good morning, i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west and a 248 of the trump administration. political football. athletes and team owners raising their voices against the president. what he stands to lose in his fight for the biggest name in sports. escalating rhetoric from the white house, and pyongyang. this morning, why this back and forth is being called dangerous. >> kim jong-un, especially on a world stage, the more he has to respond. >> professionals in the foreign policy sphere do not want presidents to personalize these kinds of conflicts. it doesn't help. when it gets personal it makes

it harder to come to the table. >> also, u.s. military planes do something that hasn't been done in almost 20 years. plus, running out of options. republican leaders try to rally new support for the latest health care plan. days ahead of a scheduled vote. we begin with the fallout over president trump's latest feud with athletes, including new reaction from nba star steph curry on being disinvited by the president to the white house. >> it's kind of surreal, to be honest with me. just -- i don't know. i don't know, you know, why he feels the need to target certain individuals other than, you know, rather than others. i have an idea of why. but -- >> also, lebron james' new reaction after calling president trump a bomb on twitter for his comments. >> it's basically at a point where i'm kind of, you know, just a little frustrated for him to try to use this platform to divide us even more, it's not

something i can stand for. and it's not something i can be quiet about. >> meanwhile, for the first time, an mlb player has joined the ranks of athletes kneeling for the national anthem. that's bruce maxwell coacher for the oakland a's. his teammate showing his support by placing his left hand on his shoulder. this fallout comes at a time when a new abc/washington post poll shows 66% of americans feel president trump has done more to divide than unite the country. the poll was taken earlier in the week. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more. >> reporter: the president now picking a fight with professional athletes. >> wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say get that son of a bitch off the field, right now, out, he's fired? he's fired! >> reporter: taking aim at players like colin kaepernick who protested the treatment of blacks by police by taking a knee during the national anthem. a trend he started last year.

reaction was swift. nfl commissioner roger goodell tweeting divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the nfl, our great game, and all of our players. colin kaepernick's mom, with this response. the golden state warriors star player steph curry and his teammates were already considering not going to the white house to celebrate their nba title. >> our president has -- the things that he said, and the things that he hasn't said in the right times, that we won't stand for it. >> reporter: the president responded, going to the white house is considered a great honor for a championship team. stephen curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn. >> just kind of beneath i think the leader of a country to go that route. it's not what leaders do. >> reporter: lebron james weighed in calling the president a bum. steph curry already said he ain't going, so therefore ain't no invite. the back and forth comes at a time president trump is under fire for his handling of racial

tensions. in the latest "wall street journal" poll just 25% of americans approve of how mr. trump is handling race relations. the president also criticized the nfl for giving penalties for hard hits. >> they're ruining the game. >> you've got mothers, fathers, all around the country saying, we don't want our kids to play football. and, donald trump wants to go back in to the time when it was the roman gladiators. >> reporter: donald trump using rallies to rant against opponents is nothing new. professional sports, now the latest political football. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. joining me now, melanie zenona, and sean sullivan congressional reporter for "the washington post." thanks for being here, both of you. melanie, i want to start with you because president trump was just tweeting a few minutes ago, if nfl fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our flag and country, you will see change take place fast. fire or suspend. does this just show that john

kelly has zero control over this president? >> well, i can't imagine that he's too pleased with trump wading into this debate. but i'm also not surprised. he's made these comments about football at rallies in the past, in the south. i think it played well with his base. you heard the crowds cheering. booing when he was bringing up what some of these teams are doing, with allowing their players to sit during the national anthem. so i'm not entirely surprised that he would wade into the bait. but it does come at a time when he's already under fire for, you know, dividing the country, and for how he's handling racial tensions. and so i think it could be a problem for him. and a distraction from a critical week for both trump and the gop. they have a health care vote potentially coming up. with this september 30th deadline. as well as alabama senate race where both mcconnell and trump have waded into the primary, and their candidate is on the line here. >> and sean, let's talk about the week ahead. this will surely be brought up

in the briefing room tomorrow, does the white house want to continue down this road, considering the optics of the president going after african-american sports figures? >> i don't think many people in the white house do. they're focused on these next few days, which are going to be very, very critical, as melanie pointed out. i mean we have a special election coming up in alabama. special election primary on tuesday, where the president has a candidate he's backed. there's really, really high stakes in that race. they're racing against the clock on health care. they're trying to roll out a tax reform bill. and so i think a lot of people are scratching their heads and saying why is the president doing this right now? but, you know, i agree with melanie. i remember on the campaign trail the president talking about colin kaepernick, talking about the nfl. this is not a new subject. this is not something that he just brought up, you know, has never talked about before and brought up out of the blue. this is something he's brought up before and now he is putting himself opposite the most powerful sports league in the country. not just the athletes that he's taking on, but the actual league itself, the owners, the commissioner, so this is a

quickly escalating fight at a time when i think a lot of republicans on the hill are saying, hold on, why aren't you talking more about health care, tax reform. that's where we want your focus this week. >> you bring up the why. so melanie i want to ask. president trump tweeting last night roger goodell of nfl just put out a statement trying to justify the total disrespect certain players show to our country. tell them to stand. melanie, is this donald trump at the core of his character, or is this a political calculation or do you think it might be both? >> i think it could definitely be a little bit of both. you know, roger goodell's statement also was very veiled. he didn't call out the president specifically. but it was interesting to see, now that it's not just the players, as sean pointed out. we're having the heads of some of these sports teams having to weigh in, and really, you know, speak out against the president which is not something a lot of these business owners want to do. once again we're seeing the sort of clash between hollywood, and sports, intersecting with politics. it's the same thing sort of with the health care debate and jimmy

kimmel weighing in. and the jimmy kimmel test. it's fascinating to see the intersection of those two and how it will play out on capitol hill. >> sean i want to pull up the abc/"washington post" poll again it's showing that 66% feel president trump has done more to divide than unite the country. if this is part of political calculation here how do you suspect the rnc is working on a strategy to thwart the ways democrats will use this in the midterms and in 2020? >> i think there's an interesting debate going on right now in the republican party where there is this divide. some republicans and some of trump's hardest core supporters don't mind that divide. and what they say is, look, we need to rev up our base. we need to go to the people who helped elect donald trump president and we need to talk about the issues they care about, and we need to talk about the topics they care about and if that means bigger divisions in the country, so be it, but we'll have a base that's really energized. on the other hand you have republicans who worry and look

at the situation and say to your point, we're going into a midterm campaign here. these are the kind of things that are going to get democratic voters fired up. these are the kind of things that are going to get potentially democrats to recruit and get new voters on their side going in to next year's election, so they want to kind of defuse some of these things and focus more on policy so they can make policy arguments to the voters. there's really no resolution in sight right now for that debate. because you have a lot of trump supporters eagerly picking these fights. eagerly waiting until the culture wars. and on the other side you have republicans who say boy, this is the last thing that we want to see right now. >> sean and melanie, stay right there. we'll talk health care in a few minutes. but first, the defiance against president trump is venturing beyond the world of sports. stevie wonder staged his own protest at last night's global citizens festival in central park. >> tonight, i'm taking a knee for america. not just one knee. i'm taking both knees.

>> that was wonder's son helping him. the music legend has been outspoken in the past on social and environmental issues. now to puerto rico's recovery from hurricane maria. aid from the states has started flowing in to help the island of 3.5 million people. first shipments arrived yesterday, including 1.5 million gallons of water, 23,000 cots, as well as food. and about that dam reportedly threatening up to 70,000 people, it continues to hold. and the evacuation area was skald back to just hundreds. fuel supplies are low creating long gas lines. government officials say 85% of cell phone towers are still out of operation and internet and land lines still out of service. power is expected to be out for weeks in most areas, and some may not get electricity restored for six months. well new this morning, another earthquake has rocked mexico. this one a 5.7 magnitude just over an hour ago. meanwhile emergency workers search through the night for survivors of tuesday's

earthquake in mexico city, pouring through rubble of a collapsed office building. yesterday, a bridge collapsed when a 6.9 magnitude quake shook people out of their beds. more than 300 people were killed after the recent spate of earthquakes. thousands are homeless and tens of thousands of homes were badly damaged. up next, when it comes to escalating tensions with north korea, do more americans trust president trump to handle the situation or his generals? the latest polling will tell us. hey grandpa. hey, kid. really good to see you. you too. you tell grandma you were going fishing again? maybe. (vo) the best things in life keep going. that's why i got a subaru, too. introducing the all-new crosstrek. love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek.

he's on his way to work in alaska. this is john. he's on his way to work in new mexico. willie and john both work for us, a business that employs over 90,000 people in the u.s. alone. we are the coca-cola company, and we make much more than our name suggests. we're an organic tea company. a premium juice company. we've got drinks for long days. for birthdays. for turning over new leaves. and all of our products rely on the same thing we all do... clean water. which is why we have john leading our efforts to replenish every drop of water we use. we believe our business thrives when our communities thrive. which is just one of the reasons we help make college a reality for thousands of students. today, companies need to do more. so john and willie are trying to do just that. thank you for listening. we're listening too. listen up, heart disease.

you too, unnecessary er visits. and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies, and data without insights. and fragmented care, stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. at optum, we're partnering across the health system to tackle its biggest challenges.

we're back with politics. a new abc/"washington post" poll showing president trump's approval rating at 39%. the poll was taken earlier in the week. let's bring back melanie zanona, staff writer at the hill and

sean from "the washington post." you and your colleague posted this article last night. graham is pressing on with the health care bill. other gop senators signal they're moving on. is it a tease or the realization that most americans want to keep obamacare in its place? >> i think it's a little bit of both. as we look at the situation in the senate right now, the reality is pretty clear the republicans are one defection away from their health care bill being defeated before it even goes to the senate floor. when john mccain came out on friday i think he surprised a lot of people coming out that early in opposition to this bill. we've already heard susan collins another republican skeptic of this bill say she's leaning against it. i think a lot of republican senators look at this and say, boy, this thing does not really look to have a realistic chance of passing. but as you pointed out, you know, lindsey graham, who is one of the co-authors of the health care bill that republican leaders are pushing says he's pressing ahead. republicans are still trying to

tweak this. but the reality is pretty clear right now. this is a really, really tough road to passage and i think a lot of republicans are realizing that and kind of ready to move on right now. >> melanie, what is the strategy in congress? and from the white house? at this point to pass graham/cassidy? >> well, at this point, it all rests on susan collins, and possibly murkowski. the senator from alaska. they were two no votes on the last version, and both of them have expressed some concerns similar concerns that they had last time over pre-existing conditions, cuts to medicaid, we have heard reports that there was a draft bill to create a carveout for lisa murkowski in the state of alaska to try to get her in to the yes column. but none of that matters if susan collins is a no. and there's three defections at this point, which you know, there's no room for error here. so looking forward it depends on whether the bipartisan negotiations that had fizzled out pick up again.

i don't see a big push and rush to bipartisanship just because this fails next week, if it does. but, i do think that there may be some discussions around efforts to stabilize obamacare, and to see where those talks go, as well. >> well, we shall see. and sean i want to quickly turn back to "the washington post" poll showing president trump with a 39% job approval rating. what are your takeaways as you drill down the number on this question? >> i think a lot of republicans are concerned about his approval rating being this low, this early in his presidency. in the past we've tended to see presidents get a little bit more goodwill from the public. i mean they're just, you know, off of their first election, their first win, and so i think a lot of republicans look to the midterms next year, and that's where they get really, really worried. they worry that some of these down-ballot republicans are going to be tied to the president, and we're already seeing democrats and democratic groups do that. and they're going to be arguing in advertisements, and other

forms of techniques that they're trying to use to persuade voters, they're going to say, you know, a vote for congressman "x" is a vote for president trump's have a president whose approval rating is at 39%, that worries a lot of strategists. we don't even know, you know, perhaps it could be even lower at this time next year as we get even closer to the november-terms. so i think there's a lot of widespread worry about how low his approval rating is right now. >> melanie, i want to turn to the russia investigation and roger stone is set to testify this week. what should we expect? >> well, with this investigation, you know, we're seeing a lot with the congress, and efforts on whether or not there was meddling in the election. and i think from the congressional side, you know, they're looking at a different thing what the federal probe is looking at. the federal probe is tasked with looking at criminal wrongdoing. but congressional efforts are looking more at whether there were efforts to meddle in the

election. so i expect we'll see more of them to wade into that area, as well. >> a big week ahead on so many fronts. great to have you on this sunday morning. thank you. >> thanks. well the air force with another show of force, as president trump considers his military options, and whether he wants to take action beyond his war of words with north korea. >> three, two, we have ignition of the main engine, one, and liftoff! >> and with that atlas rocket launch last night a new u.s. spy satellite headed for orbit. no word on what type of surveillance it is, because that will remain confidential. in other words, it's top secret.

my friends think doing this at my age is scary. i say not if you protect yourself. what is scary? pneumococcal pneumonia. it's a serious disease. my doctor said the risk is greater now that i'm over 50! yeah...ya-ha... just one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia- an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. prevnar 13® is approved for adults 18 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. you should not receive prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. if you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue,

headache, muscle pain, joint pain, less appetite, vomiting, fever, chills, and rash. get this one done! ask about prevnar 13® at your next visit to your doctor's office or pharmacy.

a new escalation of tensions with north korea this morning. the u.s. military flew air force bombers on the edge of north korean air space. the closest the military has gone to north korea this century. this as the north korean foreign minister addressed the united

nations, threatening the u.s. with a military strike. >> translator: -- try to insult the supreme leader of my country by referring him to rocket. by doing so, however, he committed an irreversible -- entire u.s. mainland inevitable all the more. >> president trump responded by firing off another late night tweet saying just heard foreign minister of north korea speak at u.n. if he echoes thoughts of little rocket man, they won't be around much longer. joining me now is colonel jeff jacobs, msnbc military analyst and colonel, good morning. these the threats of military strikes on both sides, should americans be really worried about this? >> well, worried doesn't get you very far. we should be concerned that our defense against missiles is not what it should be. we don't have enough deployed. we don't have enough in

development and so on. but i think the real threat is to our allies in the region. if north korea decides to fire a rocket and the rocket goes awry, accidentally or on purpose, winds up landing on south korea or japan we are going to retaliate and the war will begin in earnest, and no amount of worrying is going to help, dara. >> can the u.s. prevent an attack from north korea? >> the short answer is no. they have enormous conventional capability, all along the border. and we -- which we can annihilate with your conventional capability. but i think that the north koreans are not particularly interested in attacking. i mean, an attack might come by mistake. the north koreans are really worried about somebody else, the united states, south korea, even china, taking over north korea. they're very much concerned about that. and it's the principle reason

they're developing weapons. but a mistake is the biggest problem. and our allies are very much concerned. japan wants to rearm and so on. tough problem. >> how significant is it that the u.s. b-1 bombers flew near to north korean territory? and when was the last time that that happened? >> it is significant. i'm trying to think of the last time it actually did. i remember it did happen. it was certainly not in this century. it was 20 years ago, at least, maybe 40 years ago. i remember an incident in 1976 where two american soldiers were killed by north koreans in the demilitarized zone, and we geared up very large military exercises, operation paul bunyan and we flew lots of flights around north korea. but that was 1976. so 40 years -- at least 20, and maybe as long as 40 years ago. this is not unprecedented. but it's been a long time since we've done that. >> and colonel, north korea

insists that its nuclear weapons program, is at self-defense measure and that its ultimate goal is to establish a balance of power over the u.s. why can't they be taken at their word? >> because, right now they may say that, but in the event that they actually develop nuclear weapons that can be delivered a long distance, then our allies are at risk. they can attack north korea -- south korea pretty much with impunity, japan, and so on. it's -- and the proliferation of nuclear weapons as we know it, very bad news, indeed, for everybody. we have to assume that their possession of nuclear weapons, and delivery capability is something that has to be stopped. stopping it, though, actually stopping it is something else entirely. >> stopping it. and real quick what would be the time line? six months? a year? >> well, i talk to some people who say six months. other people say 24 months. i think that's a wide -- that's a very wide price year to year and a half, and it will be too late to do anything about it.

>> colonel jack jacobs, thank you so much. great to have you here this morning. and that will do it for me. i'm dara brown. coming up senator cory booker will he run for president in 2020? but first your business with j. ramberg. flonase outperforms the #1 non-drowsy allergy pill. when we breathe in allergens, our bodies react by overproducing 6 key inflammatory substances that cause our symptoms. flonase helps block 6. most allergy pills only block one and 6 is greater than 1. with more complete relief you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6 is greater than 1 changes everything. we are ordering you to land immediately. alright boys, let's land. what is he? [ car horn honks ] that's for your bike. you never saw me. [ bell rings ] i was working for the c.i.a. and pablo escobar.

who thought that was gonna be a problem? [ upbeat music playing ] there are bills blowin' around the backyard. i'll rake it up in the mornin'. shoot the gringo! it gets crazy from here. american made. rated r. just walk right in and pay zero dollars with most insurance.r. plus, when you get a flu shot at walgreens, you help provide a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need through the un foundation.

it's that easy to get your flu shot and make a difference. so swing by your local walgreens today. walgreens. at the corner of happy & healthy. or a little internet machine? 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.

so all you pay for is data. see how much you can save. choose by the gig or unlimited. xfinity mobile. a new kind of network designed to save you money. call, visit, or go to xfinitymobile.com. good morning, coming up on msnbc's "your business," his lumber company went up in flames. find out what he did to rise from the ashes, and what you need to do to protect your business from disaster. the co-founder of lyft on why he ignores his biggest competitor. and makes sure his employees focus on who they are, and what they do. plus why e-mail marketing is still an effective tool to reach current and potential customers. let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business." "your business" is sponsored by american express open, helping you get business done.