tuesday night. thank you for being here with us and good night from new york. rachel is still under the breaking overnight. at least 80 killed, more than 300 injured after a suicide bomb attack in kabul near the city's diplomatic district. new security concerns after reports president trump gave his personal phone number to the french president and other world leaders. new questions about jared kushner's russian connections, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser battling a wave of headlines he tried to set up a secret communications channel with russia. good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, may 31st. i am ayman mohyeldin alongside

yasmin vossoughian. we start overseas, a powerful blast left dozens dead, hundreds injured and massive damage after a car bomb exploded in the diplomatic district. afghan officials say at least 80 people killed, more than 300 others injured in kabul after a suicide car bomb detonated near the german embassy and other foreign offices. the blast so heavy, windows shattered in buildings more than a half mile away. more than 30 vehicles damaged or destroyed. the embassy is a 20 minute walk from the center of the explosion. no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast. back in the u.s., once more the world's attention on a tweet the president sent shortly after midnight. president trump sent this from his personal account, writing at 12:06:00 a.m., despite constant negative press, covfefe. that's a number one worldwide trending topic all night and still is this morning as you

wake up. it remained the last five hours. the post raises questions about who, if anyone, is monitoring one of the president's chief means of communication. "the wall street journal" reports they're meeting to discuss communication strategies. one major change was to have social media posts vetted by a team of lawyers to see if any need to be adjusted. the idea one of trump's advisers so that tweets don't go from the president's mind out to the universe. >> i think the president's tweet speaks clearly for itself. tweets do speak for themselves. the president was clear. there continues to be a literal interpretation of his tweet. the president's tweets stand for themselves. i think the president's tweet speaks for itself. i think the tweet speaks for itself. don't read too much into it. he stated the fact the tweet speaks for itself.

i'm moving on. i think what i said speaks for itself. >> more about risks president trump is taking in communications as new report reports he asked world leaders to by pass diplomatic protocol and call him on his cell phone. associated press reports trump has been handing his cell phone nuer to world leader urging them to cal him direcy on it. former and current u.s. officials tell associated press trump extended the offer to leaders of canada and mexico. officials say only the canadian prime minister has taken him up on it. neither the white house nor trudeau's office responded to requests for comment. report quotes a french official claims trump ex-changed numbers with macron when he spoke from his election. dooirg the transition, australian prime minister reached trump when he obtained his personal cell phone number through professional golfer greg norman. but concern of experts is world leader cell phones, including

the president's, are not secure, can easily be spied upon as angela merkel learned after revelations u.s. intercepted some of her cell phone calls during the obama administration. meanwhile, trump administration is speaking detente with merkel. this tweet about trade with germany deepened the chill after his trip to europe and the press secretary sought to clarify their relationship. take a listen. >> i think the relationship that the president has had with merkel he would describe as fairly unbelievable. they get along very well. he has a lot of respect for her. they continue to grow the bond they had during talks in the g7, he views not just germany but the rest of europe as an important american ally. >> how did he view her comments that she felt europe could no longer depend on the united states. >> respectfully, that's not what you said. since you misquote the clans lore, let me read what she said.

the time europe can rely solely on others is somewhat in the past. as i witnessed the past few days, europe must take its fate into its own hands. that's great. that's what the president called for, additional burden sharing. secretary general of nato said the president's calls are moving them in the right direction. the president getting results to see the individuals heed the call that he has so eloquently put out over the last several -- well over a year. when you look at the comments that the secretary general made, he recognizes that the president's rhetoric had extremely positive effect on strengthening of nato. >> yesterday merkel sought to cool tensions with washington still emphasizing europe had to take its destiny in its own hands. nbc news learned german intelligence told american counterparts it does not require help monitoring or safeguarding germany's upcoming election. senior u.s. intelligence official tells nbc news german

officials don't want any hint of u.s. involvement in any way, adding there isn't much trust in the trump administration when it comes to elections and the germans already have their own robust counter hacking, counter intelligence gathering network. in addition, angela merkel's main challenge in the election, martin schultz, told german broadcast broadcaster we have to make clear to the united states they're isolated. >> this while the white house has major shakeups. there could be more moves to come. west -- nbc's peter alexander has this report. >> reporter: the white house struggling to fend off questions about son-in-law jared kushner's contact with russia during the transition after a wave of headlines that aides can say blienld sided west wing staff. >> i'm not getting into it, your question presupposes facts not

confirmed. >> reporter: press secretary sean spicer didn't deny that they met in trump tower. the 36-year-old proposed setting up secret back channel communications with moscow using russian diplomatic facilities for the talks. >> i think that assumes a lot. i would say mr. kushner's attorney has said mr. kushner volunteered to share with congress what he knows about these meetings. >> not inappropriate for transition officials to begin to speak with foreign counter parts. what is unusual is for there to be preparation for a back channel outside the bounds of u.s. intelligence or diplomatic channels. also under scrutiny, whether kushner was looking for direct line to vladimir putin as reported by "new york times," a surge that connected him with gorkov, russian banker with ties to poout. the president defending trusted advisers saying jared is doing a great job for the country. the white house saying he was acting in capacity as a transition official. mr. trump again venting on

twitter. russian officials must be laughing at the u.s. and how a lame excuse for why the dems lost the election has taken over the fake news. that explanation echoed by putin a new interview, calling allegations much interference fiction, invented by trump's opponents to explain their loss. >> thank y to peter for that report. we learned former national security aiser michael flynn is expected to provide documents to the senate investigation of russia after all. he had previously declined. nbc news learned that the u.s. military started arming kurdish forces in syria. they consider the groups part of syrian democratic forces a key ally in the fight against isis an important player in the efforts to liberate raqqah, which they consider the capital. shipments of kurdish forces included equipment and weapons, declined to go into specifics. trump administration announced the plan earlier this month which did not sit well with nato

ally turkey which considers kurdish forces terrorists. staying overseas, anti-government protests continue on a daily basis in venezuela as the situation continues to escalate with no end in sight. protesters demanding maduro step down and pro-government forces disarm. the country started to use military tribunals. roughly 60 people killed so far in protests against maduro's government. mexico's foreign american sister proclaimed venezuela is no longer a functioning democracy and we're, quote, seeing authoritarian actions. later today, foreign ministers across the americas set to convene over the venezuela crisis. the police officer charged in the deadly shooting of a man in a traffic stop set to begin picking jurors. 50 prospective jurors sworn in

as the manslaughter trial got under way. attorneys have made two requests of the judge, seeking to have reference of his girlfriend and her facebook video of the shooting in which he refers to him being in possession of a gun with legal permit to carry. his lawyers argue his status to carry weapon is not relevant. they know he had a permit when he fired fatal shots. also want to look into whether he lied about marijuana use. ariana grande making good on promise to return to manchester following the terror attack at her concert that claimed the lives of 22 people. a benefit concert will be held sunday at old trafford cricket stadium. survivors of the attack will attend for free. tilk tickets go on sale thursday and go to the manchester emergency fund set up by manchester city

council and british red cross. still ahead. you've probably seen it by now, comedian kathy griffin says she went too far, posting a anti-trump version shoot. she's asking forgiveness. and details about tiger woods' dui arrest. those stories and a check of whether when we come back. stay with us. got it. rumor confirmed. they're playing. -what? -we gotta go. -where? -san francisco. -when? -friday. we gotta go.

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welcome back. comedian kathy griffin apologizing after posting a video of herself holding what appeared to look like president trump's bloody severed head. warning, you may find the image disturbing. sn internet reaction was immediate with criticism from the right and left. the tweet was delete so is this one in which she wrote obviously i do not condone any violence by fans or others to anyone ever. i merely was mocking the mocker in chief. she later posted this apology.

>> i made a lot of mitstakes in my career. i ask your forgiveness, taking down the image, ask the photographer to take down the image and i beg for your forgiveness, i went too far, i made a mistake and i was wrong. >> not surprise tg didn't sit well with donald junior, called it disgusting but not surprising. this is the left today. chelsea clinton weighed in tweeting this is vile and wrong, it is never funny to joke about killing a president. >> shocking image. president trump urging change to senate rules. in a tweet he wrote the senate should switch to 51 votes immediately, get health care and tax cuts approved fast and easy. dems would do it, no doubt. current rules require 60 votes to pass the senate. health care and tax reform are done under a strategy called reconciliation. it only takes 51 votes for the

senate to approve a bill. sean spicer expanded on the tweet yesterday. take a listen. >> i think the frustration he's had with the pace of some of the legislation, obstructionist tacti tactics democrats have been pulling whether cabinet nominees or other legislation is well documented. >> he wants to scrap the filibuster. >> he wants action. that's what he wants. >> mitch mcconnell said in the past legislative filibuster isn't going away. a spokesperson said senator mcconnell grease that health care and tax reform are essential, that's why republicans in congress are using the reconciliation process to prevent partisan filibuster of these two critical legislative agenda items. >> some are critical the president hasn't been able to advance his party's agenda on health care reform or tax reform, the white house is rolling back obama era regulations while divisions over

health care take center stage. "the washington post" reports republicans arrived at a secret strategy to block internet service providers to get consent before collecting and selling browser history. while the nation was distracted by the house pending vote to repeal obamacare, senate republicans would schedule a vote to wipe out new privacy protections. that was march 23rd. days later, the president signed more bills and regulations having to do with fair pay and safe workplaces, federal land management, school perfectance. according to usa today, they all went through the congressional review act to fast track regulations. before trump, the law used successfully only once in ilts 21 year history. switch gears, take a look at the weather, see what's happening today with nbc meteorologist bill karins. how is it looking? >> norv tmore of the same. yesterday it was two days in a row without the sun.

one guy in connecticut said only nine hours of sun in the last 56 hours. time for sunshine in the great lakes and northeast. locked into the clouds. there's fog. airports will have significant delays, especially around new york city with fog. then see storms this afternoon. not too much bad weather. here is scranton and upstate new york with some showers this morning. later today, the sun should come out long enough to spark stronger thunderstorms newburgh from hudson valley, detroit, manchester, through pittsfield and springfield. almost to worcester. tornado threat is very low. we could get damaging winds and hail with stronger storms. here's how the timing will look. beyond rain threat today, this is 6:00 a.m., these are showers i showed you. going through the afternoon, little dots are all thunderstorms on the map. mostly from hudson valley northward to northern new england. isolated showers around d.c., a few in jersey. the greatest concentration,

further north you are into new england. then by thursday finally a decent day. may be a quick passing shower. 90% of the day is sunny, dry. about time for a lot of people. there's great weather to be had today, if you're from chicago through areas of ohio, minneapolis, 75 and sunny. bottle it up. as nice as it gets. summer has taken hold of the south. we will get an afternoon storm in areas of louisiana, north of new orleans. thunderstorms, locally heavy rain, same for san antonio. a peek at tomorrow, i mention a nice day tomorrow. 80 and sunny in d.c., picture perfect, low humidity, too. there's a little silver lining to all of the gray clouds. >> saw 101 for phoenix, arizona. >> the heat is on out west, even the pacific northwest has been warm. >> if you can get a forecast for june, july, august.

>> i do the summer outlook in about 25 minutes. >> all right. still ahead. good team. washington nationals star bryce harper faces suspension for a bench clearing brawl. could he make the most of time off sitting by the pool? we'll explain in sports next. liberty mutual stood with us when a fire destroyed the living room. we were able to replace everything in it. liberty did what? liberty mutual paid to replace all of our property that was damaged. and we didn't have to touch our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. well, there goes my boat. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief.

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arrest early monday morning. he was found asleep buckled in the seat of his running vehicle on ajupiter, florida roadway. rding to a report, an officer saw two flat tires and needed to wake woods who spoke slow with slurred speech, admitted he did not know where he was. woods added that he takes several prescriptions, including painkiller vicodin. woods reportly blew triple zeros denied alcohol played a role in the incident, saying, quote, what happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. dash cam footage from the arrest expected to be released later today. turning to major league baseball following monday's melee in san francisco. the league doeld out a four game suspension to bryce harper and six game ban for pitcher hunter strickland. i still can't believe the video. both players elected to appeal.

the computer punch scoring system calculated stats. unfortunately no helmet throw opportunities for strickland in that bout. should harper be forced to take time off, he has plans courtesy of u.s. olympic swimming sensation katie la deck ee who used harper throwing out first pitch in august. if you end up suspended, come down to palo alto and hang out at the pool for a day. the jeb bush, derek jeter partnership purchasing the marlins no more. the former governor moved out. bush and jeter won auction to provide the team with $1.3 billion bid last month, but reports say investors didn't agree who would control the franchise. on the diamond in anaheim,

the angels pujols one swing away from history, three run shot to left field in the third inning of a 9-3 victory over atlanta. there are only 8 players with at least 600 career homers. congratulations to him. in arlington, texas, dickerson chases a pitch in the dirt, just fair into shallow left field. that ball bounces in front of the plate before it makes contact with his bat. not pretty but worked. the rangers beat the rays 9-5. all right. still ahead, the russian investigation grows as lawmakers turn their attention to president trump's long time ally and personal attorney michael cohen. more bombing in kabul's diplomatic district. a live report next. (vo) introducing

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welcome back. i am yasmin vossoughian with ayman mohyeldin. i want to start with today's morning top stories. following breaking news out of afghanistan this morning where at least 80 people are dead after a powerful car bomb exploded in the diplomatic district of the country's capital. officials saying more than 300 others hurt. we have a live report on the latest in a moment. anti-government protests continue in venezuela as the situation continues to escalate. protesters are demanding the president, nicolas maduro step

down. roughly 60 people have been killed in the protests against maduro's government. the white house look to go down play after the trip overseas. speaking yesterday, sean spicer described the relationship between the two as fairly unbelievable, adding they, quote, get along very well. merkel suggested that europe's relationship with the u.s. has shifted following the visit. the ties between russia and president trump's 2016 campaign appear to be expanding as the president's personal attorney michael cohen tells nbc news he will testify if subpoenaed to appear. cohen said he received requests for information from the senate and house intelligence committees, but wouldn't comply because the request was overly broad and not capable of being answered. adding he was waiting for a subpoena. quote, i have nothing to hide. cohen claims a does yar put

together by british spy that he took bought in democratic targets. meanwhile, asked bore is epstein to volunteer information. epstein left after two months in the white house, counsel says he is following up with the committee. and a source close to michael flynn says former national security adviser will provide some personal documents subpoenaed by the senate intelligence committee. flynn refused to cooperate with earlier subpoena invoking his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. this as the white house avoided the controversy about jared kushner's meetings with officials and russian state bank. >> i am wondering, sean, if you can tell us whether the president knew at the time that jared kushner was seeking to establish back channel communications at the russian embassy to the russian government, and if he didn't know at the time, when defind out? >> that assumes a lot. i would say mr. kushner's attorney said mr. kushner volunteered to share with

congress what he knows about the meetings, he will do the same if contacted and connected with any court. >> did the president discuss it. >> i am not getting into what the president did discuss. your question assumes facts that are not substantiated by anything but anonymous sources so far being leaked out. >> did he approve of action? >> you're asking if he approves of an action that is not a confirmed action. that said, i think secretary kelly, general mcmaster both discussed in general terms back channels are an appropriate part of diplomacy. >> tough job he has in the press room for sure. no secret that the white house and press had at times a combative relationship. yesterday, sean spicer pointed to a report that president trump elected not to wear translating device as example of fake news that undermines media credibility. >> friday, the president was having a great discussion at the g7. someone from the bbc and

ultimately incoming reporr from "new york times" retweeted that the president was being rude by disrespecting the italian prime minister. you all watched the president with one earpiece used by other presidents. yet the president did a great job at nato. building stronger bonds with the g7, increasing america's presence around the world. that's the thing that bbc and reporter that joined "new york times" push out and perfect pet ate with no apology. the reason the president is frustrated is because there's perpetuation of false n narratives, unnamed sources about things that are happening that don't ultimately happen and it is troubling. >> the reference was to a bbc reporter's tweet that claimed trump was not bothering to listen to translation of a speech retweeted over 20,000

times. later was corrected. trump's retweet based on a single anonymous source, refuting other reports about jared kushner's meeting with russian officials, just as he decreed "the washington post" kushner reporting use of officials. >> you said first of all the article was based on anonymous sources. >> which it is. >> the fox article the president retweeted was also based on anonymous sources. why are the sources they used more credible than ones in "the washington post" article? >> there's two issues at hand. one is the statement that jared's attorney provided. second is whether or not the dossier was largely discredited in the first place, most publications refused to publish it in the first place. again, i am not getting into confirming stuff, there's on-going investigation. overseas to the breaking news story we are following from afghanistan. at least 80 people dead, more

than 300 injured after a massive car bomb exploded in the diplomatic district of the capital of kabul. afghanistan ambassador to the united states was back in his home country, tells nbc news the explosion sent shock waves through kabul, felt like his house would collapse from a massive earthquake. most casualties are civilians. joining us from london, foreign correspondent matt bradley. what more can you tell us about the deadly attack. >> thanks, ayman. the target was obvious, hasn't been a claim of responsibility. the message devastating in clarity. enormous suicide bomb targeting foreign presence in afghanistan. suicide truck bomb hit the highly secure embassy district at the peek of rush hour, at the beginning of ramadan. it shattered windows as far as a mile away. as you mentioned, killed as many as 80 people, wounded hundreds more. those numbers are likely to

rise. according to media reports, the suicide bomber used a tanker truck loaded with septic tanks filled with explosives. and the bomber or bombers detonated this pay load close to german embassy which officials said was lightly damaged in the attack. the latest tragedy where american troops are fighting the taliban more than 15 years. now the u.s. led coalition is fighting an islamic state insurgency. there are relatively new ingredient in afghanistan's volatile mix. both militant groups claimed brutal attacks over the past few years as violence in the country has spiked. it is unclear whether either group is responsible for today's blast. attack of this size inside what's considered to be the most secure neighborhood where once again shakes the u.s. led coalition confidence in this already interm inable war. >> matt bradley in london. thank you.

the pentagon celebrating a victory of sorts following test of missile defense program and reengineered intercepter rocket. yesterday's simulation on the heels of north korea's missile launch and amid heightening tensions with pyongyang. richard engel has more on the test. >> reporter: the u.s. military practiced defending the united states from a north korean attack, firing missile killing intercepter. this is it, speeding over the pacific, on its way to its target. another missile the u.s. launched from marshall islands, aimed at the waters off san diego. if a north korean missile really was inbound, this had better hit it. the test comes just after the latest north korean missile launch supervised by a smiling kim jong-un. he already conducted nine missile tests this year, quoted as saying the u.s. has a bigger gift package coming. the u.s. is trying to show it

can deal with that threat. but firing the so-called ground based mid course defense system has risk. it has what can generously be described as mixed record, successful in nine of the last 17 attempts. was the first time it tried to shoot down an actual intercontinental ballistic missile, traveling 3 to 4 times the speed of sound. >> our tests will underline seriousness about stopping their program but i don't think it will stop their program. they will see it as yet another challenge to overcome. >> reporter: missile defense systems aren't only about defense. having one shows an enemy you can attack it first and not worry about retaliation, but only if it works. >> thank you to richard engel for that report. the man accused of fatally stabbing two people on light rail train in portland friday created a scene as he faced a judge the first time.

35-year-old jeremy christian appeared in court yesterday where he was arraigned on several charges, including murder. as he was being led in, christian began shouting free speech or die. you call it terrorism, i call it patriotism, among other things. one of the people stabbed in that rampage was in the courtroom to face his attacker after being released from the hospital monday. christian didn't enter a plea, is expected back in court next wednesday. lawyers in the trial of a minnesota police officer charged in a deadly shooting of a man during a traffic stop set to begin selecting jurors this morning. 50 prospective jurors were sworn in as the manslaughter trial got under way. meanwhile, attorneys made two requests to the judge, seeking to have reference by castille's girlfriend in her facebook video of his shooting in which he refers to being in possession of a gun with a legal permit to carry taken out. his lawyers argue his status to

carry a weapon is not relevant since he didn't know castille had a permit when he fired the fatal shots. the officer's legal team also wants to look at whether castille lied about alleged marijuana use. ahead, amazon's remarkable run on wall street, takes shares to new heights. the record breaking price it will cost to buy the company's stock and other stories driving business. and developing controversy out of china where three people have been arrested or disappeared after conducting investigation into a company making branded shoes. we will tell you about that next. look closely.

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current rules require 60 votes. tax reform done under a strategy known as reconciliation. under that, only takes 51 votes to approve a bill. white house press secretary sean spicer expanded on the president's tweet yesterday. >> i think the frustration he's had with the pace of some of the legislation and some of the obstructionist tactics democrats employed, whether his cabinet nominees. he wants to see action. john. that's what the president wants. >> and mitch mcconnell said in the past legislative filibuster isn't going away in response to the president's tweet. a spokesperson said senator mcconnell agrees that health care and tax reform are essential and that is why republicans in congress are using the reconciliation process to prevent a partisan filibuster of the two critical legislative agenda items. meanwhile, headlines in china create headaches for

ivanka trump and jared kushner. chuck grassly calling for investigation into a chinese company with property for a green card. earlier reported the company looking for investors to finance luxury project in new jersey. at the center of it, a complicated visa program. the program offers foreign investors chance at green card in exchange for $500,000 investment in a u.s. business. a spokesperson for a company involved says they're fully compliant. three labor activists have disappeared, not seen for days, investigating manufacturing process of a chinese company. that company works for ivanka trump. they work with china labor watch to publish report low pay, excessive overtime, misuse of

student labor. wife of one of the men tells nbc news she last talked to her husband saturday, hasn't heard from him since. claimed police said he was arrested for illegal surveillance. a spokesperson for ivanka trump brand declined to comment and spokesman for the company says they make 10,000 to 20,000 pairs of shoes for her brand. a fraction of the 20 million pairs the company produces each year. let's turn to business. there's a winner between share price between alphabet and amazon. amazon share price reached an all-time high in early trade yesterday. what does this mean. >> lewis, you're right. 33% of this year alone, five months paying $120 billion. analysts expect that trend to continue. they're not alone. competitors, apple, microsoft, facebook all doing very well.

these are large, large, large companies. amazon and facebook in a race to reach the other, microsoft, apple, facebook, being worth more than a half trillion. huge amounts of money. there was news involving a tech firm uber fired chief engineer for self driving technology division, hired him from google not long ago, there's now lawsuit between google and uber over potential trade theft. this is a man paid huge amount of money to develop the technology, both firms spending millions of dollars on this self driving technology. he is going to face potential charges, he refused to cooperate on the side of civil litigation. >> thanks so much. who isn't a fan of business lunch, when is the last time you went to lunch with your colleague. according to new study, americans made over 430 million

fewer trips to restaurants, 2% drop from 2015 to 2016. this resulting in more than $3 billion in lost business. 2% drop the lowest level of lunch traffic in four decades, workers opting for faster, healthier food from super markets through lunch delivery instead. restaurants filing for bankruptcy, others like ruby tuesday are also closing locations. >> i would be happy to go to lunch with you guys. every time i ask, you're going to the gym. just kidding. all right. still ahead. up on the roof. congressman on the offensive after democrats vie for his house seat, tweets out this photo, saying he was hiding from angry constituents. what he says really happened. severe weather hitting the southern u.s., millions more at risk for strong storms today. bill karins has a look at who is

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combined with the most wifi hotspots. it's a new kind of network. xfinity mobile. pope francis took a picture with the trumps where he looked kind of angry? he did it again. he's with the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau and his wife. again, not happy at all.

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constituents. he responded with photos from his birds eye eye view, telling the san diego union tribune he expected to speak with the protesters but they declined. he's among a handful of california republicans defending districts that hillary clinton carried in last year's election. wyoming senator mike enzi is recovering well. he said he had been feeling a bit off. he went to the hospital and had surgery to have his gallbladder removed. the senator hopes to return to washington next week when congress resumes from recess. a check on the weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> we consider meade logical summer to be june, july and august. i do have to show you what happened yesterday, some of the destruction done by some of the thunderstorms in north carolina.

when thunderstorms die out, they can send a strong burst of wind out. they can be as strong as tornado-type winds. you can see the damage done there. no reports of in i dths or squlirs, but definitely some destruction. for today, the big story today, severe weather possible in areas of new england, from albany to newberg, upstate new york, through portions of central and western massachusetts. we have great weather today from chicago, great lakes to the northern plains and down along the gulf coast. in the summer wet season. we got some storms yesterday in florida where we desperately need the rainfall. in new orleans, southern louisiana and atlanta we could see storms. let's get toyasmin's summer outlook. the darker you are in the shading of orange, the warmer you're expected above average. the probability is above average east of the mississippi. the west has already started a very warm spring. it looks like that could continue. if there's any spot that's going to be near average, it could be

the central plains. not thinking the probability of below average temperatures. as far as the rainfall goes, it doesn't look like too many headlines with the summer outlook for wet weather. it looks like in the northern rockies into the central plains. pretty typical wet weather on the east and west coast. yasmin, you like it warm and dry. it looks like at least the probability for it on the east coast. >> part of you gets excited about the fact that it's going to be warmer, but also probably worried about what's happening with the planet that's causing that. >> i expect come august we'll be begging for cooler days. u.s. space exploration hotter than ever. the first mission to fly into the sun's atmosphere. it's called solar probe plus. scientists hope to gather information about solar activity and how to forecast significant events. the launch at 11:00 a.m.

the russia controversy finds its way to some of the president's closest confidants. "new york times'" michael schmidt joins the conversation. democratic senator al franken and republican senator mike lee both weigh in on the latest developments. "morning joe" coming up. right. but you want to fix it. right. so who sent you? new guy. what new guy? watson. my analysis of sensor and maintenance data indicates elevator 3 will malfunction in 2 days. there you go. you still need a pass. tidy cats lightweight with glade clean blossoms. there you go. our newest odor fighting scent! gives you the power of choice plus... the power of pleasant. exclusively in lightweight! every home, every cat, there's a tidy cs for that.

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welcome back. before we toss it to "morning joe," let's get a check of the stories in the day ahead. president trump will meet with several cabinet members before welcoming the prime minister of vietnam to the white house today. meanwhile, hillary clinton is set to appear on the public stage once again. today she's set to speak at this year's code conference in california. she is expected to touch on the 2016 election and the roll technology played in her loss to president trump. for you lovers of lynn guess ticks. the national spelling bee kicks off. the rounds will begin later today as competitors flex their brain power and try to take home the title of the best speller. remember cat, k-a- t. >> i'm yasmin vossoughian

alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts now. his tweets speak for themselves. the president was very dealer in his tweet. >> the president was very clear and i think there's continuing to be a literal interpretation of his tweet. >> the president's tweets stand for themselves. >> i think the tweets speak for itself. >> sometimes you don't have to read too much into it. he stated a fact. the tweet speaks for itself. i'm moving on. >> what i just said speaks for itself. >> white house press secretary tactic over the past few months when asked to defend a questionable trump tweet. so i'm wondering what his explanation is going to be this morning of the odd tweet that the president put out last night because apparently it speaks for itself. >>