california jane harman talking about north korea and russia, but right now it time for my good friend andrea mitchell and andrea mitchell reports. >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," wheels up, donald trump taking off for his second foreign trip as north korea launches its most threatening missile yet. how will the president's tweets today impact his meetings with world leaders? facetime in europe, trump's toughest challenge is his meeting with vladimir putin. the big question, will mr. trump even mention that russian election hacking? >> what you would think is the president would walk in the room and say effectively, i know what you did last summer. i don't think he's going to do that. i don't think he's going to point the finger at putin and call him out on election meddling. >> and mystery solved? after 80 years, is this photograph proof that amelia earhart survived her landing in the south pacific.

and was captured by the japanese. >> we have a caucasian woman with your back to the camera, sitting there, looking over towards the ship. >> you think this is amelia earhart? >> that's right. >> and good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. with north korea threatening the u.s. by testing its first long range missile, capable of reaching the continental united states, president trump is on his way to his second foreign trip, this one featuring his first face to face meeting with vladimir putin. the big question, will he confront the russian leader about muddling in the u.s. election? all indications are he will not. even though that would give putin unique leverage over the u.s. and its policies ranging from ukraine to syria. the first stop tonight will be the warmest. in terms of hospitality. poland, whose right wing leaders welcome the president's anti-migration and immigration policies. that's where we find nbc's national correspondent peter

alexander live in warsaw and kristen welker live at the white house. peter, first to you, what are they expecting when he arrives in warsaw tonight? >> i think he can break this trip up into three parts, the visit to poland, the visit with vladimir putin and the g-20 meeting. certainly here when it comes to this part of europe, there is going to be a warm reception expected for president trump. this is a government, the right wing government of the president that frankly shadows, echoes, reflects a lot of the same positions of president trump at home, they have been opposed to the influx of refugees, the same way america first is the position of president trump. here they have a polish first policy, trying to push back against russian aggression in this region. it will be interesting to watch what the president's remarks are when he speaks here tomorrow, specifically as the president, sitting side by side with the polish leader, makes comments that maybe directed at russia.

also, the other parts of europe, germany, western europe, will be watching because after the nato and the nato meeting a couple of months ago and the lack of authoritative commitment to nato when he was visiting with the leaders, there was a hope from western european allies that the u.s. will do more to sort of reaffirm its commitment and that region as well. in terms of nato and the military alliance there, this is one of five countries in nato that does give 2% of its gdp toward defense, something that president trump is railing against other countries for not doing. so he's likely to hold poland up as an example of how countries in this region should act. >> and already as we have seen, peter, and kristen welker, the president's been tweeting today about north korea and also about the european meetings. tweeting that north korea has just launched another missile, does this guy have anything better to do with his life? hard to believe that south korea and japan will put up with this much longer. perhaps china will put a heavy move on north korea and end this

nonsense once and for all. that is really an ominous tweet from a north korean perspective. he seems to be talking about regime change. one wonders whether it is wise to be tweeting about a trip like this, rather than sitting with your foreign policy advisers and deliberately deciding what your tone will be once you arrive. >> i think it adds to the high stakes, andrea, and certainly the very complicated backdrop to these meetings that he's about to have, particularly when he gets to the g-20 summit and will be meeting the president of china, the leaders of japan and south korea, face to face. china is particularly interesting. that has really been where the white house has been focused when it comes to pressuring north korea. president trump inviting the president of china to mar-a-lago, they had a number of phone calls, the white house has signaled a real optimism when it comes to china, at least initially, thinking that the president of china would in fact

intervene, would get tougher. but then skepticism, reality began to set in that china wasn't stepping up to the plate in the way that the white house wanted it to. last week, the white house slapped a round of sanctions on a chinese bank that infuriated china. and, of course, you have these very different tweets that he's been sending out, the one you read, andrea, and the other one where he said so much for china working with us, but we had to give it a try. a sense that he is coming to terms with the fact that china might not be the key. the other part of this is, andrea, is that he doesn't have a whole lot of options. putting more sanctions on north korea as a potential option, possibly moving new military assets into the region, but the administration has been very clear, they see actual military action as a last resort. the defense secretary saying that military action could be catastrophic. so i think these meetings are going to be very tense once he gets to the g-20 summit and it is not clear that he's going to get what he wants out of them,

andrea. >> to peter and to kristen, thanks so much. we're going to be drilling down now more on north korea's first successful icbm launch. joining me is former nato supreme allied commander, retired four star navy admiral james defetis, the chief international security and diplomacy analyst. and cory shockey joining us, former pentagon, state department and national security council official from the george w. bush white house. now at stanford university. admiral, first to you, what is the most significant factor about their advance to be able to launch a missile that went this high and if you changed the trajectory would go this far? >> yeah, andrea, the way to think of this is sort of two streams that are coming at each other and you really don't want them to cross. the one is the intercontinental ballistic missile, that's the one that we now have seen the ability of north korea to range

potentially as far as alaska. that's one stream. the other is miniaturizing a nuclear weapon so it could ride on one of those. two streams are coming together. when they cross, when north korea has both of those, we would have a very difficult decision about a preemptive strike. i'd say that's probably 12 to 18 months away. so we got some time to try some other things in the interim, maybe the diplomacy with china, though i think it is going to take a lot more pressure on china to get them to move because in the end, china likes a divided korea. they want those two separate koreas and they're going to try to find -- china will try to find a middle path between really shut ing down kim jong-un and cooperating with us. >> let's talk again about the miniaturization of the warhead. admiral, what is the evidence that they have succeeded or are getting closer to success on that critical piece of it?

>> we have seen a succession of nuclear tests conducted now and without getting into extremely highly classified intelligence, i'll simply say we feel as though they're making progress on that path and leaving intelligence aside, common sense would tell us if that is the objective and they're moving toward it scientifically, they will continue in that direction. so it is extremely worrisome, again, when these two streams cross, probably 18 months away. >> cory shockey and admiral, let me play for both of you what secretary of defense mattis said on face the nation the end of may. >> this regime is a threat to the region, to japan, to south korea. and in the event of war, they would bring danger to china and to russia as well. but the bottom line is it would be a catastrophic war if this turns into a combat if we're not able to resolve this situation

through diplomatic means. >> so what are our options? cory? >> i think there are several options. and they all have been tried but never tried at the same time. it looks to me like the only thing that has restrained the north korean nuclear program was the secondary sanctions that the bush administration put on through 2 005 through 2007, which penalized chinese and other banks that operate in the dollar zone if they were doing business with north korea. that appeared to work. and we ought to move very quickly down that path. there is a military option, but the fundamental constraint on that is the vulnerability of the population of south korea's capital to artillery from the north korea. >> now, admiral, i've heard cory, giving you a chance to clear your throat, admiral, i heard people from this administration say fundamentally, if we felt that

there was an icbm with a nuclear warhead and we had any kind of advance warning we would take it out, even if they would be immediate retaliation against seoul, against our own people, and our own troops, 28,000 strong in south korea, in the region. because the fundamental responsibility of the commander in chief is to protect the west coast of the united states. not to correct -- not to protect seoul and even tokyo. what is your analysis? >> it is a very difficult decision for a commander in chief because he, in this case, would have almost 100,000 u.s. citizens, 28,000 troops, plus all of their dependents at immediate risk and he would have to make a decision that the preemptive quality was so necessary that they would be placed at risk. again, we have got 18 months roughly before that decision is going to have to be made.

i think there is a cyberkind of path here, that might yield some results. there are some additional special forces things you could think about, but frankly we do not have a very good set of kinetic options here. and i'm with cory, let's try harder. sometimes the best plan b is to try harder on plan a. we ought to really pressurize the chinese with secondary sanctions. we might want to play the taiwan card, we might want to play the south china sea card. we have a big trade imbalance with china. we have cards to play here. we have some time, that's the way to go, because secretary mattis is correct, it will be a catastrophic war. >> when you speak of special forces, we don't know where everything is, the tunnelling is extensive in this very large country. so we don't know how we could take everything out and this was apparently mobile launch. we wouldn't have a whole lot of lead time for any kind of preemptive action to target a missile, we can't be sure that

our own missile defense is 100% accurate. is there a regime change option of trying to in some way penetrate the north korean regime and try to figure out some kind of assassination attempt? >> there is. but the problem is you don't know who would come afterward. and it is very difficult to predict in a fluid situation like that. i hear cory, who i think has cleared her throat. >> cory, if you want to weigh in on that, please. >> yeah, the other thing i would add is that fundamentally the north korean regime appears to want nuclear weapons in order to preserve the regime. so that's a reasonably conservative objective they're trying to achieve. i think the greatest risk of north korea and nuclear weapons use is in the event that the regime is subject to a coup attempt or falling for some

reason. so the very act of trying to force a regime change could result in the outcome that all of us want least. >> so admiral, if you were the commander in chief, what would you do first? tighten the secondary sanctions, more military aid to taiwan, more defense posture in the south china sea? >> indeed, all of those things, i would also continue to get broader international support. that's why the g-20 meeting is actually a pretty good opportunity to say to other heads of state and government, especially those in asia, but really globally, that a war in this region could actually have crippling effect on the international economy. there is an enormous international region for all of us to work together to solve this problem. so i think broadening it as well as looking at the specific things we should do and then finally you've got to prepare in case the wheels really come off

what are the no kidding military options that the commander in chief has. i know that planning is ongoing. >> and short of that, is there -- is there a downside to tweeting about china and north korea, going into these talks on the world stage with serious players like angela merkel and macron and trudeau and other leaders from around the world, president xi. >> in my view, the ongoing use of tweeting is very harmful. i can see occasionally a leader using a tweet like a shot of espresso to wake up the system, but the steady drumbeat doesn't allow the nsc, doesn't allow the agencies of government, doesn't allow the international coalitions to react in a sensible linear kind of way. that is detrimental, especially as you get toward crisis.

>> thank you, both, so much. coming up, great expectations before taking off on his second overseas trip. more on how the president's twitter diplomacy is already making waves. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. there's nothing more important to me 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. and with their price match, i know i'm getting the best price every time. now i can start relaxing even before the vacation begins. your vacation is very important. that's why booking.com makes finding the right hotel for the right price easy. visit booking.com now to find out why we're booking.yeah! for my chronic back painescribed backed me up- big time. before movantik, i tried to treat it myself. no go. but i didn't back down. i talked to my doctor. she said: one, movantik was specifically designed for opioid-induced constipation- oic.

number two? with my savings card, i can get movantik for about the same price as the other things i tried. don't take movantik if you have or had a bowel blockage. serious side effects include opioid withdrawal, severe stomach pain, severe diarrhea, and stomach or intestinal tears. tell your doctor about side effects and medicines you take. movantik may interact with them causing side effects. don't back down from oic. talk to your doctor about movantik. remember: mo-van-tik. text "blades" to gillette on demand noo text to reorder blades... ...and get $3 off your first order with gillette on demand.

the future isn't silver suits anit's right now.s, think about it. we can push buttons and make cars appear out of thin air. find love anywhere. he's cute. and buy things from, well, everywhere. how? because our phones have evolved. so isn't it time our networks did too? introducing america's largest, most reliable 4g lte combined with the most wifi hotspots. it's a new kind of network. xfinity mobile.

and president trump is now on his way to europe at this hour for a second overseas trip. but are today's trump tweets the best way to avoid rattling allies and adversaries alike. joining me is michael steele, former republican national chairman and msnbc political analyst. >> hey. >> welcome. good to see you. >> yes. >> as the twitter stream from this president on his way now to, you know, his second foreign trip, tweaking the chinese who only, you know, yesterday met with miracerck merkel, the day h putin, how does this work? >> it is just generally unsettling. the bottom line is foreign policy by tweet is not just not

smart, it is -- it is unsettling for our allies who, you know, in the diplomatic community, which you covered for years, you know, there is a certain consistency, there is a dependency. you can have aberrations where you know people color outside the lines, but that's all trump does is color outside the lines. so for the diplomatic community, whether it is merkel or foes like china or russia, and probably less russia because he tends to be more favored towards them, there is this sense of where is this president going with this foreign policy what does it mean when he says, okay, well, we now know there is not going to work with china, let's move on. move on to what? that's the question. >> i'm reminded of ronald reagan's first big g-7 meeting here in 1983, the first one on home soil in williamsburg. and the big meeting on monday

and on sunday night he had a big briefing book that he was supposed to read. and the next morning, jim baker and george schultz and all his cabinet guys come in and say, you know, any questions from the briefing book, he said, well, boys, i'm really sorry, but the sound of music was on last night. well, he didn't -- he didn't read the briefing book. but he had already developed skills with maggie thatcher and having his back against trudeau, later on the other leaders and not at this kind of crisis either and then he gradually learned it. and by the time he met with gorbachev in '84, he was as skilled a negotiator as there was. >> it takes the president taking time to develop the relationship. for him, foreign policy was as much about personal policy as it was the diplomatic stuff he had to do. so president reagan, quite frankly all of the presidents,

even though, you know, people said that barack obama didn't have a good relationship with members on the hill, he had a good relationship with our allies, certainly in nato and elsewhere. that is not something that seems to be of importance to this president to develop those relationships, except for the ones that he has apparently with the russian foreign minister and the president of -- >> which is concerning on another level. >> right. >> he counted on personal diplomacy alone in the mar-a-lago summit with president xi and tweeting how disappointed he is that they have not stepped up to the plate. the bottom line he has not taken the time to learn it is not in china's interest to pressure north korea against the united states. >> absolutely. >> they want that divided north korean peninsula as the admiral just said. now what? does he realize the risk of being too cozy with putin in this summit. the risk also regarding the investigation back home. >> honestly, don't think he sees a risk there. i don't. i think there may be those in

the -- out of the state department, and maybe those in the west wing who see that risk, try to articulate it to him, but i think this president has a different view of this relationship with russia, he doesn't see it as anything bad or potentially harmful to other relationships, for example. i think he took his time with xi as one where, okay, we're on the same page, now, you get what i need you to do and now go do it and as you just noted, you know, the chinese are going, wait a minute, this is not in our self-interest to do it your way. that aspect of foreign policy i don't think the president fully appreciates, which is why he has such a hard time with merkel. he wants a kind of relationship that is more subservient with some of our allies like the germans and as was noted when xi visited the united states, what was the headline, the leader of the free world comes to visit the president, that tells you a lot about how the -- how trump sees these relationships and how the world is beginning to see them as well. >> the lack of respect shown to

merkel here in the u.s., who is a scientist, who is a really serious player, just agreeing with her immigration policy is one thing, but to not take her seriously and she's the host of the summit, changing quickly to domestic politics, i can't help asking you about the extraordinary sort of self-destructive behavior, if you will, of the governor of new jersey. he still has six months left. and for him to be out there on this beach, and look at that picture, empty beach, a budget standoff, the holiday weekend, people not able to go to the state run beaches in new jersey. >> and he -- >> ridiculed everywhere online. >> he doesn't care. >> he really doesn't care. >> what i think people forgotten in the age of trump, that he was trump before there was trump. a guy who has drawn very clear lines between himself and the press, the things that he's going to be concerned about versus the things that they're concerned about, he did not see

a problem with the image, he said i was there for 40 minutes with my family, went back and did state business, i don't get what the big deal is. >> he said i was there with my wife, you know, if i had been with a blonde, that would be a story. >> there is that. i don't know if that explains it all. >> it doesn't. his popularity is now down to 15%, that's the lowest popularity for any governor since whenever. >> i think a lot of that popularity was just the drag of bridge gate and the whole thing. so are, but, again, that didn't faze him. >> nothing fazes you. good to see you. thank you. coming up, face off, more on president trump's first meeting with vladimir putin on friday. will election hacking be on the agenda? what do you think? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

you doyou'll see whatet but in you're really made of. after five hours of spinning and one unfortunate ride on the gravitron, your grandkids spot a 6 foot banana that you need to win. in that moment, you'll be happy you partnered with a humana care manager and got your health back on track. because that banana isn't coming home with you until that bell sings. great things are ahead of you when your health is ready for them. at humana, we can help you with a personalized plan for your health for years to come.

but their nutritional needs (vremain instinctual.d, that's why there's purina one true instinct. nutrient-dense, protein-rich, real meat number one. this is a different breed of nutrition. purina one, true instinct.

president trump is en route to poland, first stop today before he heads to germany tomorrow for the g-20 summit. the top headline of the trip is going to likely be his first meeting with vladimir putin. join meg fr joining me now from hamburg, germany, is kur simmons. let's talk about putin. the meeting with putin so critical from our domestic standpoint given the ongoing investigation. and the larger issue with putin and xi meeting and xi meeting with merkel, north korea most

likely, it is it seems like there is a chinese/russian access now trying to push back on any kind of american, south korean military exercises. >> well, that's the way the chinese and the russians would like it to be, certainly as you know, andrea, the chinese president sees he thinks an opportunity to move into the kind of liberal economic space that perhaps has been left open a little bit by the trump administration. the russians are constantly looking for strategic advantage around the world to put themselves into the conflict zones, syria is a good example, to be at that negotiating table. they want to be seen as a big power and then add to this, what president trump is walking into here is a minefield and the mother of all mines is this meeting with president putin that the new york times today

talking about white house aides being most worried about this meeting because they cannot predict what president trump will do. the optics will be crucial, how will a handshake go, will we get to see it? a lot of this, we just simply don't know. a official i have spoken to says the details are still being figured out. i asked how long will the meeting be. he said, i don't know that either, but the two presidents, he said, will meet for as long as they need to, and just think about that statement, because it tells you a lot, the russians, president putin is getting something he wants already before the meeting even starts because his officials there get to present the two presidents as equal, and that's what president putin really wants. we now think this meeting will be a kind of official bilateral rather than a pull aside, again, helping the russians with their standing in the world, which is what is really crucial to them. there is value in being seen standing next to an american president, then the question, of

course, andrea, what comes out of that meeting, what does president trump offer, what does president putin offer, because we know he is a wily negotiator. >> keir simmons, a lot at stake. we have angela merkel and the whole beginning of the g-20 summit. thank you so much, keir. for more on all of this, washington post columnist david ignacious. let's talk about putin. he's getting a meeting instead of just a pull aside. ukraine is still not resolved hardly. he's been active in controlling the air space more and more in syria and getting in the way of u.s. policy in syria. but you have written that u.s. should deal with russia, that's now a fact of life in terms of the military situation in syria. >> i think andrea it is entirely appropriate, especially in this period when there is so many international crises that our president, donald trump, meet with the russian president,

nothing to be afraid of. doesn't mean concessions to sit down and talk. diplomacy continues even in times of great tension. >> what if does he not even mention the russian hacking, an attack on the u.s. >> i think that would be a mistake. i think presidents need to be very clear and direct about interests. in a sense, robert mueller, the special council, will take care of that issue. donald trump can issue warnings. this is in the hands of law enforcement in the u.s. i'm less concerned about that. i'd like to see him mention it. i don't think it is crucial. what i found in syria, where i traveled last week, talking to the u.s. commanders on the outskirts of raqqah is there is much greater conversation and constructive dialogue between the u.s. and russia than most of us realize and they have established fairly stable lines of deconfliction. that's something to build on. i'm sure trump will talk with putin about it. >> now, we're showing some of

your photos from syria from your visit last week, extraordinary that you are still the preeminent columnist reporter, reporter first, perhaps columnist equally second. but at this point, the state department budget calls for wiping out usaid and there say knerr survey coming out showing the usaid workers completely demoralized as a result of what they're hearing from the new secretary of state. >> i wish that donald trump and rex tillerson could have been with me and with the state department special envoy brett mcguirk, seeing the role that our usaid coordinator, the relief coordinator, the difference he's making on the ground now as isis falls. this is a fantastic development that people should cheer. but tens of thousands of people in need. they need the basics. u.s. sent its top relief

coordinator, al dwyer, who has been at every major crisis, haiti earthquake, ebola outbreak, and there he is, coordinating this, as an american logistics expert can, that's the role that we should be playing. but people, i wish they could have seen through my eyes how quickly this campaign is going now, and how the u.s. finally has figured out how to get other people to do the fighting on the ground while we helped them the ways that the u.s. can. >> and if we talk about his policy against syrian refugees and against the migration, the short-term fix, the immediate fix is to help on the ground. so that people aren't fleeing that country. let me ask you also, though, about north korea, we now, according to courtney cubby, this icbm was launched into a very busy air and sea commercial trafficking area, with no warning. and there could have been implications from this, given its trajectory.

it went so high when you think about 1700 miles up, the space station is only about 50 miles up. think of the incredible launch here. >> a mobile launcher, by the way, harder to predict, a two-stage launch -- a two-stage miss with a good re-entry. we don't know about the progress on the warhead, but did our intelligence get blind sided again? >> i can't -- i can't speak to that. i don't know if we did, that's shocking, given the resources that are devoted to that, i've heard people in the community say they're trying toing t toi more into it. the missile test is the latest example, but there is a whole string of them, the question is, what do we do about this reckless leader and by we, i mean all countries that are interested. i think donald trump wasn't wrong to think that china was

the key to some sort of diplomatic progress. it has not happened. the continuing test, despite warnings from the u.s., privately from china, the -- we have got now is not working. we have our commanding general, general brooks, on the scene, essentially warning of the danger of war if these actions don't start. i take that seriously when an american commanding general conducts live fire missile exercises and warns that war is possible, we all need to hear that. >> very ominous warning indeed. congratulations on your trip. thank you for representing all of us, being our eyes and ears, and the pictures are wonderful and the shaoutout to usaid. >> doing great work. >> coming up, lost and found. fascinating. does this photo solve the mystery of what happened to amelia earhart? stunning new evidence next, right here on "andrea mitchell reports," tom costello will join

me. i sure had a lot on my min. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines.

tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice.

when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

and now to what could be a major development in the hunt for amelia earhart. an 80-year hunt, missing since 1937, a team of investigators from the history channel has discovered new evidence, this never before seen photo that they believe shows earhart and her navigator fred noonan alive in japanese custody after surviving their crash. their crash landing in the pacific ocean. former fbi executive assistant director shawn henry, an nbc news analyst, worked on this project. nbc's tom costello has more on this startling discovery. >> reporter: in 1937, the japanese had banned nearly all westerners from the islands. but in the photo, it appears there are two caucasians on the dock. a man standing on the left and what appears to be a woman with short hair, wearing pants like

earhart, sitting on the edge. henry took the photo to facial recognition expert kent gibson who overlaid the photo of the man with file photos of fred noonan. >> the hairline is the most distinctive characteristic. it is very sharp, receding hair line. the nose is very prominent. >> reporter: the teeth, hairline and nose all appear to match up. >> it is my feeling that this is very convincing evidence this is probably noonan. >> reporter: then, the person sitting with their back to the camera with hair that appears too long for a man and too short for a native woman, gibson compared a body measurement with previous photos of earhart. again, striking similarities. >> i usually go from not likely to likely to very likely to extremely likely. and i would say this is very likely. >> reporter: and there is more evidence. in the distance, the japanese ship koshu, which is towing a barge with something measuring 38 feet long, the same length as earhart's plane.

>> joining me from washington is tom costello. this is stunning. where did they find the photo what are we learning about it? i'm absolutely all ears. >> you got two hours? because i'll tell you what, it is amazing what we have to tell you here. but the bottom line is the photograph was discovered by investigators for the history channel who found it in a file in the national archives. but it was found in a file about the mar hshall islands, not abo amelia earhart. in the 1930s, the u.s. and australiaians a australiaians and the brits were collecting information, intel, on japanese movements at the time. they believe this photograph was taken by a spy who was later killed. but the photograph would appear to show this woman, we believe it is a woman, how many women in 1937 were wearing their hair at that length, short, and were wearing pants and in the marshall islands? the woman standing to the right, you see, a native, is wearing

the typical long hair and long dresses. that's awfully compelling. and that photograph you saw the analysis of with fred noonan, that was her navigator on board with her, that seems to at least in the view of many seal the deal. but then you look at that ship, and here is what is so fascinating. you look at the ship, the japanese ship koshu. the locals have been saying for decades that amelia earhart crash landed there, and that the japanese ship koshu took her and noonan and their plane away. and now all of a sudden we actually have a photograph which purports to show noonan and earhart and that ship and the plane, it is really compelling evidence. >> and, tom, when we were chatting earlier, and we talked about what women wore pants in the '30s, i could only think of amelia earhart and katharine hepburn, and amelia earhart is sitting on the dock and looking at that ship, what do you think she's looking at? >> i think if you -- if it is

aimmelia earhart, and a lot of reason to believe it is, she's clearly looking at the ship, the tail end of the ship, and that's where her plane is. it appears her plane is being pulled on a barge at the very end and they have done an analysis to say how long is that item, they believe it is 38 feet long, that's the same length as her plane. but, listen, this is not coming out of the blue. as i said, for decades, the marshall islanders said she crash landed there. people in saipan said that in fact she was taken to saipan na a japanese prison camp where she died. but now there is all of this photographic evidence which is -- seems to be the missing link, putting it all together. this story is so compelling, because in the 1980s, the marshall islands, even issued a stamp, showing the japanese ship koshu taking amelia earhart's plane away. it was an accepted fact in the

island and now this photograph. >> why do you think -- could there have been a cover-up, first of all? what would have propelled u.s. intelligence, the military, to cover up the fact that they believe the japanese did take her and if she and fred noonan died in prison? >> a lot of ifs. let's assume if the americans knew who was in that photograph, keep in mind the photographs would have not traveled at internet speed, would have taken weeks or months to get back to the west. and by then, the concern would be she's already gone. she's no longer in the marshall islands. they believe that photograph right there was taken by a spy, working either for the australians or the brits or the americans. if the americans held up that photograph, and said we have proof of amelia earhart in your custody, then they would have condemned that spy to death. in fact, that spy, they believe, later was executed by the japanese. so the question then, if you're thinking in terms of 1937 or 38 america, and you have now not been successful in finding her, despite the massive naval

search, do you tell the country that we have evidence that amelia earhart is in japanese custody and burn your spies in the marshall islands or do you just play it by ear and see how this all hand -- plays out, and keep in mind, franklin delano roosevelt at the time would have been under immense pressure had it been known that amelia earhart was in japanese custody. this is four years before world war ii started. >> wow, tom costello. you'll have more on nightly news and more on the today show in the morning. and, of course, be sure to tune into the history channel sunday night at 9:00 to watch the fascinating documentary, amelia earhart, the lost evidence. tom, i'm grateful you took the time for us today, thank you. >> you bet. you bet. coming up, excess baggage. why the high stakes euro trip is making headlines. the inside scoop next here on "andrea mitchell reports ." (bell rings) with my moderate to severe crohn's disease,... ...i kept looking for ways to manage my symptoms.." i t.

then it hit me... ...managing was all i was doing. when i told my doctor,... ...i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease... ...even after trying other medications. in clinical studies,... the majority of people on humira... saw significant symptom relief... ...and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability... ...to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened;... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where... ...certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb,... ...hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... ...or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. just managing your symptoms? ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

i'm proud to make dog chow in (vodavenport, iowa.an. dog chow's been a part of my family's life for over 40 years. my grandfather made it and now i'm making it. as a micro-biologist i ensure that dog chow leads with high quality ingredients.

well, on his way out the door before he left for his second overseas trip, president trump used his favorite megaphone, twitter, to take a parting shot at china. suggesting he is reevaluating the u.s. trade relationship with the country, in light of the growing threat from north korea. let's get the inside scoop on all of this. joining me now, anne gearan and sam stein. anne gearan from "the "washington post," and sam stein with "the daily beast. >>". >> yes. >> let's talk about twitter

philosophy. sometimes useful, perhaps. but to be doing this, as he's going to europe, as angela merkel is taking a very serious look at all of this, and is clearly distressed, has been saying publicly that you can no longer rely on the u.s., and not happy about these trade threats, what happens if he goes ahead with these steel tariffs opposed by every one of his cabinet members, except steve bannon. >> he clearly doesn't take all of that long view, right, at all. and in this case, this set of tweets where he, you know, tweaks china for not going heavy, was the part ready phrase he used, on north korea, and dangling the idea of trade arrangements that china finds objectionable, those come about three days before he's actually going to see the chinese leader with whom he otherwise has developed a pretty good

relationship. you know, i think it's less twitter diplomacy and more get the better of them in the meeting diplomacy. it's a little -- he's trying to game it out ahead of time. >> what's the impact back here, sam, if he does not mention the russian hacking with vladimir putin? >> normally i would say it's fairly controversial, but i'm pretty jaded at this point to be honest with you. >> what is normal? >> what is actually normal? in fact, i think right now the expectations are that he won't. >> exactly. >> for months now, we have been waiting for him to take a tough line on the russian meddling in the election, and he has consistently not. often blaming it on 400-pound hackers in basements or saying that there's -- the problem is about unmasking and surveillance bio bomb and diverting attention elsewhere. so at this junction, i think i would be surprised if he does bring it up with vladimir putin, rather than if he doesn't. >> for republicans, of course, this is a holiday or a work period or whatever you want to call this july 4th recess.

but here we have ted cruz, faci facing protesters. he came out -- many republicans not holding town hall meetings but ted cruz in texas facing protesters for his support for the health care bill. one of the few other colleagues, susan collins, in maine, waded into the fray. and, of course, she is being saluted in her home constituency in maine for standing up against the president. but what is the -- what is the calculus for these republicans? >> they had a really hard, you know -- hard, no-good option menu here ahead of them. if they had gone ahead and actually voted on or debated the bill that was before them, you know, what would these -- what would their homecoming look like at this point? they would be facing probably even louder and longer protests.

at the least, they've got the "it's not done yet" out. there's some potential that the bill could not do as many of the horrible things that the protesters claim it would. but, you know, i mean, it's not how they want to be spending their fourth of july. it's not their goal. >> only like four of them have actually decided to show up and take questions or, you know, walk in parades or even do a town hall. i remember 2010, town halls were the thing. i mean, you would show up there, you would take it on the chin if you were an obamacare supporter, you got into a protest if you were an opponent. and nowadays, barely anybody goes out and holds town halls. >> in the easter break, tom cotton and others faced their constituents, now they're not. dean hiller is probably the most endangered for a republican. susan collins was cheered by her constituents.

she wrote, afterwards," i heard over and over again encouragement from my stand against the current version of the senate and house health care bills. people were thanking me over and over again. thank you, susan. stay strong, susan." >> the key word there is "current," isn't it? i still think there is some space for mitch mcconnell. the bill does reduce the deficit significantly, so he does have money he can spend on opioids, help for people to purchase insurance via tax subsidies. things like that. i don't know if he can ever get susan collins to a yes or a dean heller to a yes. but he can still win this thing. i wouldn't rule out mitch mcconnell. he's a masterful technician. >> that is very smart advice, sam. i think lisa murkowski and shelley moore capito are also very much in the know category. >> what about ron johnson?

skprvel >> and ron johnson. >> i get the sense that ron johnson is negotiating a bit here. he's never put himself 100%. there is nothing you can say or do to persuade me in the no category. >> to be continued. at least they can be happy they're not chris christie. >> i don't know. he seems fine with it. >> right. we've got to go. sam stein and anne gearan, thank you so much. and more ahead on "andrea mitchell reports." we'll be right back. thank you so much. thank you! so we're a go? yes! we got a yes! what does that mean for purchasing?

purchase. let's do this. got it. book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance

plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. remember - these plans let you apply all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more. go long.

thank you for being with us. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" and follow us online on facebook and twitterer at mitchell reports. craig melvin joins us next right here on msnbc. >> thank you so much. good afternoon to you. craig melvin here at msnbc world headquarters. lots of stories we're following this hour. trump trip. president trump heading on his second overseas trip as he fes his biggest foreign policy crisis yet. can he convince countries like china especially to step up against north korea's nuclear threat? also, on the brink. the u.n. security council holding an emergency meeting this afternoon as north korea taunts the u.s. after successfully launching that missile that could reach the u.s. mainland for the first time. are we heading toward a showdown? and erhardt evidence? investigators uncover a never