good night from all of us at nbc news headquarters here in new york. >> trump says he is banning transgender people from serving for high medical costs. maybe he should pass a health care bill. this morning backlash against trump. a major reversal from an obama era policy. plus, fighting within the white house. tensions are recordedportedly l between after a possible leech of scaramucci's financial disclosure form. it comes as president trump

fuels rumors about looking for a replacement. good morning. it's thursday, july 27th. while the tension that's been reported behind the scenes at the white house between the president's incoming communications director and chief of staff is now spilling out into the open. it comes after politico reported what it says communications director anthony scarmucci's financial disclosure form filed with the department of ethics. scaramucci posted but later deleted this tweet saying, "in light of the leak of my financial disclosure information, which is a felony, i will be contacting the fbi and the justice department." _#swamp. he then tagged reince priebus, leaving many wondering if he was accusing him of the leak.

well, then came this tweet from the new york's ryan lizza. "in case there's any ambiguity in his tweet i can --" from the washington post phillip rucker tensions between scaramucci and priebus are raw as ever. i'm told tonight there's a reason mooch tagged reince on fbi leak tweet. then when reports started surfacing that new congress director appeared to want the chief of staff investigated, scaramucci hit back, "wrong. it was public notice to leakers that all senior officials are helping to end illegal leaks." again, he tagged reince priebus. that statement, however, contradicts what he actually said on fox news earlier in the day. take a listen. >> now, one of the big problems here that i'm discovering in the coms team is that senior people are really the guys doing the leaking, and they ask junior people to leak for them. i'm very proud to be reporting directly to the president so that i can seal off the coms

team from this sort of nonsense. >> now, reporting directly to the president, as opposed to the chief of staff, which is typical for white house communications director, we should note that it's unclear if a crime was actually committed here since financial disclosures can technically be requested through the freedom of information act. president trump's public feud with his attorney general kicked off with another series of tweets and extended to reports on how he is planning to replace jeff sessions. the washington post reports that trump has discussed with confidants and advisors the possibility of installing a new attorney general through a recess appointment. the white house responded to the report stating, "more fake news from the amazon washington post," referring to the newspaper's ownership, but "the post" and ""new york times"" say that aides have warned him against the political and legal ramifications. then last night the chairman of the senate judiciary committee sent the white house a clear message about the prospects for hearings regarding a replacement. republican chuck grassley tweeting, "everybody in d.c.

should be warned that the agenda for the judiciary committee is set for the rest of 2017. judges first, subcabinet second, ag no way." sessions kept out of the public eye yesterday and was later spotted at the white house, though press secretary sarah huckabee sanders said he was there on other business. take a listen. >> the attorney general was here for other meetings. not with the president. it was a principal's committee meeting. he did not see the president while he was here. i think the president has been very clear about where he is. he is obviously disappointed, but also wants the attorney general to continue to focus on the things that the attorney general does. he wants them to lead the department of justice. he wants to do that strongly. he wants them to focus on things like immigration, leaks, and a number of other issues, and i think that's what his focus is at this point. >> if the attorney general launches a probe would that help

his status with the president? >> i don't think that's the nature of the relationship. again, i think that the president is disappointed. he has stated that. i don't think there's anything more to add beyond that at this point. >> outcry yesterday as president trump appeared to abruptly throw the status of transgender troops serving in the united states armed forces into limbo. he announced it by twitter. in a cliffhanger tweet sent shortly before 9:00 a.m., he wrote, "after consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the united states government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the u.s. military. our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgenders in the military would entail. thank you." the move surfaces out of a spending battle in the white house with some pushing for a ban on pentagon-funded sex reassignment operations. an hour and a half after the president's tweets, the department of defense issues a

statement, "we refer all questions about the president's statements to the white house. we will continue to work closely with the white house to address the new guidance provided by the commander in chief on transgender individuals serving in the military. we will provide revised guidance to the department in the near future." defense secretary james mattis on vacation this week. the white house said he was informed of the decision yesterday, but no one was sure of how the ban would be implemented. >> what happens to transgender service members now? are they immediately thrown out of the military? >> that's something that the department of defense and the white house will have to work together as implementation takes place and is done so lawfully. >> the reaction by some gay rights campaigners is said to affect 30,000 current service members. it met resistance on capitol hill, including from conservative allies of the president, including iowa republican joni ernst, a veteran and member of the armed services committee, who opposes paying

for gender reassignment surgery. she said transgender americans should have the opportunity to serve. so did orrin hatch, a republican from utah. take a listen. >> people who are transgender, they don't choose to be transgender. they're born that way. why should we hold that against them? they're human beings. many of them are extremely talented human beings. you know, we should be open to everybody. >> all right. joining us now reporter for axia sarah fisher. great to have you with us this morning. a lot to get to. don't even know where to begin, but let's start right here for one. one story. one issue people are concerned about the policy of banning transgender from the military. the political world really can't believe that the president is announcing such a major policy via twitter, and we were talking about off-liep. just the language that was used. please be advised. thank you.

that type of language used seems somewhat strange, no? >> this is one of the biggest, you know, steps that the president has taken those like steve bannon, mark short, rick dearborn, and even mike pence. these are people that wanted to push the president to move to appease the base and they were not expecting necessarily it to happen so quickly or abruptly on twitter, but as we know, that's how the president likes to communicate his policy messages. >> yeah, it essential is. there's also this whole sessions debacle as we're calling it right now. the president hammering jeff sessions, attorney general, on twitter again yesterday. where do you see this whole thing going in light of the mueller investigation as well? >> i think the president has a very different understanding of how he wants to move forward than what his lawyers want. his lawyers really want him to stay away from the sessions and

mueller investigation. they think of it as dynomite. the president will not quit. the interesting dynamic here is that the president had the opportunity to accept attorney general jeff sessions' resignation just a few months ago, and he did not. now there seems to be a complete reversal with the president continually coming down on his attorney general. the awkward thing is, as you mentioned, there would be a very difficult time if the president tried to make a replacement happen for him within recess. democrats don't seem to want to extend recess further to make that happen, and even if the president were to bring someone up, it would be very unclear and unlikely somebody would get approved. >> sar yarks let me ask you quickly about the news that was breaking late last night from inside the white house communications. in particular with the director there. anthony scaramucci. concerned that the chief of staff is leaking his financial forms. just another example of the issues in the white house spilling out into public view. it's got to be some way to

demoralize other staffers in the white house to see this internal feud or is it at least to say the least disrupting operations there. >> absolutely both. you hit it nail on the head. if you are a staffer inside the white house, you take a look at what anthony scaramucci is doing, and you are scared. think about mark short. he found out that he was going to potentially be fired from a political article and then had to give his resignation. there was no heads-up. this wasn't something he was even expecting. that's the way that we expect anthony scaramucci is going to roll. he was brought on by trump to be his de facto chief of staff and spokesperson, and the crazy part about it is scaramucci has said continually that leaks are his priority. he wants to go after people that are going to be leaking from the white house, and he is prepared, as he said, to cut the communications staff down to just himself and sarah hucka bee-sanders to do so. >> i have a feeling that president trump likes scaramucci's style. just putting that out there. >> sarah fisher live for us in washington.

see you again in a bit. >> thank you. the senate will continue to debate health care options today after republicans once again failed to pass legislation in the afternoon. the senate rejected an obama care appeal option that would have provided a two-year delay of. the vote was 45-a 55. senate republicans opposing the -- it was ultimately vetoed by then president obama. later in the day the senate decided along party lines 52-48 to block a democratic measure that would order lawmakers to return the health care bill to committee. when the senate returns this morning, there will be ten more hours of debate followed by a so-called vote of rama. during that time, senators from both sides of the aisle will be able to offer amendments to be vetoed on without debate. chris murphy and jeff burkely have each said they have 100 amountedments to offer, chuck schumer may have thrown a wrench into their plans last night. >> since the beginning of this debate, we've just been taking votes on amendments to a piece

of dead legislation. what kind of process is this? until we see the real bill, democrats will offer no further amendments. >> so you heard it there. while democrats may not be offering any amendments, the senate is still expected to vote on individual health care measures that may then be cobbled together to what's being called a "skinny repeal." that option, however, is being criticized by ten bipartisan governors who were calling on democrats and republicans to work together on health care reform. skblievgts there is some good news out of washington this morning. house majority whip steve scalise has been discharged from a washington hospital. the hospital released a statement saying scalise was "in good spirits and is looking forward to his return to work once he completes his intensive in patient rehabilitation." the state also said scalise and his family are grateful for the care and the outpouring of support they received during his time in the hospital. scalise was critically wounded

back in june after a gunman opened fire at republican lawmakers that were practicing for their annual baseball game against the democrats. now overseas to the ongoing conflict with north korea. a new cause for concern this morning. the pentagon says that pyongyang will be able to launch a reliable nuclear capable icvm missile as early as next year, cutting two years off the previous estimate. now, this all comes as tensions are flaring between the president and his foreign policy team, as nbc's andrea mitchell reports. >> in alarming new intelligence assessment on north korea, warning the regime could have a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the u.s. mainland as early as next year. two years sooner than previously thought. after north korea's successful long range missile test just weeks ago shocked u.s. intelligence officials. the assessment now concluding kim jong un is making problem. >> if they are quickening that pace, we are reaching that closing window of opportunity to try to prevent their capability to threaten the united states

directly. >> in t the u.s. is testing missile defenses, while hawaii plans for nuclear drills. >> what's unimaginable to me is allowing the capability that will allow a nuclear weapon to land in denver, colorado. any job will be to develop military options to make sure that doesn't happen. >> reporter: meantime, harsh worsds from north korea saying it will launch a "powerful nuclear hammer at the heart of the u.s." if they attempt to remove kim jong un as supreme leader. the administration trying to deal with these tensions as the white house and secretary of state remain at odds over several key policies. rex tillerson commenting on speculation he may get fed up and quit. >> i'm not going anywhere. >> how long would you stay for? >> as long as the president keeps me. >> tensions continue as a button-downed former oil executive tries to adjust to the world of trump. >> all right. thanks to andrea mitchell for that report. the u.s. has announced new sanctions against more than a dozen venezuelan officials. it's part of an effort to pressure venezuelan president

nicolas moduro into dropping his plans to rewrite the country's constitution, which the opposition says is a play to consolidate more power there. earlier this month the opposition stated a worldwide symbolic protest vote against modero's plans, and venezuelans have for months taken to the streets in protest of the president. in a statement the u.s. treasury secretary steven manuchin says our sanctions demonstrate the united states is standing by the venezuelan people in their quest to restore their country to a full and prosperous democracy. >> still ahead, it a deadly accident of the ohio state fair. now investigators are looking into how a ride malfunctioned. >> unbelievable what happened there. plus, the tsa announces new security measures for airport screenings. what it can mean for you the next time that you are heading to the airport. those stories and a check on weather when we come back. you're watching msnbc, everybody. keep it here. (vo) a lifetime of your dog's

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welcome back. this morning investigators are looking into a cause of a ride to malfunction at the ohio state fair. witnesses reported the seats of the ride, they broke off after smacking into a metal support beam. pretty unbelievable to see that video. the ride known as the fireball spins and swings passengers into a pendulum-like motion as high as 40 feet according to the chief inspector for amusement ride safety. it was inspected yesterday, the day the accident happened, by his team and by a third party. governor john kasich has ordered a full investigation into this. >> the fair is about the best things in life, and then tonight with this accident it becomes a terrible, terrible tragedy. the ohio state fair will be open today, but the rides will be closed pending safety checks. the tsa has announced new security rules for airline travellers. passengers will now have to

remove all electronic items while going through security. this includes tablets, e-readers, and even hand-held video games for kids possibly. previously only laptops were required to be removed for separate screening. the agency says that the measures are already part of a pilot program at ten airports around the country, but it is now expanding it to all u.s. airports. the new rules only apply to standard security lanes and not to travellers who are in precheck programs. let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, heavy rain in missouri this morning, and that weather headed east. >> scary flash flooding in and around kansas city this morning. a report of seven inches of rain overnight. i just put my finger right here. you can see the storms are just regenerating right over the top of this area just to the southeast of kansas city here in missouri. we'll watch and see how bad that is at day break. i'm sure there is water rescues ongoing, and a lot of roads are going to be impassable out here. these storms continue through st. louis. there's a lot of moisture available, and this all has to slide to the east over the next two days, and even maybe into

saturday, unfortunately. this is the rain we're dealing with now here in missouri. then tomorrow we take it into areas of the east, and we start to add these bright colors on here. that means heavy rain. we get to the reddish color and the pink, that's two to three inches of rain. northern maryland all of southern pennsylvania, northern d.c. that's on your get-away friday heading into the weekend. keep that in mind for your travel. let's time it out for you. this is friday again. today is not too bad in the east. a chance of a shower or storm, but the really soaking stuff is as we go into friday. here we go 5:00 p.m. on friday. heavy rain moving into areas of virginia. there's that heavy band in southern portions of pennsylvania. then friday night in and around d.c. and baltimore, then even into saturday morning it continues to linger through the mid-atlantic region. even into saturday afternoon. it doesn't look like the best of beach weekends, at least the start of it. areas from the outer banks all the way up through the delmarva. you know, you don't like these heading into the weekend. maybe we can get a good sunday. >> yeah, hopefully so. thanks for that, bill. still ahead, some big news out of the tennis world. plus, a record night in texas

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foot shot by john carlos stanton. he has the 33rd home run on the season. unbelievable. the marlins last four runs in the night came after the rangers said back-up catcher brett nicolas to the mound. miami takes this one 22-10, and the game was also memorable for this moment in the eighth when ranger adrian bell tray was ejected after literally moving the on-deck circle. i don't know why he did that. all right. to seattle and the mariners hosting the red sox. in the third where boston's rafael devers launched his first ever major league hit over the fence adding to his team's nearly early lead there. at 20 years old he is the youngest red sox player to hit a home run in more than 50 years. this one was all boston as they blank seattle 4-0. boston now has five shut-outs on the year, and oddly enough, three have come against the mariners. and to some major news in the world of tennis this morning. novak djokovic has announced that not only will he miss the u.s. open this year, but he is

out for the rest of the 2017 season. it's all due to an injured right elbow. it ends his streak actually of playing in 51 straight grand slam tournaments. the 30-year-old djokovic says his focus is on recovery and getting back into winning form. >> he is going to be missed at the u.s. open. he was such a big draw. especially here in new york. how about the score the game between -- 22-10. >> that's quite a spread. >> there were no errors in that game. unbelievable. >> they have to be feeling pretty good this morning. >> no? >> all right. thanks. well, still ahead, secretary of state rex tillerson shoots down resignation rumors. >> plus, as rumors fly that the president is looking to replace attorney general jeff sessions, lawmakers, they are weighing in on what would -- that would mean for special counsel bob mueller. we'll be right back. i no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c. wondering, what if? i let go of all those feelings.

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. welcome back. it is the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories. ohio governor john kasich has ordered a full investigation into what caused a ride at the state fair to malfunction, killing one person and injuring several others. witnesses reported that the seats of the ride they broke off after smacking into a metal support beam. according to the chief inspector for amusement ride safety, it was inspected yesterday, the day the accident happened by his team and by a third party. incoming white house communications director anthony scar muchy denies he wants the president's chief of staff investigated for leaking his

financial disclosure forms. scare mu sc republicans once again failed to pass any legislation yesterday when the senate returns this morning, there will be ten more hours of debate followed by a so-called voter. they are expected to vote on individual health care measures that may be cobbled together into what's being called a skinny repeal. >> more on one of the big stories developing in washington. the president is showing no signs of letting up on his attorney general, jeff sessions, despite members of his own republican party urging him to address his issues with the attorney general privately as opposed to what we've seen on twitter. we're going to get the latest from nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: people here at the justice department from the

attorney general on down will see if today brings another attack from the president. the presses's base of support wants the attacks to stop. >> reporter: sessions shows no sign of stepping down, after a week of presidential attacks over his decision to stay out of the russia meddling investigation because he campaigned for trump. sessions turned up the heat on cities that won't help federal agents desport immigrants illegally, as trump was trump t trumpeting a crackdown on sanctuary cities. the attacks have accomplished one thing. rallying conservatives to sessions' aid. >> i wish the president and the attorney general would sit down and work this out between themselves. >> don't resign, jeff sessions. breitbart calls sessions a man who embodies the movement that elected donald trump. conservative talk radio urged the president to back off.

>> there's no need to treat him this way. no need whatsoever. >> i think the attorney general have had more expressions of support for him in the last 24 to 48 hours than he did almost throughout his confirmation process. >> sessions has been a loyal soldier praising his boss at every public appearance. >> the trump agenda is to improve the lives of the american people. >> white house aides know he is not resigning told directly by the attorney general's chief of staff. the president's spokeswoman was sounding like he might be allowed to stay. >> he can be disappointed in someone, but still want them to continue to do their job. >> reporter: those close to jeff sessions say the president's attacks have stung, but he intends to ride out the storm and stay in a job that he loves. reports say that a replacing jeff sessions who recused himself from the justice department's investigation would be a precursor of the firing of robert mueller, who may be legally out of the president's

reach. here's chris coons saying yesterday on "morning joe." take a listen. >> it's my impression that the special counsel serves at the pleasure of the attorney general and that there are certain standards for his removal. >> this view is also expressed by the trump appointee overseeing the department's russia investigation. deputy attorney general rod rosen stein, here he is commenting on the subject last month. >> do you know of in i reason for cause to fire mr. mueller as of this date? >> no, i do not. >> and that would be your decision if that ever happened, right? >> that's correct. >> and you're going to make it, nobody else? >> as long as i'm in this position, senator, it will be my responsibility to make that decision. >> in light of this report that did come out yesterday that folks at the white house, maybe the president, were looking at ways to fire the special counsel

mueller and, as you already testified today, given the current situation, you are the only person today in a position to actually do that firing, isn't that correct? >> that is correct. >>. >> well, secretary of state rex tillerson is working to shoot down rumors that he is looking to make his exit from the trump administration. a pair of reports earlier this week suggested that tillerson could resign from this position by the holidays or even sooner over reported frustrations with president trump, including his comments on attorney general jeff sessions on tuesday. a state department spokesman denied rumors that he was planning a departure. tillerson himself addressed the speculation yesterday during a photo op. >> are you committed to staying in your position as secretary of state? >> i'm not going anywhere. >> how long will you stay for? >> so long the president lets me. >> how is the relationship with

the president right now? >> good. >> there you go. joining us now reporter for axius. >> at least he answered all the questions. early on he would just walk out and not answer them. >> he said as long as the president will let me. >> i wanted to start -- responding to, of course, axius and others reporting that sca sca >> there are reports that chief of staff reince priebus did not want him to appoint scaramucci as director of communications. then one of the first things scaramucci did when he took the job is he forced the hand of his assistant secretary to resign. mark short has an interesting relationship with reince priebus. comes from the rnc. they're very much allied.

once you take a look at that forcing out as a direct hit at reince priebus. then we have the tweet, of course, that you just referenced. he directly targeted reince priebus by tweeting at him in the tweet, referencing the leaks. he then deleted that tweet, and he said that the press was wrong to say that this was directed at reince priebus, but that the administration was going to be targeting anybody who leaked any information. right now tensions are incredibly high, as you see. the two of them are obviously on very different pages. >> let me ask you about that tweet really quickly. help us clarify something. obviously in his tweet scaramucci refers to the leaking of his financial disclosure forms as a felony. you see it right there. which is a felony. aren't footbainancial disclosur forms something you can file a request for? i ask because of the fact that he is basing his call for an investigation on the fact that it's a crime when in reality it may not actually be something illegal. >> that's exactly right. i mean, these are not classified

pieces of information. you can request any sort of government file in that nature within 30 days. anthony scaramucci at the time was working for the export-import bank underneath the trump administration. he filed that form on june 23rd. the law as it stands, you can get that form within a month of disclosure. politico posted it on their website last night, july 26th. it's after that one-month period. it doesn't appear that there's anything illegal here, although politico has not disclosed how they got or obtained that form. it's very likely that they got it through a completely legal way. just by requesting it from the website. >> we're going to have to see the way things shift and shake. >> more tensions, though. >> scaramucci is out. sarah fisher for us, thank you. appreciate it. president trump is facing growing backlash over his decision to ban transgender troops from serving in the military. in a series of tweets sent yesterday morning, he wrote after consult ag with my generals in the military, please

be advise the that the united states government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the u.s. military. our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory. it cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. re refer all questions about the president's statement to the white house. we will ton to work closely with the white house to address the proceeds's national security team was reportedly blind sighted by his nato speech in

brussels when he didn't commit to the principles of directive defense. the fbi was recordly blind sighted by his pick after leaving much of his senior staff out of the loop on that one. the u.s. military was also caught off guard when the white house warned the syrian regime against carrying out a planned weapons attack. officials said they had no idea the white house was planning a statement. a department of homeland security was reportedly surprised by the timing of the president's travel ban. according to the "new york times", secretary kelly was on a plane when he looked up at a tv and saw the president's signing the executive order that he was discussing at that very moment. kelly says he had seen earlier drafts of the proposal. >> a lot of surprises there. >> a long list of surprises by the white house and the rest of the administration. >> yeah. all right. still ahead, the tsa announcing new rules for flying the friendly skies. the new stricter screening procedures you're going to face for bringing certain electronics on board your plane. plus, will he or won't he? kid rock offering an update on

his rumored senate run. those stories. plus, bill karins with a check on your forecast when we come back. who's the new guy? they call him the whisperer. the whisperer? why do they call him the whisperer? he talks to planes. he talks to planes. watch this. hey watson, what's avionics telling you? maintenance records and performance data suggest replacing capacitor c4. not bad. what's with the coffee maker?

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such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. it's important to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from a stroke. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know™. welcome back now to new changes coming to the airport. something that affects all of us when we're going through the security lines. after ramping up screening for some international flights, the tsa now says it's tightening security for domestic travel as well. >> more electronics will be scrutinized. anything larger than a cell phone will have to undergo separate screening, which could mean a longer wait time. gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: with more and more travellers cramming more and more into their bags, the tsa says it will be taking a closer look at your electronics. >> if it's all for security, that's all good. you know, you can't be too careful. >> while passengers have been required to remove laptop computers from their carry-ones for years, the new procedures mean any device larger than a

cell phone, including e-readers and tablets, must also go into a separate bin. the rules are already in place at ten u.s. airports, including boston, detroit, and los angeles. >> i think passengers can expect longer wait times. there's really just no way that you can start dumping more items out of a bag and somehow keep the lines going at the same speed. >> this all comes after federal authorities announced tighter security measures for all 180 airlines flying to the u.s. around the world. in phoenix the tsa also recently began testing 3-d carry-on luggage scanners to detect bombs. last week homeland security secretary john kelly said the tsa recently set off an explosive based on what intelligence suggested terrorists were developing. >> we tested it on a real airplane, on the ground, pressurized, and to say the least, it destroyed the airplane. >> any electronics larger than a cell phone in this bag? >> >> reporter: some travellers say the extra screening is worth the hassle where. >> it takes more time up front. getting all the things you need to take out and everything, but

if it's going to protect us, it's a good thing. >> our thanks to nbc's gabe gutierrez for that report. let's turn to weather with bill karins. what do you got? >> flash flooding around kansas city. one area reported seven inches of rainfall. there's still thunderstorms in that area. all these little maroon boxes, those are all areas that are under flash flood warnings currently. this rain extends over to through st. louis and southern illinois. there's take new flash flood warning in illinois. all of this heavy rain is going to move east over the next two days. it's going to be a pretty ugly friday, saturday in the mid-atlantic, so, unfortunately, if you chose this for your beach weekend, anywhere from virginia beach to norfolk, all the way up through ocean city, even the jersey shore, it's going to be cloudy, rainy, and cool, and even a little breezy at times as this storm kicks on through. sunday looks like it potentially, ficks crossed, could be a little better, but a lot of heavy rain. that's two to three inches of rain. the only good thing about this storm system is that it's bringing cooler air down with it. this cold front is the dividing line between the really hot

stuff that we dealt with all summer long that's still with us in texas and oklahoma, and the mildish type air to the north. highs today 100 in dallas. you jump on the other side of the front with the rain and the clouds, only 83 in kansas city. that will be the case through the weekend. this front will try to make it a little further south, but it will stall out. mobile, not so lucky. tallahassee, houston, it's too early in heading towards the fall season for you to get the cool air, but tup loelo that wo be a nice break. saturday does look kind of raw and chilly. d.c., a high of 72. average high is usually in the mid to upper 80s. that's a very cool weekend start for you, and i mentioned sunday will be a little better. still, not exactly warm. the forecast for today, not a bad day. d.c. at 89 today. 78 in new york. maybe a shower in boston, but it's not going to rain all day. the hot stuff is still in the south. you know, just feel bad for the friday, saturday plans there on the mid-atlantic and on the east coast. not a good beach weekend. >> i will have to make the best out of a rainy weekend there,

bill. one more for you here. singer kid rock is speaking out on his rumored run for a seat in the u.s. senate. in the late night post on his website, rock says that he is still exploring the idea of making the move from music to politics. the singer writes that when his name was thrown out for a possible senate run, "i was beyond overwhelmed with response i received from the community leaders, d.c. pundits, and blue-collar folks that are tired of the extreme left and right." adding, "i decided to take a hard look to see if there was a real support for me as a candidate and my message." rock says he will be scheduling a press conference in the next six weeks or so to address his political ambitions. in the meantime, he announced the formation of a nonprofit organization to promote voter registration, adding that any money raised from merchandise will go directly to registration efforts. and president trump wears many feathers in his cap. commander in chief, business mogul, golf fanatic, among many others. now you can add artist to the

list. the 2005 sketch of the new york city skyline are t of then civilian donald trump is currently up for auction. the depiction of the big apple with trump tower front and center was created by trump as part of a charity event. according to an auction site. bidding goes until 8:00 p.m. eastern this evening. right now the highest bid is for just under $12,000. it's not quite warhol, but -- >> i have to say i have some drawings in my back pocket i could throw out as well for some bids. >> i don't see a resemblance between that skyline and new york. >> you don't see it? can we bring it back up? i mean, come on. that's new york city if you can't -- >> nice signature. >> let's move on. still ahead, thousands of people in france have been evacuated as fire crews try to get the upper hand on a series of wildfires threatening popular tourist destinations there. plus, a new and dire challenge for the people of yemen. we'll have a live report about what officials are calling the world's largest humanitarian

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find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. welcome back, everyone. heading overseas where fire crews in france are battling a series of wildfires in the southern part of that country have forced residents to evacuate. 10,000 people have been ordered to evacuate just west of the

resort town of san tropez. france has asked its european partners for more help in that fight. and now to yes, ma'men. the country has been plagued by a massive famine and worse off, more than 300,000 people have been infected with cholera since last april. tehran bureau chief ali arouzi joins us. what's been the response of the international community and aid organizations? >> well, as you know, for more than two years a proxy war has ravaged yemen. it's displaced some 3 million people, killing or injury more than 40,000 people, including 10,000 civilians. the conflict has devastated

infrastructure, including water, health facilities and sanitation. and according to the heads of three u.n. agencies, the world's worst cholera outbreak is unfolding, while the country is on the brink of famine, with over 60% of the population not knowing where its next meal is coming from. only three of eight ports are functioning and goods simply can't get in. the situation is so disastrous that the united nations said a child under the age of 5 dies every ten minutes from preventable causes including hunger, disease and violence. now, saudi arabia, who has led the coalition is being blamed for most of the civilian

casualties, as well as hutis. >> unfortunately it's only gotten worse. >> what a staggering statistic there, a child under 5 dying every ten minutes. it's so sad. coming up next on "morning jo,"" more backlash after the president's decision to ban transgender people from joining the military. >> and "the washington post"'s robert costa will have his latest reporting. >> senator bill cassidy will talk about the deal he's pushing to try to get a deal on the health care bill. "morning joe" just moments away.

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policy from president trump on wednesday barring transgender service members and overturning an obama era policy which had lifted the bans on thousands of transgender trouops. congressional sources tell nbc news house leaders directly asked the administration to intervene to help squash that funding. the white house said the president's main motivation was military readiness. the latest report shows military costs for transgender troops were a small part of the budget. the defense secretary is on vacation. today the president will speak at a first responders event as headlines over his embattled attorney general and health care reform continue to dominate. >> and senate republicans will

try to get a new plan to repeal obamacare passed today. they will vote on independent health care reform measures that if passed would likely be cobbled together in some sort of skinny repeal bill. >> i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf and ayman mohyeldin. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." we've seen plenty of chaos but it may now have reached its pinnacle. it has now expanded to the west wing taking on the department of justice. and anthony scaramucci referred chief of sta