said the uk has seen nothing that suggests any opposition groups have the sort of weapons that would be consistent with the symptoms seen in the victims, adding that only one air force has used such weapons in syria, and that is assad's air frors. the french foreign minister saying the syrian government should be prosecuted over its alleged use of chemical weapons. turkey's justice minister this morning confirming that chemical weapons were used, citing autopsy results conducted on three victims brought to turkey after the assault. doctors without borders say the

victims are showing exposure to chlorine gas and sarin gas, that's an agent banned under numerous treaties. the syrian government was supposed to have destroyed its stock miles more than three years ago in an attempt to stave off u.s. military action after a previous attack in 2013. the question is whether the tough talk will turn into real consequences for the assad government. >> that picture showing a man holding his twin girls killed in the attack. up next on "morning joe," we'll talk to congressman adam schiff plus adam kissinger saying he's ashamed so far. james sta vee tress, rich chart james sta vee tress, rich chart mcfall and richard stengel.

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diplomacy. nbc news's kristen welker has more from the white house. >> reporter: president trump begins his two-day summit with the president of china in mar-a-lago today. he's expected to press china's president over north korea's recent provocations including the missile test this week. the white house making it clear all options are on the table with north korea. certainly a very dramatic backdrop as that summit with china's president gets under way today, lewis? >> thanks to kristen welker. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is expected to invoking the nuclear option in the nomination of neil gorsuch. it will by pass the democrats' filibuster. final vote expected tomorrow. legendary astronaut john glenn will be laid to rest at arlington after dying in december at the age of 95. i'm alex witt alongside louis

burgdorf and ayman mohyeldin. "morning joe" starts right now. >> another humiliation came when president obama drew a red line in syria, and the whole world knew it meant absolutely nothing. >> the obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. >> north korea, like so many other things, is one more hillary clinton failure, barack obama failure. >> i inherited a mess, whether it's the middle east, whether it's north korea, whether it's so many other things. >> with that the world still waits to hear president trump's plan to deal with two major crises raging right now as he prepares for perhaps the most important meeting of his presidency today with the leader of china. joe, what did you make of the president's statement from the rose ga