this morning students from marjory stoneman douglas high school are in tallahassee ready to call on florida lawmakers to take action on gun control. it comes as their movement gets national attention ahead of a march on washington. plus amid growing pressure, president trump appears to endorse two measures related to gun control, a ban on bump stocks and strengthening background checks. and in the russia investigation, the son-in-law of a russian oligarch pleads guilty to lying to investigators in robert mueller's probe. good morning, it is wednesday february 21.

and we begin in the wake of last week's shooting massacre in parkland parkland, florida. president trump is signaling an open to modest gun control measures. while speaking yesterday, the president said he had directed the justice department to propose changes that would ban bump stock. the devices allow some guns to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute and were used during the las vegas shooting last october that left 58 dead. >> just a few moments ago, i signed a memorandum directing the attorney general to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns. i expect that these critical regulations will be finalized, jeff, very soon. >> in 2010, the atf concluded that bump stock devices are firearm parts with no automatic function and therefore not regulated as a firearm under existing gun laws.

senator dianne feinstein who previously introduced legislation to ban bump stocks is calling on president trump to follow through with action and support her measure. the nra has released a statement saying it cannot comment until an actual bump stocks rule is published. writing in part, banning semi automatic firearms and accessories has been shown time and again to not prevent criminal activity and simply punishing the law abiding for the criminal acts of others. president trump also tweeted whether we are republican or democrat, we must now focus on strengthening background checks. according to the "washington post," pat toomey said that he plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would expand background checks on firearm purchases.revival of a introduced alongside joe manchin. and president trump is scheduled to hold a listening session today with students, parents and teachers affected by the shooting in florida as well as columbine and sandy hook.

and florida had another chance to ban assault weapons yesterday, but the republican led state house of representatives blocked the measure to even debate banning weapons like the one used in the school massacre. several students watched from the gallery takes happened. you can see here this 16-year-old overcome with emotions as republicans defeated the measure. also responding to the skroet, outspoken douglas student emma gonzalez who captivated the nation by calling out nra backed politicians who refused to budge on begun gun reform, she tweete how could they do that to us? are you kidding me? #never again. we are not for getting this come midterm elections. the anger i feel is indescribable. meanwhile students from marjory stoneman douglas arrived in tallahassee to cheers from hundreds of students from leon high school. we should also note a change in plans. instead of marching to the capital and taking part in the

rally, we're told that douglas student will meet with state lawmakers and florida governor rick scott. nbc news is told there are concerns that the students will be confronted by pro gun advocates and that the change in plans is for their protection. meanwhile celebrities are lining up to support those students. george clooney is the first donate to the rally next month. steven spielberg and kate matched the donation and oprah winfrey did the same. the money will go toward organizing the march and any leftover funds will go to the families of the victims. let's go down to tallahassee. myra rodriguez is joining us you. thank you so much for joining us. there is going to be a gun reform rally as we were talking about. what are we expecting to see? >> reporter: well, that will get

started in just about a couple hours here. right here on the steps of the old state capitol here in tallahassee. what we're expecting are more 100 students from marjory stoneman douglas high school here to meet with state length lay tors. they will meet with about 70 of them, both republican and democrats. respect you mentioned the potential ban on assault weapons that failed in the house yesterday. s vo the vote wasn't even close. the students saying this is their first lesson in the process. they have concerned about that, but they say even though the vote didn't go the way they expected, they do want to have their voices heard. take a listen 20 dto daniel bis a student at stoneman douglas. >> we're asking you to -- we elected you to represent the people. we're the people. we're asking you to do something. that is why we elected you. and we cannot have people

roaming the streets with semi automatic weapons. i'm not saying the second amendment is all bad, but people roaming the streets and killing innocent people is just not right. it has never been right and never will be. >> reporter: in addition to meeting with some of the state lawmakers here, the students will also be meeting with republican governor rick scott in groups of 20. that is set to take place between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. tonight so they have a long day ahead of them. >> certainly going to be a powerful day for the students for sure. >> hope they make the impact y they wanted to have. the white house says the president's tweet late saturday night that called for the fbi for missing signals that could have prevented the school shooting while spending too much time trying to prove russia collusion was not meant to assign blame. sarah sanders did say the president believes that 35,000 person fbi should not, quote, be focused on it. take a listen. >> the president doesn't really

think that the fbi failed to stop the parkland shooter because it was too involved with the russia investigation, does he? >> i think he was speaking not necessarily that that is the cause. i think we all have to be aware that the cause of this is that of a deranged individual. >> did he mistweet when he said that? he is pretty direct. he says they are spending too much time trying to prove russia -- >> i think he's making the point that we would like our fbi agencies to not be focused on something that is clearly a hoax in terms of investigating the trump campaign and its involvement. >> special counsel robert mueller's investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election led to a cringe camina against a 19th person yesterday resulting in its fourth guilty plea. alex van der zwann pled guilty to making false statements to

rick gates. gates was indicted along with paul manafort tied to their lobbying. at his former law firm, van der zwann helped write a report to justify ukraine's prosecution of their former prime minister. van der zwann told prosecutors that he provided gates an early draft of what was meant to be an independent report, all know van der zwann's plea agreement does not mention cooperation, he could be used to apply pressure to the former high level trump aide who have pleaded not guilty. van der van is the son-in-law of german khan who filed a liable suit for mentioning him in the dossi dossier. incredible how it connects together. yesterday president trump claimed he has been, quote, much tougher on russia than obama. just look at the facts he said.

but he didn't elaborate leavinging the explanation up to sarah huckabee sanders at yesterday's briefing. watch this. >> he hasn't even called out putin. he criticized obama, the fbi. he didn't even criticize vladimir putin. >> he has been tougher on russia in the first year than obama was in alt years combined. he has imposed sanctions, he's taken away properties, he has rebuilt our military, he's done a number of things to be tough on russia. >> why hasn't the president implemented the sanctions which congress passed last year? >> look, frankly that is not completely accurate. this president has been tougher on russia far tougher -- >> the sanctions. >> there is a process that has to take place. and we're going through that process, that that law also says that the countries have to violate something in order for those sanctions to go in place. and that hasn't necessarily

happened. >> joining us now white house reporter for the washington examiner steve nelson. steve, good to have you with us. lots to break down here. but let's talk with the reaction to the statement from sarah huckabee sanders that the white house will soon release evidence of trump being tough on russia, because you look at the facts and it is a bit mind boggling, a bit of a stretch. and let's talk about what we actually know about what that evidence could possibility ly b you know it. >> yesterday sarah sanders was defending president trump's claim that he has been tougher with russia than president obama. she rattled off some examples. she cited increased u.s. military spending, giving arms to ukraine, calling out russia's alleged role in the cyberattack last week. and then she said that there is an incident that happened last week that will be reported, quote, in the coming days and that will show also how tough president trump is with russia. it is still unclear if she mis-1mi misspoke or not. i haven't heard.

but apparently at least according to her words yesterday, there is a further example of president trump being tougher than obama coming. >> let's turn to the gun issue here and sort of changing of the gun laws. every time there is a shooting, there is this renewed call to get stricter controls on gun laws and every time we then move on and nothing actually happens. what are we do think if this time is going to be any different, first of all, and secondly, talking about bump stocks, do you think that they will actually be banned and is this a way to avoid having a conversation about banning assault weapons? >> you know, it is interesting. after the last several shooting massacres, there actually have been changes. this bump stock order from president trump is the latest example. the texas church massacre, there was revelation that the military was not adding to a list of people banned from buying guns. they were not doing that properly. that has been addressed.

and here with in florida mass shooting, there is pressure for an age restriction, a new age restriction for ar-15s. only two states require you to be 21. that seems to be something that people are focusing in on potentially changing. unlike previous massacres, this doesn't necessarily require a frontal attack on the right to own guns. unlike sandy hook where there was an adult who was apparently not mentally disturbed owning the guns legally. here you have someone who was under 21 and there is a plausible path forward to addressing that. >> so many red flags that were missed have a lot of people quiing whether qui i questioning whether or not the system is working. we'll touch base with you later. stick around. still ahead, what the army is doing to remember some of the victims killed in last week's florida high school shooting. and new details about a secret meeting between mike pence and north korean officials that was abruptly canceled. and of course a check on your weather when we come back.

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welcome back. the army is honoring three junior reserve officers training kor cadets who were killed in the parkland school shooting. alaina petty, martin duke and peter wang are all being honored for the jrotv heroism medal. the medal is awarded to came debts who perform an act of heroism that is so exceptional and outstanding that it sets the individual apart from fellow students. wang who died helping others escape the shooter was also posthumously admitted to west point's class of 2025. the academy wrote one of west point's priorities is to help develop leaders ever character who are committed to the values of duty, honor and country. peter wang's actions on february 14th are an example of those very principles and for this reason the academy honors his

dream of being a west point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance. wang was buried on tuesday in uniform with his heroism medal. florida's governor rick scott has directed the florida national guard to attend the funeral services for all three cadets. switching gears for a moment, vice president mike pence had planned to secretly meet with a high level delegation ever north kordeldel. but north korea canceled the meeting at the last minute."washington post" reports the meeting had been planned two weeks in advance evof pence's arrive in south korea. the north korean's with drew after pence teased that he would use the trip to denounce nuclear ambitions and announce the most aggressive sanctions yet. they canceled the day after an awkward run-in during the opening ceremony where pence and kim yo-jong sat in the stands without acknowledging each other while no more than ten feet

apart as you can see in that picture there. u.s. officials have publicly insisted that they would only agree to talks if north korea agreed beforehand to give up its weapons program. a widely believe nonstarter for the authoritative country. administration officials also insist the talks only occur if pence delivered a tough message. no negotiations were made and the meeting was off camera. the state department did not disclose whether those or any conditions were actually met. let's get a check on your weather now with bill karins. you're tracking some rain from texas all the way up to the great lakes. we also have another warm day here in the northeast. >> and not just the northeast. it is crazy warm all the way from the gulf coast through florida right up through northern new england. nothing crazier this morning than 61 in burlington, vermont. their record high on this date was 58. they broke their record high temperature at 3:00 a.m. this morning. and it is only going to get warmer during the day today. and national at 71, that is a

warm temperature for june and here we are in february. and then the other side of the front, it is negative 14 in rapid city. so it is 85 degree temperature swing from rapid city to nashville this morning. so just extreme amplified weather pattern with cold and warm very closely bunched together. and in the middle is where we have all the rain. 37 million people under flash flood watches, numerous rivers in flood stage. southern great lakes, northern ohio valley and from houston to dallas to little rock to nashville, all under flash flood watches. and the cold air is catching up with it, so on the back side, you get the freezing brarain. we had an ice storm overnight in oklahoma, there has been ice in missouri and ice in illinois. so you go from 71 in nashville to rain in memphis, and then by the time you you get to missouri, you are in an ice storm. so crazy as you are traveling through this region. be prepared for quick moving and changing weather. as far as the rainfall goes in the next three days, the

heaviest totals, arklatex from northeast texas, northern louisiana, through arkansas and little rock. 3 to 4 inches possible, some could get 5 to 7 inches of rain. and how about the warm et todto? not a misprint. washington, d.c. you hit 78 yesterday, you have a good chance at 80 today. new york city at 72. and it will come to an end tomorrow as the cooler air will move in, but still very warm in the southeast. i can't say how unusual the air above us is the equivalent of early june and here we are in february. very strange. >> i have to tell you know, yesterday felt really good. the sun and the warmth. >> you you got to live how everyone in florida is all winter. >> yeah, enjoy it. >> for the next 12 hours maybe. >> thanks, bill. still ahead, all the latest from pyeongchang where u.s. men's hockey fate is decided by a shoot-out. meanwhile, u.s. legend lindsay vonn makes her final run in the

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welcome back. time now for sports starting with the latest from pyeongchang. after crushing slovakia to advance to the quarter finals, men's hockey team has been eliminated from the olympics by the czech republic national team. the czechs won 3-2 in over titi in a shoot-out for the win.

the americans meanwhile did not score once in that shoot skrout. lindsey vonn finished in third in the downhill winning bronze while becoming the oldest at 33 years old. on her olympic future, vonn said i wish i could keep going adding that my body probably can't take another four years. meanwhile a pair of russian skater skaters stole the women's short program setting the world records just minutes apart. scoring 82.92 and the latter scoring 81.61. either way, the russian athletes are poised to become the first russian skaters to win a gold medal in the 2018 winter olympics. and with that, norway still leads in the medal count claiming 30 medals thus far. meanwhile the usa has fallen out of the top five with a total of

13 medals. louisville men's basketball program will vacate its 2013 national championship and 2012 final four trip that includes 123 wins after the ncaa denied the school's appeal of ncaa rules and violations. the school must also pay a fine of around $600,000. this is the first national championship to be wiped away from the record books. the penalties are result of an investigation into allegations that a former assistant coach hired escorts and other dancers to strip and have sex with recruits. the statement from the interim president, i cannot say this strongly enough, we believe the ncaa is simply wrong. >> who does that? that is like out of a movie. >> incredible story on so many different fronts. >> unbelievable. >> thanks. >> and rick pitino has other things coming at him. it is an ongoing thing. >> that is true. still ahead, what is next for jared kushner's access to

classified information as chief of staff john kelly tries to tackle security clearance issues inside the white house. plus we'll go live once more to tallahassee, students from marjory stoneman douglas high school bring their fight for gun control to the state capitol. little things can be a big deal. i otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months, ... with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include

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door of. >> the president directed the justice department to take action over the bump stocks in a can be attached to legal semi automatic weapons. and kristen welker has all the details. >> keep our students -- >> reporter: president trump vowing to take action after the florida school massacre which white house sources say impacted him personally. >> we must do more to protect our children. we have to do more to protect our children. >> reporter: the president asking for regulations banning bump stocks, the devices allowing some guns to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute. the president had already called for a review of bump stocks after they were used by the las vegas shooter. >> i expect that these critical regulations will be finalized, jeff, very soon. >> reporter: under fire from victims to do more -- >> shame on you. >> reporter: -- the white house now considering legislation that would strengthen back glund che ground checks, but neither would have stopped the florida shooter.

>> the president is trying to do everything he can. >> reporter: sarah sanders also facing questions about the president's tweet blaming the fbi for missing warning signs about the shooter because, quote, they are spending too much time trying to prove russian collusion with the trump campaign. there is no collusion. >> we would like our fbi agencies to not be focused on something that is clearly a hoax in terms of investigating the trump campaign and its involvement. >> thanks to kristen welker for that. the president is set to host individuals impacted by some of this country's worst school shootings for a listening session at the white house today. administration officials say that will include members of the parkland community and parents of stunts killed r killed i s of stunts killed upports killed columbine and sandy hook shooters. >> and some are attacking the students for their activision. after the florida house failed

to ban assault weapons, owe souza tweeted adults one, kids xi re. and he tweeted worse news since their parents told them to get summer jobs. meanwhile, donald trump jr. hit the like button on this tweet from a conspiracy theorist who used the school massacre to attack both a student survivor and the fbi. and reminiscent of alex jones after newtown, an aide to florida state lawmaker was fired after he used his state e-mail to tell a journalist that two of the student activists were not actually students but actors. to that senator marco rubio tweeted claiming some of the students on tv after parkland are actors is the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency. and here is fox news host tucker carlson and his guest walking a fine line. watch this. >> all of a sudden you are seeing these kids involved in calls for very specific pieces of legislation and the allegation has been that they

are in some way in contact with organized anti-gun groups and people have suggested that have been denounced as immoral and heartless and how dare you question these kids or attack them which for the record i'm certainly not doing. >> where their voices would be valuable, where were the signs missed? these students were there, they dealt with this kid every day. but the media is focused more on a teen's expert steeise in supp side control measures for guns, which they probably have not studied a very complicated layered issue. >> there were at least 39 different times that -- >> they saw the sichb signs. they made the phone calls. >> health and human services went out there and met with the kid and had reports. and yet nothing was done. >> the action was missed on the federal and local levels. >> joining us now again maya rodriguez. good to have you back with us. so let's stay on this subject for a moment.

parkland sturpts expe s for a moment. parkland sturpts expetudents ex meet with florida lawmakers today. what are we hearing about what is expected to come out of them if anything? >> reporter: we're expecting about three bus loads of students, around 100 students here meeting with about 70 state lawmakers both republicans and democrats here at the state capitol. the state legislature is in session, that is why everyone is here. the students came in last night, they stayed at the local civic center here in leon county. they were greeted by local high school students here when they arrived and they are expected to be coming up here in about two hours or so. they want to talk to state legislators about mental health, gun control and school safety. they say they have not been put off by a vote that happened yesterday here, it was a measure that could have banned assault weapons here in florida, but it failed to pass the house 36-71. they say it is still important for them to be here at the state capitol to have their stroiss heard. take a listen to what samantha

fuentes had to say, she is a student at stoneman douglas high school. >> i think it is important to understand that, yes, absolutely the second amendment is so important. i absolutely believe that you have the right to bear arms. but only if you have the capacity to do so. and that means rigorous background checks, criminal background checks, mental health background checks. >> reporter: in addition to meeting with the 70 state legislators here, the students will also meet with governor rick scott, that will be happening between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. tonight. they will meet in groups of 20. some of these students of course have been quite critical of the governor after this shooting. those meetings where going to be happening later today. so of course they have a very long day ahead of them. >> a lot to watch out for today in tallahassee. maya rodriguez, thank you very much. >> so many courageous voices like that student we heard from. so maybe if change can be made,

it will be made because of this new polling which finds that support for gun control has hit a record high. according to the new quinnipiac university poll, 66% of voters support stricter begun la eer g. that is the highest reported since sandy hook. 97% of americans support requiring background checks for gun buyers. the poll also finds that 83% support a mandatory waiting period for all gun purchases. and 67% of those surveyed support a nationwide ban on all sales of assault weapons. >> and the supreme court yesterday refused to hear a second amendment challenge to california's ten day waiting period for new gun purchases. two california residents along with two gun rights groups challenged the law. they argue that the waiting period was unconstitutional when applied to individuals who already own a firearm. justice clarence thomas wrote a 14 page dissent saying that the

court was turning the second amendment into a disfavored right. in the past the supreme court has repeatedly refused to block strict gun regulations, including state bans on the sale of semi automatic weapons or limits on who can carry a gun in public. and switching gear, the white house is responding to reports of a power struggle offer access to highly classified information. unnamed officials say that jared kushner feels chief of staff johnally targeted him with an order to revoke anyone with top security clearance whose application is pending. now, in a statement kelly responded as i told jared days ago, i have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our israeli-palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with mexico. everyone is great ifle for tate

valuable contributions. there is no truth to any suggestion otherwise. the new rules go in effect on friday. back with us now, white house reporter for the washington examiner steve nelson. good to talk with you once again. in speaking of these sort of changes in security clearances or what john kelly is trying to edge pose in the white house in response to rob porter, what has been the reaction to these statements from the white house that jared kushner is actually going to be able to continue his work as a high level adviser despite the fact that he has not gained full security clearance? >> well, there is one person that john kelly probably cannot fire, it is jared kushner. not only is he a member of president trump's family, he is also tasked with everything from solving the opoid crisis to resolving the middle east peace process. right now it remains to be seen how this background check reform pans out. the memo was released late

friday. it remains to be seen whether this is treated seriously or whether there is a glaring double standard. so far in the post-rob porter wife beating scandal aftermath, the biggest victim claimed so far is someone who apparentlied admitted using marijuana and someone whose name you won't remember, but with jared kushner, it seems likely that he is going to be able to skate. >> let's stay on this sibt foub for a moment. because it is not just kushner who doesn't have security clearance. there are reports that about a dozen are operating without security clearance. so if in fact the kelly memo is applied equally across the board, what kind of impact could this overhaul have on the operations of the west wing? >> we don't know. it could just competent tight the processing of the backlog. perhaps there would be numerous staffertight the processing of the backlog.

perhaps there would be numerous staffer will be escorted off the white house grounds. it is really a matter of how much focus this gets. that is my take at least. it is possible that the news cycle will change quickly enough and everyone will move on to the next topic fairly quickly. >> steve nelson live in washington, d.c. for us. great to have you with us. still ahead, a meeting of the u.n. security council's becoming testy as the u.s. and policy lead he was exchanging barbs with one sidewalking right out of the meeting. >> plus bill karins will have a check on the forecast and more seasonable weather making a return. i have type 2 diabetes.

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or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. change the course of your treatment. ask your doctor about victoza®. . let's get a check on your weather with bill karins. we were talking earlier, you say there aren't many people alive today that have experienced a february morning that is this warm. >> last time it was this warm in washington, d.c. on this date was back in 1930.

and that was the warmest february day ever when it hit 84 degrees. today could challenge that. but likely come up just shy of that. so that is pretty crazy stat there. it is kind of the same for everyone on the mid-atlantic up to the neefts. it is ending in some areas. so let's talk about the winter side of this. here is the windchill values. we're at negative 23 in billings right now, negative 18 in bismarck. and the cold air has made it all the way down. it is not moving east quite yet, but it is heading south. windchill 5 in oklahoma city. everything covered in a glaze of ice. dla dallas is 28. on the warm side, 71 in nashville. look at the difference between st. louis and nashville. not that far of a drive. 17 and 71. so for today, washington, d.c. shou should easily break the record. we should break the record high of 70 in new york city. boston should break your record high today. and it is not just them. even from a florida feels like

the middle of summer. it will be almost 90 in tampa. st. louis by the way 35. you'll have a little bit of freezing rain or freezing drizzle in some spots. so be careful. and all the cold is through the west, it snowed overnight in portland, near seattle there has been snow. so this is where winter is. the eastern half of the country is where it feels almost like late spring. so for today, frigid west. mild east. let's get into some of the record highs. new york city, 71. record is 68. albany easily breaking the record high. boston easily breaks the record high. and even philadelphia should too. through the mid-atlantic region, atlanta you have a chance for your record high. bristol should be about 78. raleigh will be close to your record high. charleston has a chance for 80. and even down in florida. so from much from florida all the way up the east koers that we'll ha coast that we'll have a warm february day. >> i did a quick search how long that drive is, about 4 hours and 40 minutes. >> and 17 to 71.

>> incredible. all in four hours. >> so get away for the weekend. let's move overseas for some stories there. the u.n. is once again calling for all parties in the syrian civil war to deescalate amid a recent surge in violence there following the bombing campaign by the assad government that has left hundreds of people dead. heavy she willing took place suy in eastern ghouta. citizens scrambled to find family members and other loved ones. air strikes and artillery fire continued yesterday bringing the number of civilian deaths to 250 over the last 48 hours. in marks the highest 48 hour death toll since 2013 chemical attack in that region. him a mid the carnage, the syrian civil defense also released this video of rescue

workers miles per hour wrak could y miles per hour rack could yourously pulling out a child from under the rubble still alive in the wake of sunday's horrible attack. >> heartbreaking videos there. tempers flared as the president of the palestinian authority accused the trump administration of abandoning the u.s.'s commitment to a peace settlement. during a meeting of the u.n. security council, abbas called for an international conference to restart peace negotiations, but in a clear jab at washington which has historically has been at the center of those talks, abbas asked that the conference be under the u.n. sponsorship rather than the u.s. the moved by abbas came in the wake of president trump's decision in december to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel and to move the u.s. embassy to that is it i from tel aviv. following his remarks, you can see there that the palestinian leader immediately walked out of the securities council meeting.

u.s. ambassador nikki haley criticized that move you and stressed that it is up to palestinian leaders to make the first move in the talks. >> we are joined here today by palestinian authority president abbas. i'm sorry he declined to stay in the chamber to hear the remarks of others. even though he has left the room, i will address the balance of my remarks to him. the united states knows the palestinian leadership was very unhappy with the decision to move our embassy to jerusalem. you don't have to like that decision. you don't have to praise it. you don't even have to accept it. but know this, that decision will not change. always i mentioned in this meeting last month, the united states stands ready for work with the palestinian leadership meeting last month, the united states stands ready for work with the palestinian leadership. our negotiators are sitting right behind me ready to talk.

but we will not chase after you. >> it was interesting to me that nikki haley obviously pointing directly to abbas all of her comments. and then she goes on to say first of all the u.n. historically does not support israel, so we are here to support israel. and then also says we are here to make a peace deal, but we will not change our mind. and we stand by our decision, our jerusalem decision. all very much a hard line. >> and what made this very interesting, in the middle he's, the united states has been seen by many sides as being the only side that can bring these two sides to the party. but you in reality, for the better part of the last several years, there have been a lot of questions as to whether the u.s. is an honest broker with the trump administration that rhetoric now has increased a lot more. the decision to move the embassy to jerusalem, support for israel, no criticism of the settlements, no push on the israeli part to try to balance things out so to speak.

the reality is we're further away from peace in the middle east than we've ever been in the last two decades. >> tough pill to swallow for sure. still ahead, the dow snaps a six day winning streak winning . walmart and the biggest decline in 30 years. >> we'll go live overseas on what caused retail giant to take such a big hit and the other stories driving the hit today. it takes a lot of work to run this business. but i really love it. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes,

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welcome back. the dow snapped a six-day winning streak closing lower tuesday as walmart posted its worst day in over 30 years. we're joined live from london and what's behind walmart's downslide? >> absolutely. so dow is below 25,000 again basically on back of that walmart move. and this is their margins got a lot compressed the last quarter of the year on increasing competition from amazon, and also due to exit promotions which have hit their margins as well. only 23% in the last quarter versus 50% in the previous quarter so a lot of pressure on walmart there. elsewhere, another story for you. general motors have proposed a $2.8 million investment in north korea as a restructuring plan. they've been in talks to see

what they're going to do and this is only a few weeks after general motors saying they will shut down one of the plants they have in north korea. >> new form of cyber attack called cryptojacking where they use the servers to mine cryptocurrencies. what more can you tell us about this? >> the hacker did get into amazon into an account that was owned by someone from tesla and they got some information. so the incident is part of the latest in a series of so called cryptojacking attacks which involves thieves high jacking computers. they've been encouraged by boitcoin and various other cryptocurrencies. once they were notified tesla resolved the issue within two

business days and it had no implication on the safety or on customer privacy. >> all right. a new thing. thanks so much. a new term. cryptojacking. >> all right. coming up next, is the white house signaling a shift on gun control? president trump calls for proposals on the con ttroversia bump stocks.

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the unions killed. the goal is to help the president as he looks for policy to keep schools safe. >> students and teachers once again descent on the capitol building. the students are scheduled to meet with lawmakers as well a governor rick scott. >> that does it for us on this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. >> good morning and welcome to morning joe. it is wednesday, february 21st. with us here in washington we have washington airn anchor for bbc world news america, former white house secretary to president obama now and the cofounder and former chief of staff at the cia and department

of defense, good to have you all on board this morning. >> a lot going on. we start with the new york post which murdock's paper and somebody that -- >> trump's go-to. >> somebody that trump and jared kushner and a lot of people in the white house listen to. some people have been surprises since parkland by the new york post head lines but here actually hope for gun control. and of course, you have the president of the united states saying he's moving on bump stocks. he's talking about background checks, expanded background check. you also have in murdock's other paper of note, better background checks, the wall street journal, better background checks for gun control. that's actually more -- that's a plan that the nra itself su