good night from nbc news headquarters here in new york. the war of words with north korea tbz. defense secretary jim mattis putting the rogue nation on notice as the pentagon prepares plans for a preemptive strike. plus, an fbi raid of the home of former trump campaign chair paul manafort as the russia investigation is heating up. president trump and mitch mcconnell start to point fingers over the gop's failure to repeal obama care. good morning. it is thursday, august 10 th. let's start with the latest in the mounting crisis with north korea.

we are hearing from secretary of defense jim mattis for the first time since president trump's fire and fury remarks tuesday from his golf club in new jersey. in a statement, general mattis says, in part, the united states and our allies, they have demonstrated capabilities and unquestionable commitment to defend ourselves from an attack. the dprk should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people. while our state department is making every effort to resolve this global threat from diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied military is now possessing the most precise, rehearsed, and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on earth. the dpr's regime's actions are grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates. the north korean army has released a new statement from its state-run media saying it will deliver a plan to attack guam to kim jong un by the

middle of this month and wait for his decision. the army says the plan consists of firing four ballistic missiles over japan into waters 18 to 25 miles off the coast of guam. the statement also goes directly after president trump saying that his fire and fury rhetoric is "a load of nonsense" and sound dialogue is not possible because trump is ereft of reasons. joining us now courtney kube. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> if north korea were to act on their plans to strike guam, how is the u.s. prepared to strike back? >> so the u.s. has a tremendous amount of defensive capability in the region already that's always based there. there are naval assets in japan. there are air assets all throughout the region. there are naval and air assets in guam, in south korea. right now their primary is a defensive capability, but if the need came about, they also have offensive capabilities.

that includes b-1 bombers that would fly out of guam that we've seen fly many times recently on various missions. they also have, again, these naval assets that are right off the coast of south korea and nearby in the region that have defensive capabilities against a ballistic missile launch. then, of course, you know, the u.s. always has their cyber response that they don't like to talk about that we all know exists, though. i mean, yasmin, there is a tremendous amount of military firepower right there in the region, and then, of course, there's 28,000 u.s. military members right across the border in south korea. >> i know that you cover the pentagon, but yesterday the state department mentioned your beat while responding to reports that the administration was sending mixed messages here from rex tillerson yesterday as well who said, basically, look, the americans, they can sleep soundly at night, but, of course, that's not sort of the messages that we're getting from the president or from jim mattis, as i just read. what are you hearing?

>> that's right. secretary mattis has been measured while talking about the asia region and the region with north korea since he became secretary of defense. just as evidence of how significant this problem is and how he recognizes that, his very first overseas trip back in february was to south korea and to japan. the statement that came out yesterday was more bellicose than what we usually see from secretary of defense jim mattis. the state department responded to this yesterday with the spokesperson there, heather newa eve rt. on the surface it appeared that president trump was even more fi fiery than the rest of his administration. >> courtney, thank you. appreciate it. we'll talk to you again in a bit. this comes as our allies abroad are responding to the latest threat from north korea. the u.k.'s u.n. delegate says britain stands shoulder to shoulder with the united states in tackling this threat. trump's comments are one of the many strands of u.s. activity.

the german government says the fire and fury remarks would never have happened if pyongyang did not continue to grow their nuclear armaments saying they are watching the situation with grave concern and that continued saber-rattling will not help anyone. in a similar vein, france calling for all parties to act responsibly and de-escalate the situation. in a serious development in the special counsel's investigation into russia and the 2016 campaign, this former trump campaign chairman paul manafort confirmed his home was raided by fbi agents late last month. the predawn search on wednesday, july 26th, was the first reported by the washington post exactly two weeks after it went down. a spokesperson said manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well. the day before the raid occurred, manafort met with senate intelligence committee staffers and according to the "new york times" turned over his notes from june 2016. trump tower meeting with the

russians and later that day manafort submitted documents to the senate judiciary committee which then dropped its subpoena from manafort to testify the following morning. the raid occurred hours later after that. according to the washington post, the search warrant requested documents reelate to tax, banking, and other matters. citing people familiar with the paper, agents said they departed with a trove of materials, including binders prepared ahead of his congressional testimony. investigators may have argued to a federal judge that they had reason to think manafort could not be trusted to turnover all records in response to a grand jury subpoena. the simmering tension between president trump and the top republican in the senate appeared to boil over yesterday afternoon as the president laced into mitch mcconnell on twitter. it began late last month when trump challenged mcconnell to change the senate rules after the failure of the republican health care bill, tweeting, "the

very outdated filibuster rule must go. budget reconciliation is killing republicans in senate. mitch m, go to 51 votes now and win." mcconnell replied in the senate and at home in kentucky earlier this week. take a listen. >> i mean, it's pretty obvious that our problem on health care was not the democrats. we didn't have 50 republicans. there are not the votes in the senate, as i have said repeatedly to the president, and to all of you, to change the rules of the senate. >> our new president has, of course, not been in this line of work before, and i think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process. >> that last comment about excessive expectations caught the president's attention, of course, and he tweeted, "senator mitch mcconnell said i had

excessive expectations, but i don't think so. after seven years of hearing repeal and replace, why not done?" for reaction we're joined by washington -- we're joined from washington by capitol hill reporter for "the hill" molly. good to see you this morning. >> wonderful to see you. >> how are our senate republicans staffers here reacting to sort of mcconnell and the president taking this view public? >> it's a head shaker. it's just a head shaker. keep in mind during that nearly 40 minute speech that mitch mcconnell gave at a rotary club, one of the final questions had to do with, well, what do you think about donald trump tweeting, and mitch mcconnell basically said, well, i have told him in private, and i have told him various times in public that i'm not a big fan, and, you know, we would like for him to stay on message a little bit more. that being said, he opened his speech by basically saying people ask me, you know, what's it like to be the senate majority leader these days, and he said, well, it's kind of like being a groundskeeper at a cemetery.

everybody -- >> wow. >> everybody is below you, and nobody ever listens. >> wow. >> so he caught a lot of laughter out of that one, but basically it's true. i mean, donald trump, you know, is this hard-charging, fast-paced business guy in new york and the rough and tumble of new york in d.c. i'm surprised that mitch mcconnell used the word quickly because that's not what happens here. especially in the senate. you know, for the president to tweet out to mitch mcconnell that he needs to change the filibuster rules, well, it's just -- it's just not going to happen. there aren't the votes. >> really it just is what it is. by you teasing the fact that mcconnell said it's like being a groundskeeper in a cemetery, i want to play more of what mitch mcconnell had to say. more, though, about the challenges that senate republicans have faced and also what's ahead for them. take a listen. >> part of the reason i think people feel like we're under performing is because too many kind of artificial deadlines,

unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating may not have been fully understood. i think it would be helpful if the president would stay a little more on message. we're going to be moving on. we have a number of things to do in september. funding the government. we're going to have to raise the debt ceiling. then we're going to turn to tax reform. >> i got to say, molly, in hearing that sound, those were definitely some digs at the president by saying artificial deadlines not related to reality. >> well, you know, i mean -- >> what's his game plan here, you think? >> the thing is one point mitch mcconnell made during that speech, he made this several times. he reinforced it. congress is in congress for two years, so they have a period of two years to get something done, and to try to get something moved like health care when a majority is so slim in the senate and has such an idealogically invited republican

conference is very difficult. you know, basically mitch mcconnell said we want to get tax reform done in this congress. meaning, maybe not by the end of the year. maybe next year. we'll see what happens, but basically his main issue right now is making sure that the government stays funded and that the debt ceiling is raised and that congress does pay the bills. that's a tough enough feat for his conference as it is. >> he seems like he is trying to spend his time telling his constituents to temper their examination expectati expectations. >> thank you, molly. thank you. >> republican senator ron johnson is walking back comments he made about his colleague senator john mccain during a radio interview yesterday. senator johnson questioned whether mccain's brain tumor influenced his deciding vote against health care last month. take a listen to this. >> i'm not going to speak for john mccain. you know, he has a brain tumor

right now. that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning. some of that might have factored in. >> really? i mean, he did, you know, get out -- he just recovered from getting the brain tumor removed and then flew all the way to washington d.c., but you really think that that played a factor in his judgment call? >> again, i don't know exactly what -- we really thought that -- again, i don't want to speak for any senator. i really thought john was going to vote yes in that conference at 10:30 at night. by about 1:00, 1:30, he voted no. >> johnson later released a statement saying, "i'm disappointed i didn't more eloquently express my sympathy for what senator mccain is going through. i have nothing but respect for him and the vote came at the end of a long day for everyone." a spokesperson for senator mccain shot back in a statement, writing, "it is bizarre and deeply unfortunate that senator johnson would question the judgment of a colleague and friend. senator mccain has been very open and clear about the reasons for his vote." meanwhile, in a facebook town

hall yesterday senator mccain had this message for supporters. >> can i just say thanks for your letters, thanks for your phone calls, thanks for your outpouring of affection. even those that want me to die, don't want me to die right away, so that's good. but overall i just want to say thank you. thank you for your friendship. thank you for your loyalty. thank you for everything you have done. thank you. >> you got to love that he has a sense of humor there despite what he is going through. certainly wish him the best for him. investigating allegations that un -- caused problems for u.s. government personnel. plus, the latest on the arrest of a man accused of driving his car into a group of french soldiers. those stories and a check on your weather when we come back. ♪

♪i'm living that yacht life, life, life top speed fifty knots life on the caribbean seas it's a champagne and models potpourri on my yacht made of cuban mahogany, gany, gany, gany♪ ♪watch this don't get mad (bell mnemonic) get e*trade and get invested

intrzero alcohol™.ine® it delivers a whole mouth clean with a less intense taste. so it has the bad breath germ-killing power of this... with the lighter feel... of this. try listerine® zero alcohol™.

that's why at comcast we're continuing to make4/7. our services more reliable than ever. like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most.

early. >> said to have affected their hearing. citing anonymous u.s. officials, the a.p. reports that in the fall of 2016 more than a year after president obama loosened ties and reopened embassy in havana, about five u.s. diplomats serving there began suffering unexplained hearing loss. according to the a.p., u.s. officials have concluded some sort of high-tech device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. the report says it is unclear if such a device was being used as a weapon or if it had some other purpose. the u.s. responded by expels two cuban diplomats from washington, but she refused to say exactly what they did. take a listen. >> if the u.s. doesn't have a

definitive answer on the cause or source of the incidence, why did it ask the two cuban embassy officials to depart the u.s.? >> some of our people have had the option of leaving cuba as a result for medical reasons. >> how many? it. >> i can't tell you the exact number of that, but i can -- >> was it in the tens, dozens? >> i'm not going to characterize it. we take this very seriously. look, this incident. this incident. that's what we're calling it. we don't know exactly. >> the physical symptom wasn't death, was it? >> no. it was not. it was not. not life -- >> not life-threatening? >> not life-threatening. i'll leave it at that. anything else on cuba? anything else on cuba? we're done with cuba, correct? >> not a lot of answers there. senator marco rubio released a statement saying the cuban government has been harassing personnel. this has not stopped with president obama's appeasement. personal harm to u.s. officials shows the extent the castro

regime will go and clearly violates international norms. investigators are also looking into the possibility that russia is behind it and may be operating under the radar of cuban officials. cuba says it is investigating as well and that it has never allowed cuban territory to be used for any action against diplomatic staff or their families. police in france are searching the home of a suspect accused of carrying out an attack on soldiers in the suburb of paris. after he was taken into custody following a dramatic car chase with police, officials say the suspect who is described as a 36-year-old man of french, nor african origin was intercepted by a swat team on a highway around 150 miles north of paris yesterday. they say that officers opened fire on the suspect's moving vehicle hitting him five times before he was actually detained and later taken to a hospital where he is now recovering. french counterterrorism prosecutors have opened an investigation after six soldiers were hit by the suspect's vehicle. as they left their barracks yesterday morning.

the mayor of the suburb where the attack happened says that authorities are not sure of a possible motive for the attack, whether it was directed by an outside group or if he acted alone. >> let's get a check on your weather now with meteorologist bill karins, and the first hurricane of the season is now downgraded to a tropical storm, but franklin made landfall last night in mexico. >> yeah. we still don't know exactly how much damage it did. it was in the middle of the night, of course, and it was a category one hurricane. you would expect some roof damage. a little bit of wind damage. possibly some flash flooding. at day break in mexico, we'll start to get the pictures, and we'll see just how bad it was. again, it made landfall north of vera cruz. about 85-mile-per-hour winds. already down to 70-mile-per-hour winds. the forecast from the national hurricane center has almost completely dissipated. going over the high terrain of the central mexican mountains will tear this thing apart, and it already is. this is the time of year where we get to the peak of our season. september 10th is the official peak, but there's about a two-month period, august and september, very active. we're already watching the next

area of interest, and this one is not far from the leewood islands. about a 10% chance of development in the next two days, but by the time we get to the next five days, there's a 50% chance this one could develop, and the development zone is close enough to the bahamas and just north of puerto rico here that we do have interest and even for the east coast, and past this point we do think it's going to curve somewhere near the east coast. it does not look to be a strong storm, and even if it does approach the east coast, this trough would kick it off the coastline. i don't think this one is really going to be a big issue. the other forecast concerns today, southeast thunderstorms, and maybe a few strong storms. colorado and also in kansas. yasmin, we have one more or maybe two and a half more great days in areas of the ohio valley and also through the northeast. i know yesterday was gorgeous. i think everyone will like today too. >> yeah. we're going to take advantage of that. thanks, bill. still ahead, an impressive debut for your quarterback down in carolina. the rally cat works his magic in st. louis. that means sports is exin. . . but if that's not enough,

we have 7500 allys looking out for one thing, you. call in the next ten minutes to save on... and if that's not enough, we'll look after your every dollar. put down the phone. and if that's not enough, we'll look after your every cent. grab your wallet. access denied. and if that's still not enough to help you save... ooo i need these! we'll just bring out the snowplow. you don't need those! we'll do anything, seriously anything, to help our customers. thanks. ally. do it right. theto me than my vacation.tant so when i need to book a hotel, i want someone who 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. c'mon, gary!

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! you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordo's... everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. soft surfaces trap odors. febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up to 45 days. breathe happy with febreze. ♪ ♪ award winning interface.

award winning design. award winning engine. the volvo xc90. the most awarded luxury suv of the century. this august visit your local volvo dealer to receive sommar savings of up to $4,500. time for sports. we have our first look at the texans newly drafted quarterback deshawn watson. he is making his nfl debut in the preseason opener against the panthers in charlotte, north carolina, last night. while the texans lost 27-17, their rookie qb showed some promise. watson, who led clemson to a national championship entered the game in the second quarter and completed 15 of 25 passes for 179 yards and used his feet to outrun a pair of defenders and find the end zone on that

one on a 15-yard score. turning now to major league baseball. the indians have add aid new face to their outfield acquiring three-time all-star jay bruce from the new york mets in exchange for a minor league pitcher. cleveland will reportedly take on the more than $4 million remaining on bruce's $13 million contract this season. lucky for the white sox, adamening l is a bit over zealous and is tagged out while trying an extra base and go for an extra base. look at that. he is in a pickle. houston loses 7-1 on that one. finally, in st. louis there was the rally scroll. you can remember that from back in 201 1. now the rally cat, a rogue kitten stops play between the royals and card naltz in the bottom of the sixth last night. melina waits at the plate with the bases loaded and his team trailing by a run. now, a groundskeeper is called in to chase down the feline and

run the clawing kitty off the field before play can resume. ouch. that accident llooks like it hu. >> to molina. molina, deep left. >> it's all about the rally cat. it compels molina to clear the bases slugging a go ahead grand slam. >> i love that that kitten interrupted the game there, but then hurts the groundskeeper. >> i know. you can see him wrighting in pain as the kitern was clawing him. >> that thing probably weighs, what, three pounds, and look how much damage it can do. pretty incredible. all right. still ahead, everybody, a white house chief of staff john kelly has already had an impact on the trump white house, but there's one area that is apparently off limits. plus, were members of the trump administration caught off guard by the president's fire and fury remarks? we try to answer that question coming up next.

♪ ♪ isaac hou has mastered gravity defying moves to amaze his audience. great show. here you go. now he's added a new routine. making depositing a check seem so effortless. easy to use chase technology, for whatever you're trying to master. isaac, are you ready? yeah. chase. so you can. it's about moving forward, not back.t. it's looking up, not down. it's being in motion.

in body, in spirit, in the now. boost® high protein it's intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for when you need a little extra. boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. be up for it at the lexus golden opportunity sales event before it ends. choose from the is turbo, es 350 or nx turbo for $299 a month for 36 months if you lease now. experience amazing at your lexus dealer.

they've changed and how we meet. . our phones have evolved, isn't time our networks did too? introducing america's largest, most reliable 4g lte combined with the most wifi hotspots. xfinity mobile. call or go to xfinitymobile.com. welcome back. i'm yasmin along side louis. it is the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories. former trump campaign chair paul manafort has confirmed his home was raided by fbi agents late last month. the predawn search on july 26th, it was first reported by the washington post yesterday. according to the post the search warrant requested documents related to tax and banking and other matters adding that

investigators, they may have made the move over belief that manafort cannot be trusted to turnover all records in response to a grand jury subpoena. police in france, they are searching the home of the suspect accused of carrying out an attack on soldiers in a suburb of paris. officials say the suspect who is described as a 36-year-old man of french north african origin was arrested yesterday on a highway north of paris following a dramatic chase. six soldiers, they were hit by the suspect's vehicle as they left their barracks yesterday morning. turning back to our other top story. secretary of defense jim mattis responding to president trump's fire and fury threat to north korea. in a written statement general mattis says, in part, the u.s. and our allies have the demonstrated capabilities and unquestionable commitment to defend ourselves from an attack. the dprk should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people while our state department is making every effort to resolve this global

threat through diplomatic means. it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and rebust and offensive capabilities on earth. the dprk's renl i'm's actions appear to be grossly overmatched by ours and would -- meebl, the north korean army says it will deliver a plan to leader kim jong un to attack the u.s. territory of guam by the middle of this month and wait for his decision. let's talk more about this joining us from china, right on the border with north korea. nbc news correspondent janna joining us. thank you for joining us. china could be the key to diffusing the situation with north korea. what is the feeling there, and what about the sanctions. is there still hope that those sanctions could help with the situation? >> it's unclear whether this latest round of u.n. sanctions will actually work. about 80% of north korea's trade is with china and the vast majority of it flows through

here. that's north korea just on the other side of the river. shipments of coal, iron ore, seafood, all being curtailed which could choke about $1 billion in annual revenue. here it appears to be business as usual. trade and goods ranging from food to electronics continues. trucks from north korea come over the bridge in the morning. they empty their goods, refill with chinese-made goods, and go back across the bridge that connects the two countries. north korea has always found ways to circumvent sanctions in the past, so much of what happens next is going to depend on enforcement. china voted for the sanctions. they say they're committed to a resolution, but they also stress that the u.s. and south korea need to back down and dial down the tension. there is a real sense of nervousness across the region with the rhetoric on both sides ramping up. there's a wider risk of miscalculation. officials in japan and south korea have been trying to down play those remarks by president

trump. the threats by north korea, they say they're more accustomed to. there isn't quite a sense of crisis in the region, but the tension is definitely escalating. >> all right. thank you. joining us from washington, nbc news national security producer courtney back with us. courtney, you just heard janice sort of talking about the fact that there's not an immediate threat in that region, but nonetheless, we are hearing that the u.s. is preparing for whatever is to come. talk to us about that. >> that's right. there mapt be, as janice was saying, an immediate threat, yasmin, but there is a continuous and always threat in that region. that's why the u.s. military always stays postured there for defensive and offensive capabilities. as you know, there are military assets in japan, korea, and guam. both naval, air, and land. we've seen some of them demonstrated recently after some of these more recent north korea missile tests, particularly the two icbm's they tested in july. the u.s. military responded with b-1 bomber flights, with attack

'em missiles which are surface-to surface missiles this he tested and theb with the continued navy presence off the coast. as janice was saying, there is -- in the region they may be trying to rachet down the tensions, but there was some very bellicose and fiery language from u.s. president donald trump this week. what was particularly striking yesterday was at the state department briefing, which was the first on camera briefing we saw out of the administration after the president's remarks about north korea, there was some back and forth with the reporters there. the spokeswoman said she was surprised by the interest, but the reporters really pushed back on that. we have the tape. >> it was a good week for diplomacy. i know you all want to obsess over statements and all of that and try to want to make a lot of noise out of that. >> i take issue with your choice of the word obsess. i mean, we're not obsessing about -- this is a president of the united states threatening a

nuclear armed country. whether you want to accept it or not a country that is armed with nuclear weapons. >> the president's statements stand for itself. >> it's not obsessing to want to know more. >> i see a packed room of journalists here, and normally there aren't half as many as there are here today. that shows a greater indication of your interest. >> so, i mean, of course, you know, any time the president says something that sounds like the u.s. might be on the brink of water with another country, there's going to be a lot of reporter interest in this. heather's responsibilities there to the associated press reporter matt lee was pretty surprising to most of us who were watching. >> i mean, it certainly is. considering the fact that there is an escalating conflict there. two nuclear armed countries and what the president said when he used the words fire and fury. a lot of people have questions, and they want a lot of answers, which is very understandable there. courtney there for us. thank you. >> the administration is trying to quell questions about who was and who is not involved and aware of the president's fire and fury remarks before he gave

them. the "new york times" citing several people with direct knowledge of what unfolded. reports that the president's comments were improvised and wording not discussed with advisors prior to being delivered. although they were reportedly aware that trump planned to deliver a message to north korea, advisors were caught off guard by the language. chief of staff general john kelly specifically taken by surprise. that report appears to be partially backed up by press secretary sarah huckabee sanders who said in a statement yesterday that the nfc and general kelly were both aware of the tone and strength of the message beforehand, although they add the words were his own. one person apparently caught out of the loop. secretary of state rex tillerson who was reportedly not aware the president would give a statement. nonetheless, state department spokesperson heather newart said yesterday that the white house, pentagon, and state department all speak with one voice relating to north korea. since becoming white house chief of staff john kelly has swiftly

tried to bring order and discipline to the trump white house. one area apparently off limits? the president's twitter feed. according to the washington examiner, a series of news reports suggesting kelly wanted oversight of the trump -- of trump's twitter account made their way to the president's desk. a source told the examiner that president trump was pissed when he read kelly wanted to control his twitter feed. just this week the president has sent out a series of tweets taking aim at major news organizations. senator richard bloomenthal and even senate majority leader mitch mcconnell leading many to believe kelly has not managed to curb the president's social media habits yet. >> all right. turning to the russia probe. some republicans are looking to make the most of the rift between president trump and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell after trump fired back at mcconnell for saying the president was not being realistic in his demands for senate action. tweeting senator mcconnell said i had excessive expectations, but i don't think so. after seven years of hearing repeal and replace, why not done?

now, mel brooks tried to capitalize on the president's disappointment in his u.s. senate campaign. brooks is vying to fill jeff session's seat along with luther strand and roy moore. the surprise twist last tuesday trump abruptly gave his "complete and total endorsement to strange on twitter." despite strange's close ties to mcconnell and senate leadership. brooks took to appealing to trump on twitter. i agree completely, mr. trump. mcconnell and strange don't support your agenda. i do. reconsider endorsement. he sent three more tweets just like that. for his part, judge roy moore is also bashing mcconnell in a new campaign ad calling him a part of the d.c. swamp. >> they lied about repeeling obama care. now, mitch mcconnell's d.c. slime machine spending millions spreading lies about roy moore. bearing false witness. why? we know why. we all know why. roy moore is honest. drain the swamp. send mcconnell a messable.

send them all a message. >> at the same time allies of president trump, they're stepping up to take on senators who have been critical or waivered in their support for the white house. political reporting that robert mercer, a reclusive hedge fund billionaire who helped bank roll trump's 2016 campaign and pushed him to hire steve bannon is contributing $300,000 to a super pact supporting republican senator jeff flake's primary op independent. flake, who did not endorse trump in 2016, recently published a book saying his party is in denial about negative impact of the trump presidency on conservatism. meanwhile, senator dean heller of nevada, perhaps the most vulnerable republican senator up for re-election next year is facing a primary challenge from the right. danny tarkanian, a businessman and son of the famous jerry tarkanian, he said he would be a reliable supporter of president trump's agenda. heller dismissed him as someone

who has run and lost five times. let's talk more about this. joining us from washington capitol hill reporter for "the hill" molly hooper once again. molly, is there concern out there from senate leadership about these challenges to republican senators and who has stood up to the white house? >> well, you know, it's hard to say. the thing is that what's really going to be telling in this election or what will set the tone, i guess, as to whether republicans are in favor or not has to do a lot with the economy. you know, president trump is popular. he has a base of supporters, obviously. they're very vocal, active, and they're very supportive. you know, according to the lawmakers i talked to, they're still very supportive. at the same time if you look at somebody like dean heller, he has run in very difficult races before. he has a crack -- a wonderful political team on the ground there that's going to make sure that he is taken care of, especially in ermz it of shoring up republican support. you know, with the things that he has done for the state, and

even the one problem -- the one issue he may find is that he did vote for the repeal and replace. that's a big question mark going into that health care vote. would he or wouldn't he? . that's actually when donald trump and heller kind of had, you know, a funny back and forth. ultimately heller voted for it. i wouldn't be as worried about that. especially when it comes to, say, jeff flake whose primary challenger, kelly ward, also challenged john mccain last cycle and lost, you know -- mccain came out 50-41 against her in that primary. it's hard to say. i actually want to turn back to that rift between mcconnell and president trump here. play you something that mitch mcconnell said over the weekend when talking about the failure of health care reform and how he cheers himself up after everything that went down in washington. take a listen. >> even tonight that we came up

one vote short of our dream to repeal and replace obama care, here's the first thing i talked about. feel better. hillary clinton could be president. >> wow. certainly getting some cheers there. >> that's right. the thing is that what he said next, and it actually is true. merrick garland could be on the supreme court. that's why when people talk -- when mitch mcconnell and republicans in in the senate say, yeah, we got gorsuch. it's not just that they got gorsuch. it's that they with stood a year's worth of, you know, hammering that they weren't moving on the system vacancy seat. on the system. that actually was a very big deal for mitch mcconnell to hold off. >> admittedly, to a certain extent, have you to think that they have to be frustrated that they have gorsuch on the supreme court, and, nonetheless, they need to get legislation push the

through, and that's not what's happening. >> i want to continue talking to you, as i always do. i got to wrap. molly hooper. >> let's wrap. >> thanks, molly. >> thank you. >> still ahead, drivers in one state dealing with a traffic nightmare with extra cheese. the pizza pile-up on one highway that led to a bad day of commuting. plus, the trick shot sinking a basket, literally to new heights. those stories, and bill karins with a check on your weather 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. and we covered it, july first, twenty-fifteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ explore your treatment options with specialists who treat only cancer. every stage... every day.... at cancer treatment centers of america. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts you're more than just a bathroom disease. you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately

to severely active crohn's disease. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before or during treatment, always tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop any new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion, and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. we're fed up with your unpredictability. remission can start with stelara®. talk to your doctor today. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options for stelara®.

>> you got to love this next story. welcome back. drivers in little rock, arkansas, they found themselves in a commuting nightmare after a tractor-trailer accident left one highway littered with frozen pizzas, and it was hot out, by the way. i don't even know if it was, but i thought that was a good addition there. officials say the truck was traveling west on interstate 30 when it hit the center support column of a bridge, ripping open

the truck's trailer and spilling the pies everywhere. the state needed to bring out a tractor to help scoop out the mess. thankfully aside from the massive loss of pizzas, which is going to have a lot of people upset when they go to their grocery stores looking for dijiorn, as you see there, no one was hurt in the accident. with that let's get a check on your weather. hey, bill, was it hot there, though? could you imagine all the melted cheese. >> the dough rising. yeah. possible. keel do that next time in one of the big heat waves. they put the cookies inside the car to see how they slowly rise. i'm not sure how pizza would fair. hurricane franklin -- the first hurricane in the atlantic season. now we're starting to ramp up the season. this will make it to the middle of august and october. this is the peak of our season. i know it's six months long. this was not a big one. it was a category one hurricane at landfall, and now it's raining itself out over the mountains of mexico, and none of that moisture is even going to sneak up into the four corner

region or through texas. it's all going to be rain over new mexico during the day today. our problems in our country will deal with severe storms. we don't have a big threat, but about one million people at risk today. just outside of denver, just down towards oklahoma city and wichita, and for oklahoma city, it will be a late night event for you. let's track this cold front over the next couple of days. the storms pop up around 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. then midnight, they head down to oklahoma city. then we do it again on friday as the cold front cools you off in chicago. not going to feel like a summer weekend in the great lakes with the cool temperatures. friday storms through the ohio valley, and then, unfortunately, for all our friends in the mid-atlantic and up in the northeast, saturday that line of storms coming over i-95 saturday afternoon. not the best late beach afternoon or evening in areas of the northeast and there's no signs of any heat to come too. it looks pretty cool throughout p of the eastern half of the country. right through next week, lewis. >> had to bring the bad news about the weekend, though. >> just saturday afternoon and evening. it could be a little bit of a rain-out for some people. >> all right, bill. when it comes to basketball,

there's the trick shot, and then there's this. bull bullard of harlem glo globetrotters took sinking a basket to new heights. he shot from a helicopter 210 feet in the helicopter, 210 fee the air and in globetrotter fashion sinks it. challenged lebron james to make the same shot. >> what? >> that's a pretty unbelievable shot. >> do we know how many tries it took? >> do you guys actually think lebron james could make that shot? >> i think he could. >> that's pretty intense. >> i give louis ten shots and he makes one. >> still ahead, everybody, a massive multi-million dollar chinese investment now looking uncertain. and why lawmakers may not be

able to sign off on a proposed foxcon plant. starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. "how to win at business." step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours. step two: choose la quinta. the only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free night-instantly and win at business.

or a little internet machine? [ phone ringing ] hi mom. it makes you wonder... shouldn't we get our phones and internet from the same company? that's why xfinity mobile comes with your internet. you get up to 5 lines of talk and text at no extra cost. [ laughing ] so all you pay for is data. see how much you can save. choose by the gig or unlimited. call or go to xfinitymobile.com

introducing xfinity mobile. a new kind of network designed to save you money. welcome back. we want to turn to business where markets slide after yesterday's selloff. let's start with with the markets here. what are you seeing today? >> looking at futures just a few

minutes ago, we are setting up for a weaker start to the trading session, that's on the back of the escalating tensions between the u.s. and north korea. we saw markets drop across the board yesterday. that said, they did close well off the sessions lows and today it's going to be all about rn earnings. woor going to hear from macy's, kohl's and we'll also hear from nordstrom and snap. and the wisconsin state senate currently doesn't have enough votes to sign off on that huge chinese investment, which would also include a $3 billion incentive pack an package for t manufacture of foxconn. in part because there concerns about when that investment might actually break even and that may not be until 2040. if that deal falls through, that

would be a big setback for the trump administration, which has been heavily touting that deal. and bad news for americans, they're saving less. according to the most recent data for the second quarter, the savings rate was only 3.8%, compared to 5% on average last year and 6% the year prior. the simple reason is this, wages are simply not rising as quickly as the increase in spending. that has got many economists worried because consumer accounts are 70% of the u.s. economy. >> i got to say, carolyn, we don't like hearing at the beginning of a sentence saying bad news for americans, that's for sure. thank you. coming up next on "morning joe," officials in pyongyang issue a new threat to the u.s. and we'll have andrea mitchell and alexander.

and ed markey says the president's tough talk only frightens americans and representative peter king is praising the president's message. an action-packed "morning joe" just moments away. ♪ top speed fifty knots life on the caribbean seas ♪ ♪ it's a champagne and models potpourri ♪ ♪ on my yacht made of cuban mahogany, ♪ ♪ gany, gany, gany, gany ♪ watch this don't get mad (bell mnemonic) get e*trade and get invested i'start at the new carfax.comar. show me minivans with no reported accidents. boom. love it. [struggles] show me the carfax. start your used car search at the all-new carfax.com.

barry, the c.i.a. that sounds made up barry. based on a true story... we're sending you to columbia. of the c.i.a.'s biggest secret. i have helped build the biggest drug cartel this world has ever seen. tom cruise. all this is legal? if you're doin' it for the good guys. [ police sirens ] no mas. no mas. [ laughter ] [ gun shot ] we recognize the dangers involved here. no you don't. shoot the gringo. american made. rated r.

at ally, we offer low rates on home loans. but if that's not enough, we offer our price match guarantee too. and if that's not enough... we should move. our home team will help you every step of the way. still not enough? it's smaller than i'd like. we'll help you finance your dream home. it's perfect. oh, was this built on an ancient burial ground? okay... then we'll have her cleanse you house of evil spirits. we'll do anything, (spiritual chatter) seriously anything to help you get your dream home. ally. do it right. they've changed and how we meet. . our phones have evolved, isn't time our networks did too? introducing america's largest, most reliable 4g lte combined with the most wifi hotspots.

xfinity mobile. call or go to xfinitymobile.com. welcome back, everybody. before we toss it over to "morning joe," lawyers for the penn state university brothers charged in the death of a pledge are set to appear in court today. they'll resume a hearing to determine whether the case could move forward. the judge could rule as early as tomorrow whether enough evidence exists to allow the prosecution proceed to trial. >> and in boston closing arguments are set to begin in the top chef chase. they alleged the chew wrew was harassed over a decision not to hire teamsters.

>> i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with five and fury like the world has never seen. >> i think americans should sleep well at night. >> doesn't test donald j. trump. we are not just a super power. we were a super power. we are now a hyper power. >> the united states is on the same page, whether it's the white house, the state department, the department of defense, we are speaking with one voice. >> they may be speaking with one voice, but it unclear who knew about the fire and fury comments. the north korean army