turns out. that is our broadcast for tonight. thank you so much for being here with us. good night for all of us from nbc news headquarters in new york. of us from nbc headquarters here in new york. ♪ a clash over immigration with plans to drastically change how people come to this country. things turned tense during the white house press briefing after president trump and a pair of republican senators introduced a merit-based immigration program. plus, wall street hits another record as the dow soars to 22,000 for the first time ever. and president trump frustrated over the u.s. strategy in afghanistan. in an nbc news exclusive, why the president suggested firing the afghan war's top military commander.

good morning, everybody. it is thursday, august 3rd. i'm yasmiyn visugin. legislation would cut the number of legal immigrants in half and drastically reshape how people across the globe come to live in our country. the bill introduced by senators bill cotton and david perdue would change the lottery system for green cards with a merit-based system favoring those who speak english and have higher-level job skills. the number of green cards issued every year would go from just over a million to about 500,000, cut in half there. the white house senior policy visser stephen miller explained the proposal at yesterday's press briefing. and when it came time for questions, things got a bit heated. take a listen. >> but this whole notion of, well, they could learn -- you know, they have to learn english before they get to the united states, are we just going to bring in people from great britain and australia? >> jim, i'm going to say, i am

shocked at your statement that you think that only people from great britain and australia would know english. it's actually -- it reveals your cosmopolitan bias to a shocking degree that in your mind -- no, this is an amazing moment. this is an amazing moment, that you think only people from great britain and australia would speak english is so insulting to millions of hard-working immigrants who do speak english from all over the world. jim, have you honestly never met an immigrant from another country who speaks english outside of great britain and australia? is that your personal experience? >> of course there are people who -- >> but that's not what you said, and it shows your cosmopolitan bias. and i just want to say -- >> it sounds like you're trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into this country -- >> jim, that is one of the most outrageous, insulting, ignorant and foolish things you've ever said, and for you, that's still a really -- the notion that you think that this is a racist bill

is so wrong and so insulting. let's also use common sense here, folk. at the end of the day, why do special interests want to bring in more low-skilled workers and why historically -- >> i'm not asking for common sense. i'm asking for -- >> i think it's very clear that you're not asking for common sense, but if i could just answer your question -- >> how is this -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> i named the studies, glen. glen -- >> tell me -- >> i named the studies. >> i asked you for a statistic. >> glen -- >> can you tell me how many -- >> maybe we'll make a carveout in the bill that says "the new york times" can hire all the low-skilled, less-paid workers from other countries and see how you feel then about low-wage substitution. >> wow. the president claims the bill will reduce poverty and increase wages, but republican senator lindsey graham calls the proposal a misreading of the economy. >> the argument is these foreign workers are hurting american wages and job opportunity. i think that's not accurate. i think the truth is that

employers can advertise until the cows come home, and there are certain areas like meat-packing and tourism and agriculture that you just can't find american-born labor to do those jobs, and these legal visas keep the company from going out of business or moving overseas. and i don't want an economy that doesn't recognize how diverse we are as a nation. and to take all of the green cards and put them in one end of the economy is just i think ill-advised, and i can't support that. >> all right, joining us now from washington, deputy news editor from "axios," alexei mccannon. good to talk to you this morning. this is going to drastically change the u.s. immigration system. right now, senator lindsey graham, a member of the so-called gang of eight, is not on board. do you think this current divide could feasibly be bridged here? >> i don't think so. i mean, they just saw how trump fumbled on health care in what i consider a trumpian classic move. a short-term strategy that he

throws his support behind before having a long-term plan for getting that passed. we saw that with health care and now with this immigration bill and i think senators recognize that. where is to to gain by supporting home this when they recognize he doesn't have a long-term plan for how this affects the economy or how this could actually get passed. >> there are two conversations happening here around this new immigration plan. the one is sort of the economic argument, which we just heard from senator lindsey graham there. the other is the moral issue. this is not the american way, which is what cnn's jim acosta was arguing there in that press room. which is going to win out here? >> the economic argument just isn't there. there are numerous studies that show immigration actually benefits and helps the u.s. economy, and that's something that is seemingly getting misconstrued by the trump administration with this bill. and also, to be frank, the moral argument is easier for folks to grasp. and i think we've seen time and again how the department of justice under president trump

has sort of pushed forward on this idea that nonwhite americans or nonwhite people in the u.s. are sort of unfairly advantaged by civil rights and progressive policies in the u.s. and so, that's what they're going after with this immigration bill, and i think that that moral argument will be hard for senators and americans alike to look over or look past. >> we have a new quinnipiac poll as the president's approval rating is at a new low, 33% with 61% disapproving of his time on the job. half of white men with no college education, which is basically a huge chunk of the president's base, quite frankly, they disapprove of his performance as well. how does backing this proposal change anything, if at all? >> well, i think that his supporters really cared about health care and they saw how he failed on that, but we'll remember how trump talked about immigrants throughout the campaign in a rather discriminatory and egregious way, but that was something his supporters really grabbed on to, and we even heard his supporters mimicking that rhetoric themselves throughout the campaign. and so, this immigration bill or

these immigration policies are things that his voters voted for him on and helped get him elected to the white house on. and so, clearly, they support it, and clearly, it's something they're interested in, and he's speaking directly to his base of voters, despite this low approval rating with the support of this immigration bill. >> alexi mccammond, thank you. the stock market has shattered another milestone with the dow jones industrial average hitting 22,000 points for the first time. dozens of companies are expected to release earnings this morning, which could help keep that rally going. markets have been on a steady upward trajectory since last fall. back in november, the dow jones stood at 20,000 before reaching a new record of 21,000 in march, despite a revolving door at the white house and congress' lack of progress under the trump presidency. markets thus far have been relatively unfazed. investors are looking ahead to friday's jobs report, and according to the monthly adp employment report released

yesterday, private-sector employers added 178,000 jobs in july. all right, president trump appears set to take his first step in targeting china in a crackdown over its trade practices. senior white house officials tell cnbc that the president is expected to make a speech at the white house tomorrow and sign a memorandum that will target china's intellectual property in addition to its trade practices. after the president's announcement, u.s. trade representative robert lighthizer is expected to begin an investigation into those practices using a rarely used tool, section 301 of the trade act of 1974, which allows a president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions to protect u.s. industries. meanwhile, "axios" reporting that president trump is taking actions after hearing complaints from silicon valley executives who say that chinese intellectual property theft is one of the biggest challenges they face and that billionaire investor and presidential adviser peter thiel was involved

in crafting this step. the move will likely be supported by some democrats, ron wyden and sherrod brown urged him to rein in china and chuck schumer was especially supportive of protecting american intellectual property. now to an nbc news exclusive. there are deep misgivings within the white house about the american approach in afghanistan, and they came to a head during a meeting in the situation room. nbc news wheef white house correspondent hallie jackson has the exclusive story. >> reporter: an exclusive look behind the closed doors of the situation room at an increasingly frustrated president, agitated with his military on afghanistan, even as he delays a decision on a new strategy in a fight his top generals describe as a stalemate. senior administration officials take nbc news inside that meeting two weeks ago, where the president's key advisers surrounded him, including secretary of defense jim mattis. those sources say the president lashed out, suggesting mattis should fire the general in charge of afghanistan, venting,

"we aren't winning." influenced, it seemed, by a meeting he had had earlier with veterans of the afghan war. those same sources tell nbc news some in the room were taken aback by an analogy the president made referencing the renovation of a favorite new york restaurant led by an outside consultant to illustrate how those on the ground might make better decisions than those at higher levels. >> his point was, perhaps it would have been better if that owner had gone to the employees who are working in the restaurant, rather than hired someone from the outside and wasted a lot of money. >> reporter: those officials also said the president seemed to know that china, not the u.s., is making money mining rare minerals in afghanistan. sources tell nbc news the president left the meeting without deciding on a strategy and that his advisers left stunned. >> officials close to secretary mattis said that when he returned to the pentagon after the meeting, he was visibly angry and went for a long walk by himself to think it over. >> reporter: now, questions of the president's confidence in

his own team. msnbc's hue hewitt with the national security adviser. >> do you have confidence yourself with general nicholson? >> of course. i've known him for years and can't imagine a more capable commander. >> does he have the confidence of the president? >> absolutely. >> reporter: he says he does have confidence in the president's leadership. the president declined to comment but said no decision has been made with options still being developed. bottom line, for america's longest war, the wait for a new plan stretches on. >> that was hallie jackson reporting there. also news this morning that two u.s. service members were killed in afghanistan yesterday when a suicide bomber struck a nato convoy in kandahar. and we have more shake-ups in the trump administration with the recent ouster of two national security council aides held over from former national security adviser michael flynn's tenure. "the atlantic" was first to report that rich higgins, who served as a director for strategic planning, was dismissed on july 21st.

his firing reportedly due to a startling memo that he wrote in late may warning of "political warfare" being spurred inside the left. another aide shown the door, ezra cohen-watnick, senior director for intelligence on the nse, whose job was saved last march after steve bannon asked to override h.r. mcmaster from firing him. he was one of the aides who brought devin nunes to the grounds to show him intelligence, which nunes returned to the white house with much fanfare to brief the president on. national security adviser h.r. mcmaster is warning of the grave threat that north korea's nuclear program poses to the united states. and in a new interview with msnbc's hugh hewitt, he said despite the increased threat from pyongyang, that country remains incredibly isolated on the global stage. >> reuters had a story earlier this week, two u.s. senior officials confirm that the icbms north korea tested can reach anywhere in the united states. can you confirm that, general? >> i'm not going to confirm it,

but it is -- as i mentioned, really, i mean, whether it could reach, you know, san francisco or pittsburgh or washington, i mean, how much does that matter, right? it's a grave threat. >> kim jong-un, should he be sleeping easily at night? >> no, i think he should not be, because he has the whole world against him, right? he's isolated. he's isolated on this. since 1953, the korean peninsula's been in a state of armistice. the war never formally ended. and there's been no aggression, no aggression from the united states, south korea, any of our allies. >> if he were removed, general, would the regime's behavior change, if that one individual were removed? >> i'm not sure about that. i don't think anybody has a clear picture of the inner workings of that regime. what is clear is that it is an authoritarian dictatorship that has existed since the end of world war ii, now in its third

generation, and there is a difference in this third autocratic ruler in that he's as brutal as the previous two have been, but he's doing some things differently. he's killing members of his own family, even. and so, what this means for the future of that regime, i mean, i think it's really almost impossible -- it's impossible to predict. >> you can catch the entire exclusive interview with h.r. mcmaster saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. all right, still ahead, everybody, a deadly explosion rips through a minnesota school during summer classes this morning. investigators are still combing through the debris. plus, triple-digit temperatures putting millions at risk out west today. we're going to have a check on the forecast when we come right back. keep it here, everybody. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. this morning, two people are dead after an explosion at a school in minneapolis. last night, fire officials said they had found the body of a second victim, john carlson,

buried in the rubble at the minnehaha academy. according to authorities, contractors were working on one of the school's buildings at the time of the blast. investigators believe it was a natural gas explosion. >> as soon as they said, hey, we smell gas, we've got to get out, that's when they exploded. so there was only like a split second between smelling the gas and the exploding. >> also killed in the blast was ruth berg who worked as a receptionist at the school for 17 years. at least nine people were taken to the hospital after the explosion last night. at least four people were still hospitalized. a historic heat wave out west is bringing triple-digit temperatures to cities like portland and seattle, which usually have more mild weather. excessive heat warnings and advisories are in place for at least 15 million people today, and according to the national weather service, temperatures out west will be dangerously hot through friday with highs near or above the hottest they've been in the past 25 years. with that, let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. and bill, salem, oregon, just a

bit shy of -- >> one degree shy, i know. it was a close call for their all-time hottest temperature where they fell one degree shy. we'll see how close portland gets to their all-time high today. the strong ridge is in place and this is why the weather pattern has been like this for a good portion of the summer with all the heat in the west, but it's really amplified right now. 15 million people under heat warnings or advisories, 900 miles from california and that entire stretch of i-5 under excessive heat warnings. for today, the all-time high in portland's recorded history, 107 degrees, today expecting a forecast high of 105, so it will be close. we'll easily shatter the daily record high. same for seattle. seattle we were thinking maybe had a shot of getting up towards 100. you'll be about five degrees shy of that. eugene and medford record highs also. this weekend we cool it off. it's not like we're back to normal yet, but at least we're getting back down a little lower. portland goes to 92 on saturday, but look what happened sunday. it gets hotter, 98.

medford stays in the 100s. reno cools off on sunday. boise, you stay in the 90s. so it's not like we'll be totally done with the heat wave, just the extreme portion of it, really today into tomorrow. we also have to watch what's going on in the midwest with thunderstorms chicago to st. louis. we could see severe weather, maybe an isolated tornado today southern portions of wisconsin, northern illinois, maybe a little sliver near the quad cities of iowa. yesterday we had a lot of thunderstorms in the northeast. today, hit-and-miss storms in areas of new england from about new york city southwards down to baltimore and d.c. we should be on the dry side. and also some storms on the gulf coast. so you know, the northwest heat wave peaks today, then we'll track severe storms the midwest today, tomorrow heading to pennsylvania and new york. i'll have more details coming up on that. >> thanks, bill. still ahead, another defensive gem in the outfield and remembering the coach who returned notre dame football to greatness. sports, everybody, is next.

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or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures... ...and before starting xarelto®-about any conditions, 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. time now for sports. we'll start in miami, where the marlins blanked the nationals, 7-0, with pitcher vance worley getting his first win since may of 2016, but he had a little help. both christian yelich and derek dietrich hit home runs to make it 5-0. dee gordon extended his hit streak to 14 games, tying a career high while going 3 for 4, but joncarlo stanton had the hit of the night. look at this one. >> long drive to right, stanton back toward the corner. does he have room? he leaps, and he robs goodwin of

a home run to end the game! >> a vertical leap there. stanton denies brian goodwin of the home run for the final out to preserve a four-hit shutout for worley. however, the nationals still have a 12-game lead on the marlins for first place in the n.l. east. up to the bronx, where the yankees' masahiro tanaka ran into early trouble in the top of the first. justin upton's rbi double allowed the tigers to go up 1-0. then with two outs in the fourth, jason mccann singles to center, but center fielder jacoby ellsbury bobbles the ball before throwing it into second. the tigers went up 2-0, but the rain came down, delaying the game for more than three hours. now, after the delay, yankees' reliever struck out nine batters on nine pitches. this feat has only been accomplished 87 times in mlb history. however, it wasn't enough. the yafies lost 2-0.

and to college football and sad news yesterday. legendary notre dame coach ara parseghian has passed away at age 94. he returned the notre dame football program to national prominence in the 1960s and '70s. he led the irish to national championships in 1966 and '73, winning the historic '73 game over alabama, 24-23. the win capped a perfect 11-0 season and is considered the high point of parseghian's career. his teams all finished in the top 15 ranking. he left in 1974, never coaching again. he was inducted into the college football hall of fame in 1980 after his coaching career, he served as an analyst for both abc and cbs. he also served as chairman for the national multiple sclerosis society and established the ara parseghian medical research foundation. our thoughts and prayers are

with his family. and what an unbelievable career. >> yeah. >> legendary coach. >> quite a career for him. certainly a loss for the football community there. all right, still ahead, president trump signs a bill imposing new sanctions on russia but not before criticizing the legislation and the backlash is already beginning. plus, some of the president's phone calls called into question. what the white house is saying about some of the congratulations trump says he's received. we'll be right back, everybody. 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. booking.com gets it. and with their price match, i know i'm getting the best price every time. visit booking.com. booking.yeah! the uncertainties of hep c.

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welcome back, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian along with bergdorf. let's start with the top stories p.m. two people are dead after a explosion at a school in minneapolis last night. fire officials said they found the body of a second victim buried in the rubble of the minnehaha academy. authorities say contractors were working on one of the buildings at the time of the gas and that a natural gas explosion may be to blame. and scientists, they have announced a major breakthrough in their quest towards eradicating inherited diseases. researchers at oregon health and science university say they have repaired a disease-causing gene in human embryos targeting a heart defect. they say with the discovery, embryos can help fix themselves if scientists jump-start the repair process early enough. and iran reportedly firing back against new sanctions signed by president trump, vowing to take an appropriate response. they say the sanctions break the terms of its nuclear deal with the u.s. and other world powers.

the international backlash has begun since congress forced the president's hand in signing that major sanctions package for russia, iran, and north korea. in a lengthy statement, he read that the legislation was "seriously flawed" and said that it included "clearly unconstitutional provisions." the law imposes waiting periods before he can suspend or move sanctions first imposed by president obama until congress can review and potentially even block them. and though the president has become well known for the flair at public bill signings, this one was done behind closed doors, a message not lost on his critics. >> so, the fact he does this kind of quietly i think reinforces the narrative that the trump administration is not really serious about pushing back on russia, and i think that is a mistake, too, because putin will see this as a sign of weakness. >> already, russia's prime minister, dmitry medvedev, is calling the sanctions a trade war and said that the hope of improving our relationship with the new american administration

is over. and trolling the president on social media, said "the u.s. establishment fully outwitted trump. the president is not happy about the sanctions, yet he could not but sign the bill." iran for its part is vowing a similar response, saying this infringes on their deal. and germany claim the missile launched into orbit was capable of delivering a nuclear war head. and the white house defending president trump's claims that he received congratulatory phone calls that appear to have never happened. one from the boy scouts of america and another from a head of state. the president told the "wall street journal" that there was no criticism of his highly political speech to scouts last week -- "i got a call from the head of the boy scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them and they were very thankful." then there is this claim he made before monday morning's cabinet meeting. >> even the president of mexico

called me. they said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they're not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment. >> however, the government of mexico says no call took place -- "president enrique pena nieto has not recently communicated by phone with president donald trump," the mexican foreign ministry said. and the boy scouts put out a statement saying "we are unaware of any such call." sarah huckabee sanders said the president did receive the praise, just not when or how the president said he did. >> on mexico, he was referencing the conversation that they had had at the g-20 summit, where they specifically talked about the issues that he referenced. in terms of the boy scouts, multiple members of the boy scout leadership following his speech there that day congratulated him, praised him, and offered quite -- i'm looking for the word -- quite powerful compliments following his

speech, and those are what those references were about. >> but the president specifically said that he received a phone call from the president of mexico -- >> they were actually direct conversations, not actual phone calls. >> so he lied? he didn't receive -- >> i wouldn't say it was a lie. that's pretty bold accusation. >> do you see any circumstances where it's appropriate to lie from the podium? >> absolutely not. i don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place. i think that the balance -- my job is to communicate the president's agenda, the president's message, and answer your questions on that as best that i can, as honestly as i can, and as transparent as i can possibly be at any given moment. >> and the president is also denying the report in "gulf" magazine that he called the white house a "dump," tweeting "i love the white house, one of the most beautiful buildings, homes i have ever seen. but fake news said i called it a dump, totally untrue."

voters responded no when asked if president trump was honest, the highest since he was elected. alexi mccammond is with us once again. >> good to see you. >> general john kelly's fourth day on the job, starting with anthony scaramucci's firing. now it seems he may have reined in the jeff sessions situation. tell us more about that. >> right. so, he wasted no time in his role as chief of staff. the very next day, on saturday, he called jeff sessions to basically reassure him, your job is safe, you're not going anywhere, and to basically give his confidence to jeff sessions in the midst of all this drama coming from president trump against him. >> all right, so, your boss also, mike allen at "axios" is reporting that the president even appears to be trying to impress his new chief of staff. what are you hearing? what's he doing? >> so, at "axios," we've reported that during meetings, trump seems more on message, he's making the meetings shorter, sticking to the schedule, and he's also rattling off statistics, which is, you know, some have said it's a low bar for the president, but this is not how trump has been before

john kelly assumed this role as chief of staff, so it's clear that he's making slight changes. but as my boss, mike allen, loves to say, the one person who's not going to change in the white house is the 70-year-old billionaire whose name is on all the buildings. >> so, it seems as if maybe john kelly's sort of presence in the white house could feasibly be working, although we are only four days in to his time there. considering kelly's phone call to sessions, i assume the attorney general will not be making the jump to department of homeland security, as has been speculated. any more insight into the president's thinking there for who could replace john kelly? >> so, we've talked about how rick perry has possibly been floated as being removed from the epa to assume the role at dhs, but it's unclear if perry even wants that job. there's also been speculation that chris kovach, the secretary of state in kansas, who is very pro trump's immigration policies and is leading his election integrity commission against these claims of widespread voter

fraud could be assuming this role as dhs chief, and also, thomas homan, who is the acting director for i.c.e., who is also a staunch supporter of trump's immigration policies. but again, i mean, it's really a difficult practice to know what trump is thinking or what decision he could make at last minute, depending on who's talking to him, but those are the three people we know have been floated to replace john kelly. >> what's the timeline there to replace john kelly, do you think? >> it would make sense for them to do it sooner rather than later, but with all these policies coming up, right, still trying to figure out health care, moving on a tax reform, this immigration bill from yesterday, it's clear that the white house is sort of preoccupied with all of these legislative matters. but considering john kelly has come in and wasted no time trying to run a tight ship, i wouldn't be surprise philadelphia they try to move forward on this in the next few weeks. >> all right, alexi mccammond for us, thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having me. federal prosecutors in new york have subpoenaed kushner company, a property developer owned by the family of white

house senior adviser jared kushner. the "wall street journal" reports the subpoena concerns a jersey city development financed partly by a federal visa program known as eb-5. the 17-year-old program offers green cards to aspiring immigrants who invest at least $500,000 in certain u.s. businesses that have shown to create at least ten permanent jobs for american workers. the u.s. limits such visas to 10 thousand each ye 10,000 each year, and according to the "journal," the majority of those go to wealthy chinese individuals. the subpoena was received by kushner companies back in may and it's unclear what potential violations are being probed by the u.s. attorney. in a statement, a spokesperson for the kushner companies said that the company "utilized the program, fully complied with its rules and regulations and did nothing improper. we are cooperating with legal requests for information." jared kushner resigned from the business in january as his father-in-law prepared to enter the oval office. now, his personal attorneys say that he had recused himself from

"manners concerning the eb-5 programs." and with that, let's turn to business, where asian stocks edged lower this morning after the dow closed over the 22,000 mark yesterday. the new milestone comes in large part on the back of tech stocks like apple, which also hit a new record. cnbc's carolyn roth joins us live from london. dozens of companies are set to report today. can this wave of new earnings keep this rally going? >> well, that's the big question out there. we get numbers from the likes of kraft heinz, but also viacom later today. and keep an eye on shares in tesla today, after-hours shares in the company were up by some 8% after the electric car-maker beat expectations. the loss it recorded for the second quarter was a little smaller than expected. revenues were up as well, and the ceo, elon musk, he tried to ease investor concern about some of the production expectations, saying the firm is on track to meet expectations by 2018.

what does it mean for markets today? looking at futures just a short while ago, they're pointing downward, so maybe you will see a little profit-taking after we took out the big 22,000 number in yesterday's trading session. but as always, keep an eye on those earnings. >> and carolyn, russia's prime minister is responding to new sanctions, calling them an all out trade war. how is this going to impact the markets moving forward? >> whether it impacts the markets, that's a very difficult question, but certainly, that sort of language, that was very strong coming from the russian prime minister. he also said in a facebook post that the sanctions showed the trump administration was "utterly powerless," and saying "the hope that our relations with the new american administration would improve is finished." and speaking of trade, obviously, the big story yesterday was the news that the white house was going to take trade action against china. we now have a little bit more detail as to the timing of any announcement. according to a senior white house official who talked to

cnbc yesterday, president donald trump is expected to make a speech at the white house tomorrow and also sign a memorandum that will target china's intellectual property and trade practices. so, mark your calendar. that's happening tomorrow. back over to you. >> all right, carolyn roth live from london. thanks so much. and facebook's ceo, mark zuckerberg, is stirring up more speculation about his future in politics. political reports that he and his wife have hired democratic pollster joel benenson, a former adviser to president obama and a chief strategist of hillary clinton's 2016 campaign. benenson will reportedly conduct research for the couple's philanthropy. they have already brought on barack obama's 2008 campaign manager david plouffe and senator tim kaine's former communications director amy dudley. those hires, coupled with zuckerberg's recent visits to iowa, michigan, and ohio, and his denials about his interest in public office has many wondering if he has designs to run for president. i guess we're just going to have to wait and see. >> yeah, we will. that could be really

interesting, though, i have to say. still ahead, broadway honors the passing of one of its own. a look at the great white way's tribute to the award-winning actor and playwright sam shepard. plus, details on when the historic heat wave gripping the northwestern part of the country may finally break when we come back. (burke) at farmers, we've seen almost everything so we know how to cover almost anything. even a swing set standoff.

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or downtime? that's coolsculpting. coolsculpting is the only fda-cleared non-invasive treatment that targets and freezes away stubborn fat cells. visit coolsculpting.com today and register for a chance to win a free treatment. welcome back, everybody. power crews in oklahoma have been working overnight to try to get the lights back on following a 4.4-magnitude earthquake. it hit in the central part of the state near edmond just before 10:00 last night. officials say nearly 40,000 people across the region were left without power as a result. all right, let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. and bill, one more day left of that historic heat wave out in the pacific northwest. >> yeah, if we're going to have to challenge any of the all-time records, it will be today. it only cools off a couple degrees. the west will stay very hot at least the next six to ten days, at least, so not a ton of

relief. today, these are the record highs, these areas in the orangish color with the white number in them. we're easily going to beat all of those record highs. the question is will we get to the all-time record highs? and that is 107 today in portland. yesterday in salem, oregon, we missed it by one degree. we also have to keep an eye on severe storms yesterday. we had a lot yesterday in areas of the northeast. today we're focusing on milwaukee, madison, chicago, the quad cities to peoria. may even get an isolated tornado somewhere on the border of wisconsin and northern illinois. and those also could contain large hail and damaging wind. this same storm system is then going to move through the great lakes overnight and then tomorrow into friday we have severe weather for 18 million people, including syracuse, buffalo, utica, scranton, state college to pittsburgh to columbus to cleveland and akron. so, all of these areas friday afternoon to friday evening you have a chance at getting a pretty strong thunderstorm. so, here's the timing on the storms. by the way, behind this storm system, it feels like fall today in the northern plains. minneapolis is only going to be in the 60s for a high.

by 11:00 p.m., we'll watch those storms around chicago, southern portions of lake michigan on the strong side, then heading into indiana, so it looks like a late-evening storm event for you in chicago. then as we go through friday, here's 5:00 p.m., the line of storms approaching buffalo, on top of erie, and then eventually by about 6:00, areas right around pittsburgh. and we still have to track this through the northeast. it's a little weaker on saturday, but saturday afternoon, maybe an isolated strong storm from massachusetts up through areas of new hampshire. and i mentioned the cool air behind this. 64 today in minneapolis, and then by the time we get to tomorrow, here we are the first week of august, only 66 degrees for a high in chicago. so, a taste of fall for you in the great lakes friday. that cool air is over the northeast on saturday. so, you can start to notice it when you get to august, all of a sudden the sun's starting to set earlier and the back-to-school sales. and if you're one of those people who loves summer, this is a difficult time. >> i don't want summer to go. keep it here, bill. >> you're one of those who loves

summer, i know. following the death of award-winning actor and playwright sam shepard, broadway took a moment to pay tribute last night to the big star. theaters across the great white way dimmed their lights in honor of shepard, who died after a battle with a.l.s. "fool for love" was produced on broadway. he won a pulitzer prize in 1979 for writing "barry child" and i know the whole acting world is mourning his death. >> sure are. still ahead, president trump looks to crack down on china over its trade practices. we're going to go live to beijing where they will look at the challenges it will create for the two nations as secretary of state rex tillerson prepares to meet with his chinese counterpart. plus, president trump's ratings plummeting to new lows, poll numbers showing an increasing dissatisfaction with the president's job in office. that's coming up. ♪ we're drowning in information. where, in all of this,

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welcome back, everybody. senior white house officials tell cnbc that prum will

president trump will target china's trade practices. >> officially this move is against chinese theft of intellectual property but the subtext is about pressure on china to do more to rein in nk. secretary of state rex tillerson has been publicly trying to dial down tensions and that they may actually be open to talks at some point. the expectation is that this will signal a change in president trump's position. he said he was willing to go easy on china in exchange for

help with north korea. so this suggests either there is no other strategy beyond pressuring china to deal with north korea or that patience is wearing thin in the trump administration. in an interview yesterday, general h.r. mcmaster, the national security adviser, has suggested the administration has to be prepared to go down a path where they're not going to get as much help from china as they would like. >> we'll have to see how the relationship between the two country develops after this trade deal. thank you. >> a poll shows that president trump's approval rating is plunging even deeper with voters. a poll puts him at 33% among registered voters. 61% disapprove, a shift in a negative direction from the end of june.

trump as what 76 approval rating among republicans, as the gallup poll puts his approval at 36%. >> yesterday we brought you the sto story that anthony scarramucci was trying to have the last word for messaging the white house and communication team. the document suggests becoming a customer service operation with

the president as the number one customer, humanizing him and burnishing his image. for example, potus is the best golfer. potus has a funny and irreverent campaign. nbc news has not confirmed the authenticity of that. a new would slash the number of illegal immigrants allowed into the country. senator tom cotton will lay out his plan, senator dk durbin and representative luis gut yez outline with this is a bad idea.

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trump released a helpful video on ""sesame street."" i just saw it. take a look at this. >> it sticks in your head. >> that was pretty awesome. obviously some late-night laughs complements of jimmy fallon. president trump will hold another of his campaign-style rally. mr. trump expected to try and fire up supporters as his administration struggles to advance its agenda. louis is headed there as well. >> meanwhile, as we mentioned earlier, secretary of state rex hill tillerson will begin his trip

overseas today. >> that does it for us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. so you'll like the numbers today. 22,000. the stock market market hit that number. >> you're like the jim kraemer of