comprehensive tax plan. tonight the world's foremost expert on what the president's tax plan might mean for the president's own personal tax, david cay johnston is going to be live on this network on "the "first look" is up next. a massive tax overhaul. the white house unveils a dramatic plan to lower rates and eliminate several breaks but some are still a mystery. with the threat of a shutdown looming, lawmakers. and what went wrong? united releases an internal review after the forceful removal of a passenger. now the company is revamping policies. good morning, it is thursday, april 27th. i'm alex witt alongside richard lui, louis burgdorf also in

studio. first off, new job approval numbers for president trump are in, receiving a 45% approval rating from registered voters in the fox news poll. 48% disapprove while 7% say they do not know. meanwhile, a new numbers from cnn/orc. they put trump at 44% approval among americans. 55% disapproval. a poll of americans from cbs news shows trump with a 41% job approval rating, 53% disapproving there. when asked what president trump and congress should do on health care in the cbs poll, 43% said to pass a bill while 53% said to move on to other issues. however, when you look at that, 77% of republicans favor doing something first on health care. as president trump nears his 100th day in office, the fox news poll finds that if the 2020 election were today, just 36% of registered voters would re-elect president trump.

55% would vote for somebody else. the white house has put out a one-page outline of tax reform with the goal of simplifying the code and reducing rates across the board. and it offers big cuts for businesses and some of the wealthiest americans. the lack of specifics in the proposal is leaving many of questions. nbc's peter alexander has this report. >> reporter: from the president and his team on taxes, an ambitious opening bid. >> we have a once in generation opportunity to do something really big. >> reporter: the white house outlining a sweeping across the board tax overhaul. >> under the trump plan, we will have a massive tax cut for businesses and massive tax reform. >> reporter: the headliner reducing the number of individual income tax brackets from seven to three. 10%, 25%, 35%. the administration dushling the standard deduction for individuals and married couples that would leave more money in people's pockets and make filing taxes easier.

>> we are going to eliminate on the personal side all tax deductions other than mortgage interest and charitable deductions. >> reporter: a boon for businesses, too, both large and small. slashing the corporate tax rate to 15%, a cut that would also extend a personal real estate empires, like mr. trump's. a special one-time tax to lure companies to reinvest money kept overseas back here at home. the elimination of tax breaks for special interests. the goal stimulating the goal. the specifics, still a mystery. >> we will be back here with very firm details. >> we're working on lots of details. >> we will let you know the specific details. >> reporter: a year ago candidate trump told nbc news he believes in raising taxes on the wealthy. >> i do, including myself. i do. >> will the president end up paying more or less taxes as a result of this plan? >> let me just comment. i can't comment on the president's tax situation since i don't have access to that. >> reporter: in 200 r5 the alternative minimum tax that the president now wants to kill cost

him $31 million. just one example how he could benefit. president trump deflecting questions about warnings his plan would blow a hole in the deficit. >> if you just say i can cut taxes without consequences, that's voodoo economics. this is a proposal incomplete at best. >> peter alexander, thank you for that. joining us on set, political reporter for axius jonathan swan. good morning to you. we have this white house plan. it's offering again ralgenerali like on specifics. >> trump could have gone two different directions. one extreme would have been full legislative and the other is this. literally one page, bullet points, some very inoffensive provisions. nobody thinks the 15% tax rate can fly. that seems like a trumpian gambit. nobody thinks anything close to that will happen.

that's trump throwing out an aggressive raise. people expect that to be 20 or 25 when it's all washed out. and, again, no pay-fors. so, the whole theme we keep getting from the trump administration is growth itself will pay for all of this. so, again, on the hill, to make this stuff permanent, it needs to be revenue neutral and people are wondering, how is that going to happen when you have none of these things to pay for it. >> there's this little thing called the deficit. >> talking about policy with variables and you were talking about the tax plan, there's also the health care, an amendment potentially here. a lot of variables they're throwing up at the wall, it appears, trying to get some progress here. you had some headlines over the overnight. >> yes. this is another example of the white house sort of sitting back, not getting too far into the details and actually, frankly, it's been a really different approach from the first time. leadership has largely stayed out of it. there's been skeptical all

along. paul ryan and have been skeptical. freedom caucus has led the charge. there's been the moderate engagement. the whip team when you talk to sources on the hill, they still don't have a good grasp of the moderates. there's not a good grasp of how many moderates will support this thing and that's why there's all this back and forth about could there be a vote this week, could it be next week? frankly, they just don't know how many people support this bill. they know the bloc of the freedom caucus do, but there's this huge unknown, which is the moderate group. >> they're not going to go guard until they actually do have those votes. thank you. coming up on "morning joe," congressman charlie dent, a member of the house appropriations committee will join the conversation. he was a key no vote on health care last time. with the threat of a government shutdown loom willing, house republicans have introduced a stopgap spending bill that will keep the government open just another week. that bill would give lawmakers until may 5th to strike a deal to keep the lights on through the end of september. top republicans in both chambers say lawmakers are close to a longer lasting agreement here.

in a statement senate appropriations committee chairmanned that cochran said substantial progress is being made but the short-term bill will give lawmakers time to complete negotiations. earlier in the day house speaker paul ryan told reporters lawmakers are getting down to the final details. >> we're getting really close. the administration, omb, along with appropriate operations are down to the last final things. i think we're making really good problem. >> one of the final sticking points in funding negotiations has been a dispute over obamacare subsidies. the white house making a concession to democrats yesterday saying it would continue paying affordable care act cost-sharing subsidies, easing some fears that the issue would hold up talks. lawmakers have until midnight friday to pass a bill and prevent a shutdown. president trump appears to be softening his stance over nafta, telling the leaders of mexico and canada that he won't pull out of the deal, at this point. the white house made this

surprise announcement last night just after officials said the president was considering drafting an executive order to scrap the deal. in a readout of calls between president trump, mexican president nieto and canadian prime minister trudeau, they said president trump agreed not to terminate nafta at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly according to their required internal procedures to benefit all three countries. the white house believes the end result will make all three countries stronger and better. the decision came days after the administration announced it would slap hefty tariffs on certain lumber being imported from canada. coming up on "morning joe," we'll hear from senators on both sides of the aisle on the president's decision over nafta. democrat ed markey, republican dan sullivan. they'll be joining the conversation. the white house hosted an all-senators briefing on north korea. that happened yesterday. multiple top officials held court including secretary of state rex tillerson and defense secretary james mattis.

nbc news has learned the president stopped by at the top of the briefing there for just a few minutes. without getting into specifics, several senators discussed the message. >> we were not presented with any specific military options and i wouldn't talk them if we were. it was a sobering briefing in which it was clear just how much thought and planning is going into preparing military options if called for. and a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as clear. >> they painted a sobering picture and it was a very useful briefing. and i was very impressed with the team of briefers. >> how was the briefing? >> it was fine. >> did you guys learn anything in there that you didn't know before or -- >> i didn't really. >> a joint readout from secretaries tillerson, mattis and dni dan coates said the administration's approach is to pressure pyongyang by tightening economic sanctions while pursuing diplomatic solutions with the united states' allies, adding the u.s. remains prepared

to defend ourselves and our allies. secretary tillerson is also set to speak at a u.n. security meeting on north korea tomorrow morning. just in this morning united airlines announced a new slew of guidelines for employees and company as a whole following that infamous incident following the forcible removal of dr. dao. in an internal review of what went wrong, the company once again apologized for the incident and for the company's initial response, calling it a defining moment from highlighting failures, including calling on law enforcement when security or safety issue did not exist, rebooking crew at the last minute, and not offering sufficient compensation or offering transportation to entice customers to willingly give up their seats. on the new policy front, changes include not requiring customers who are already on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily, ensuring crews are booked onto a flight at least an hour prior to departure, providing more training to agents and crew, reducing the amount of

overbooking, creating an automated system for asking volunteers to change travel plans. the system would gauge a customer's interest in giving up a seat ahead of time. and united will pay attentions who were bumped voluntarily up to $10,000 to travel later. that sounds nice. meanwhile, the senate commerce committee has gotten 199-page report from united and the chicago department of aviation. the committee's review is ongoing. nbc's lester holt sat down with an exclusive interview with united airlines' ceo oscar munoz. >> is the customer always right now? is that going to be the attitude? >> you know, saying -- never saying never and the customer's always right, it's difficult in our world. primarily, if we start with the basic premise and all our policies in how we fly, putting the customer at the center of this, i think the policies will sort of fan out and avoid issues like that. had we had in place what we rolled out today a couple of the items, the incident with dr. dao

would never have happened because we never would have called law enforcement to take somebody out of a seat they paid for and were just on their way home. >> you can catch more of lester's interview coming up on "today." a lot of big changes for united. >> rightfully so. you're in the industry, customer is always right. but he's right, people come in with attitudes -- >> there's two sides to every coin but they need to make a change. still ahead, major shakeups at espn. 100 employees got let go, including some significant household names. plus, severe weather causing problems across the country, including heavy rain and washed out roads. bill karins will have the forecast and what to expect this weekend coming up.

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♪ welcome back. in the wake of his latest legal blow over immigration policies,

president trump apparently weighing whether to break up the very court that ruled against him. in an interview with the washington examiner, the president revealed he's considering whether to disban the ninth circuit court of appeals just one day after a federal judge blocked his executive order to deny billions of dollars to so-called sanctuary cities. in that interview the president accused liberals of judge-shopping for a court that would strike down his order saying, quote, i mean, the language on the ban, it reads so easy that a reasonably good student in the first grade will fully understand it and they don't even mention the words in their rejection on the ban. earlier in the day, yesterday, the president fired off a series of tweets, slamming the court, including one that read, first the ninth circuit rules against the ban and now it hits again on sanctuary cities. both ridiculous rules. see you in the supreme court. an important clarification for you. tuesday's ruling on sanctuary cities did not come from the ninth circuit but, rather, a federal district court in san

francisco. if the white house appeals that ruling, it would then go to the ninth circuit. in february, the ninth circuit did reject mr. trump's push to reinstate his travel ban after several lower courts struck it down. the author of that washington examiner piece joins "morning joe" in a little bit. an arizona wildfire that blazed more than 20,000 acres doubled in size. it is barely under control. fire officials say the sawmill fire southeast of tucson charred more than 40,000 acres. highways have been shut down and about 200 residents have been forced to evacuate. officials believe the fire is man made but an investigation is under way. let's get a check on the weather with meteorologist bill karins. i think we have summer-like weather coming our way, yeah? >> some heading up the east coast today and eventually get to the northeast. yesterday we talked about moderate risk of severe storms. we thought we could eventually get tornadoes. i'm the happiest guy in the building telling you we have zero tornado damage.

no tornadoes were reported. 77 wind reports were reported and a lot of heavy rain. we did have a couple road washouts. one was in arkansas, a little small eroded this section of this highway. our little road, there it goes. can you see it collapse right there. it got washed out underneath it. this is more impressive. in montreal to our north here, look at this. that's going to take a long time to fix. the whole cliffside gave way. let's talk about what we'll deal with today. we have the warm-up. this is what alex was mentioning. it gets up to 85 today in washington, d.c. that will feel hot. we'll be about 97 in orlando today, near record. record heat in florida up into southern georgia. an ace isolated storm in atlanta. chilly in the great lakes. not a lot of bad weather to be found across the country today. let's fast forward to friday. new york city to 80 degrees. thunderstorms around st. louis. we get the classic clash of the air masses.

already we have an enhanced risk of severe weather on friday. not today. this is friday. 28 million people are at risk in the southern ohio valley back to arkansas into oklahoma. as we head into the weekend, this stormy pattern in this section of the country continues. we could have serious flooding concerns this weekend, missouri, oklahoma and arkansas. >> bill, keep keep an eye on that. one more story for you. the sports world is reacting to espn letting go of some 100 employees. many of whom are household names, including long-time nfl reporter ed werder, trent dilfer and "sportscenter" anchor jay crawford. they are looking to revamp the all-sports network which has seen a subscription. espn did not list those being let go. instead, many are sharing the news over social media, including baseball reporter jason stark and college basketball reporter dana o'neill. in a statement espn cited shows

like "sportscenter" with van pe pelt, they hope will propel the network in the future. van pelt mentioned it last night. >> this was a very difficult day in our neighborhood. people we care about, some of our neighbors who have been here a long time, lost their jobs. because of circumstances beyond their control, they will no longer be part of our block, our neighborhood, even as they remain our friends and always will be. they're folks who will bring with them great value to wherever it is they call home next. in the meantime, we'll miss our friends and remember them well. >> that was gracious. >> yeah. still ahead, yankees' outfielder aaron judge celebrates his birthday by crushing a home run and making an acrobatic catch. we have the video next in sports. the road can change in an instant.

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chicago. the wizards take a one-game lead after outlasting the hawks in the final minute of game five last night with a team high 27 points scored by bradley beal and another 20 from john wahle who put washington up by four with 47 seconds to play. the wizards' defense closed out atlanta for a 103-99 win there. turning to stanley cup hockey and a pair of western conference semifinal openers. anaheim the oilers blew a two-goal lead to the ducks before the end of a four-goal third period which included a second power-play goal and the game scored by la test. a pair in the period netted by adam larsen. they wrap up game one with a 5-3 win there. in st. louis after giving autopsy a 3-1 lead to predators, fiddler nets the decider with five minutes left in the third period to help them skate away with a victory over the blues in game one. to major league baseball and

some action out of the american league east. we'll start in baltimore. orioles hosting the rays in the second inning. >> smith waits on the 2-2 pitch. cobb is ready. check first. he delivers. it goes as fly ball out to left center. >> can't get it. flaherty to third. throw is going to come there and right through the runner. flaherty is going to try to go back to third. it hits him. and he'll score! over to third base, another run coming all the way around. throw's going to come to the plate. and the tag. not in time! >> that's a circus play if i've ever seen one. throwing errors make it a little league home run forsett smith. baltimore goes on to win it 5-4. in boston, a birthday bash for yankee outfielder aaron judge who slugged his two-run shot to put it up early on his 21st birthday last night. judge dazzled in the field as well, chasing a ball hit down the right field line into foul territory. judge goes tumbling into the

stands to come up with the catch. the yankees go on to beat the red sox 3-1. and i have little guest anchors helping me with sports this morning. look at these guys. they're knicks fans, right, guys? knicks and yankees and jets. >> jonathan and wyatt. who's jonathan? >> jonathan is right here. >> raise your hand. >> that's it. >> bring our kids to work day. >> we couldn't do it without them. >> close enough. >> we love them. still ahead, in his tax plan, donald trump is proposing lower rates for corporations and critics say his company could cash in. plus, conservative firebrand ann coulter backs out of her plans to speak at berkeley. how it sparked a larger debate on free speech. get two servings of veggies? v8 or a fancy juice store? ready, go! hi, juice universe? one large rutabaga, with eggplant...

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♪ welcome back, everyone. i'm alex witt. richard lui is in for ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf is in studio as well with us. we're starting you off with the morning's top stories. we're following a standoff in delaware between police and a suspect after a state trooper was shot and killed. authorities say the trooper was shot outside of a convenience store yesterday after approaching two men in a vehicle. one of the suspects was taken into custody. that second support remains barricaded inside a home right near the shooting scene where he has fired on officers trying to negotiate with them. and critics are slamming the trump administration's new crime victims office as

anti-immigrant. homeland security secretary john kelly unveiled the office yesterday. it is aimed at supporting victims of crimes committed solely by undocumented immigrants. the staff is made up of existing i.c.e. officers. critics say many of the services like the victims' hot line already exist. but secretary kelly says the victims in these cases are getting a voice of their own for the first time. attorney general jeff sessions is expected to address law enforcement officers in long island tomorrow, exactly one week after the justice department called the nypd soft on crime. we're told he will meet with federal, state and local law enforcement officers. no word if the attorney general will take new york city mayor bill de blasio's officer to, quote, look the officers in the eye and tell them they're soft on crime. the white house has put out a one-page tax reform. in what they are revealing of the plan so far, it reduces the tax brackets for personal incomes from seven to three.

10%, 25% and 35%. and while the brackets have not been defined as of yet, we know that the top income bracket will fall from 39.6% to 35%. there are also some rollbacks coming, repealing the estate tax and standard deductions are planned to double, letting married couples increase their deductions to $24,000 while it will preserve deductions for charitable giving, mortgage interest and retirement savings. it will eliminate most other deductions including for state and local taxes. a big one there. businesses would see a major reduction in the top marginal tax rate as well, dropping from 35% to 15%. while also bringing down the rate for small businesses hit by individual taxes known as pass-throughs or s-corporations. that goes from 39.6%. national economic council director gary cohn tauted the cuts as historic.

>> the president is going to seize this opportunity by leading the most significant tax reform legislation since 1986. and one of the biggest tax cuts in the american history. >> however, the lack of specifics in that proposal leave many questions out there. the one-page document the white house provided only contained about 230 words, including just seven numbers. the potential revenue loss to the federal government would be $3 to $7 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan committee for responsible federal budget. they stress there was not enough information to make a complete estimate. secretary of the treasury, steve mnuchin, said the impact on the deficit and national debt will be offset. >> as it relates to will it pay for itself, again, i think as we've said, we're working on lots of details as to this. we have over 100 people in the treasury that have been working on tax and scoring lots of different scenarios. this will pay for itself with

growth and with reduced -- reduction of different deductions and closing loopholes. >> as the white house has rolled back transparency measures like releasing visitor logs, yesterday the treasury secretary said, president trump will not be releasing his tax returns, as those in office have for decades. >> will the president release his tax returns so that -- >> the president has no intention. the president has released plenty of information and i think has given more financial disclosure than anybody else. i think the american population has plenty of information. >> president trump claims his lawyers advised him not to release his taxes due to an audit, though the irs says there was no regulation prohibiting someone under audit to release their returns. will a deal to overhaul health care policy in america appears closer than ever now. conservative members of the freedom caucus who opposed the last version came out in support of a new agreement. the new amendment is an attempt

to appease some conservatives by allowing states to get a waiver for regulations on insurance companies that protect patients like coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and so-called essential health benefits, which includes things like er visits and maternity care. states would have to show people with high health care costs will be covered either through a high-risk pool or federal cost-sharing program. >> if the amendment goes in as drafted i'll support it. the freedom caucus has taken an official position which means the vast majority of our members will support it as well. we think the bill is much better. it's not full repeal, i'll be honest, its not, but as good as we think we can and let's get it to the senate. >> the question is whether the tuesday group will be on board. being the liberal wing of the republican conference. if they are staying on board, then we could have a vote as soon as the house leadership wants to schedule it. >> and that is the question. whether rank and file republicans, in particular moderates, will fall in line?

politico reports some members of the moderate tuesday group are privately griping that tom mcarthur, who's negotiating the amendment, has done so without the wider group's blessing. others have reservations about the amendment itself. >> you've gone from yes to maybe? >> yes. >> i'm a no. >> do you still think it puts more pressure on the moderates to come along with this. >> i always vote my conscience and what's best for the district i serve. >> i was concerned about what was going to happen with seniors, allowing insurance companies to charge seniors fife times more than a young healthy person. wasn't addressed in any of these. the concerns i've had have not been addressed by the current proposals. >> are you a no now? >> i have not decided. i need a thorough explanation and analysis of how this works and how it continues -- or keeps our commitment to those with pre-existing conditions. >> i think the bill's gotten better, so if this is the final form we have, i certainly would

support it. >> one more note. politico reports republican leaders are moving to get rid of a provision that's irked many. as is, members of congress and their staffs would have their coverage under obamacare preserved white states could opt out. the new plan would strike that exemption. joining us on set, national political reporter for axius jonathan swan. you heard it said, it's as good as we can get. is there an appetite right now with republicans to find a way to get to yes? >> there is. but with a huge caveat. the appetite is in the leadership. it's not so much in the moderate group yet. i was texting last night with leadership sources. i would sort of characterize them as slightly pessimistic. they know that the moderates are furious about the process. they believe they weren't included, really. >> right. >> even though mcarthur was negotiating on behalf of the tuesday group, a bunch say, no, i wasn't represented. so, they're furious about the

process. however, if you're in leadership and this is what they say privately, you much rather have to convince the moderates heading into the final hours rather than the freedom caucus. it's better than the reverse. these are usually guys who want to be team players. they usually come around in the end after whining. so, they're more optistic than they would be if the holdouts were the freedom caucus. >> good point. >> you weren't only texting, you were also tweeting about one topic, nafta. there's a lot of talk about, yes, the president may have backed away from his threat to tear it up. >> well, i was -- before i came to new york, i was in the west wing sort of late afternoon yesterday meeting with an official. and got a bit of context on nafta. i mean, we should not take any of this stuff as vital. donald trump is very well known for putting out aggressive negotiating positions, retreating, throwing out a little bit more, coming back again. this is a work in progress. people inside commerce department and the white house are working on this.

i would not be surprised if donald trump is -- pushes back again aggressively and we see some more. >> is that the blueprint in the art of the deal? >> pretty much. >> entdz up somewhere in between, perhaps? jonathan swan, thank you. >> i appreciate it. thank you. let's turn to business for high-profile earnings reports including big tech bellwethers have wall street anticipating new market highs in the futures. they are factoring in factors like north korea. we're joined live from london. nancy, what do you have for us? >> well, investors certainly can't ignore the economic and geopolitical risks you just touched on but today it's all about tech earnings because we have big bellwethers reporting after the market closed today. that includes amazon and alphabet, the google parent company. both stocks have climbed double-digit percentages for the year. so, among the best performers. the hope is today if we get good news from tech earnings, you could see the nasdaq push record

highs once again because it slipped slightly off record levels yesterday. elsewhere, united out with a response that many have been waiting for when it comes to a change in passenger guidelines. the big headline on this one is that united airlines will now offer up to $10,000 for customers who are then asked to leave the flight for overbooked flights. this is a lot more than was offered on the flight in which dr. david dao was forced to leave. of course, the terrible images on the video that led to that pr disaster at that time passengers were only offered about $800. other changes will include an app to help with overbooking and different restrictions on exactly how many seats can be overbooked per flight. back to you. >> despite their new guidelines they're facing more bad press after a giant rabbit died under unexplained circumstances on a united flight. tell me about that. >> yes. a rather sad story for animal lovers out there but a very bizarre twist for this one. you have to imagine the united

pr department scratching their head over this. but a so-called continental giant rabbit, which is three feet long, sadly died on a flight coming from london's heathrow to chicago, where the owner who purchased the rabbit lives. this, of course, prompted united to take a review because it was said that in a veterinarian checkup a few hours before the flight that the rabbit was fit. united saying pets are part of our customers' families and their safety and well-being is of the utmost importance to us. look for any additional updates from that story sweeping social media. >> united airlines still in the trenches. nancy hunger ford live from london, thank you. remember that large blue tote you used to use shopping at ikea? that might have been a fashion-forward moment for you. the fashion designers have unveiled a blue leather bag similar to ikea's except this will cost you more than two grand. the makers at ikea were quick to

respond with an ad highlighting why their bag is the original one, most notably 99 cents. no response on whether the ikea blue tote was their mousse. it's hard to deny the similarity. >> yesterday you bring us the story of the $475 muddy jeans which i can do for free. now the dollar bag at ikea. everyone's got mad. >> 200 for the same price. still ahead, scientists are pushing back at a controversial new study that tries to rewrite human history. we'll have questions on that. plus -- >> women do need to remember that we need you to have our children. >> a new politically charged ad from heineken for getting it right. what kendall jenner and pepsi got wrong. what if technology

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welcome back, everyone. now to that controversial new study suggesting humans may have reached the americas much earlier than scientists initially thought. a 25-year study finds that a scattering of bones might mean that ancestral humans reached what is now north america 130,000 years ago instead of the widely believed range of about 15,000 years ago. uneithered bones in cal of an extinct were split open what is now near an interstate in san diego. researchers believe the bones were smashed by rocks by early humans. scientists say, not so fast. critics say a more likely conclusion is the bones were crushed by highway machinery. the author says they intend to keep digging for answers. get that, digging for answers? >> i got it. a new ad from heineken is going viral. heineken's ad is a social

experiment that randomly paired two people on opposite sides of the political spectrum to see if they can find common ground. take a look. >> feminism today is man-hating. >> i would describe myself as feminist 100%. ♪ >> i don't believe climate change exists. we're not taking enough action on climate change. >> i think it's about time these people got off their high horses and look for credible problems that actually exist. >> you can't -- you know, you're a man, be a man or you're a female, be a female. >> women do need to remember that we need you to have our children. >> could i be friends with says a woman's place is in the home? >> the pairs go off on their own for ice breakers. they work together to assemble what will eventually become a

bar and the conversation gets permanent. personal. >> describe what it's like to be you in five adjectives. >> frustrating. >> dedicated. >> opinionated. >> lucky. >> ambitious. >> offensive. >> solemn. >> i have ups and downs. >> strong. >> i want to say attacked, misunderstood. >> name three things we have in common. >> we're both male, we're both confident and both loudly spoken. >> we know each other better than people who have known each other for ten minutes should. >> you seem quite ambitious and positive. you've got a glow. your aura is pretty cool. >> the experiment continues with more bridge-building exercises until they eventually assemble the bar. ♪ >> here you are. >> each take a bottle and place it on its markings on the bar. >> attention, please now stand to watch a short film.

>> feminism today is definitely an excuse for man-hating. >> if someone said to me climate change is destroying the world, i would say that is total pifle. >> transgender, it is very odd. we're not to understand or see things like that. >> i am a daughter, a wife. i am transgender. >> you now have a choice. you may go or you can stay and discuss your differences over a beer. >> i'm only joking. >> you had me for a second. >> i'm having a drink. >> i'm having a drink. >> i'll discuss -- >> beer. >> yeah, beer and discuss. >> and that's that. the entire ad runs a little under 4:30. i think the authenticity of the ad is resonating with people. >> love the message of that ad. naets a long ad, though.

>> yeah, no kidding. >> echo chamber versus face-to-face. >> that was very cool. and good lesson there. still ahead for you, bill karins tracking a new storm that's threatening some 30 million 30 million people. >> is ann coulter speaking at berkeley or not? those stories and more next. if you've got a life, you gotta swiffer

wealth come back. after a wleng think back and forth, conservative author an colter says she will not be

speaking at university of california berkeley. last week she said she would speak on campus inspite of the university cited threats of violence. the university later reversed her decision after coulter vowed to show up regardless and even tried offering an alternative date. coulter said she was no longer speaking at berkeley after the conservative groups that invited her dropped her support for that event. she tweeted saying my sadness is greater than that, it's a dark day for free speech in america. it's spurred a larger debate on free speech with "new york times" jeremy peters calling it the rapidly aggressive effort to fight liberals on what was once the left's moral high ground over free speech on campus. >> let's get a check on your weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> a lot of people in the northeast want some of that warm

hair from the southeast. fog in southern new england into long island and new york city. by this afternoon the low clouds will break up and the warmth will return. yesterday talking about the possibility of a severe weather outbreak. happy to say the storms were weaker than expected. in arkansas we had minor problems. a lot of tree damage throughout the region. a lot of scenes like this from the ohio valley into the southeast. no injury, no fatalities and zero tornadoes. for today, the warm air sneaking up the coast. d.c. gets to 85 degrees. you went from cloudy and murky to summer in one day. florida exceptionally hot today. it could be 97 in orlando. the summer you usually get the sea breeze and it gets cooler. this is a dry heat. 97 in florida, 85 in d.c. 70 all the way up to the cleveland area will be nice. by friday we can have near record highs including savannah,

tampa, birmingham's mid 80s, shreveport. by saturday some of that sneaks all the way up the coast. d.c., 90 degrees is possible as we do it through saturday. a little heat heading up the coast this weekend. cooler on sunday. there is some nice weather coming. you've got to be patient. >> we've got time. coming up next on "morning joe," a new tax plan and a possible health care compromise. the white house is making progress on several key issues. but what about the budget? are leaders close to a deal to keep the government open past tomorrow? >> among our many guests, the founding member of the conservative freedom caucus congressman jim jordan. "morning joe" just moments away. e than my vacation. so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. they offer free cancellation, in case i decide to go from kid-friendly to kid-free. now i can start relaxing

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before we toss over to "morning joe," here are the stories in the day ahead. >> the house oversight committee set to hold a hearing on president trump's proposed border wall. that goal of the hearing will be to learn more about the economic and security benefits of the wall. >> speaking of president trump, let's head to the white house for a look at his day ahead with

nbc news' peter alexander. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. as he winds down his first 100 days, president trump expected to host the president of argentina and will sign another executive order, this one on veterans care. he and his team are trying to make a deal on taxes after announcing that massive tax overhaul, calling it the biggest tax cut in history, one that could offer significant relief for millions of americans, families, individuals and businesses, too. they're keeping a close eye on what's going on on the hill, hoping new support from the freedom caucus for the renewed effort to produce a health care plan might be enough to get this thing passed and produced a legislative win for the president. >> peter alexander from the white house north lawn. >> here is what the water cooler is going to be all about, the nfl draft set to kick off this evening in philadelphia. it's the first time the event is held in the city of brotherly love in more than 50 years. the cleveland browns are on the clock with the first pick in this year's draft. apparently the team has known for two weeks who that person is

going to be. i guess we have to wait a little bit. >> it's bring your kids to work day. kids all over the place here. >> the place is calling with kids. >> nice kids on top. >> that does it for us on this thursday. i'm alex witt alongside richard lui and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." i'm willie geist. joe and mika have the morning off. boy do we have a lot to tell you about this morning. president trump still not releasing his taxes, but he did release a tax plan for the rest of us, at least the he going of one. the promised cuts will be big, but no real details on how to pay for them. will the government will open to deal with it? with a saturday shutdown looming, congress looking to buy time before the lights go out in washington. new details on the revised push to reform health care. there may be daylight with the most conservative members now in congress. we'll talk to a couple of them. later, that unusual trip to the road trip