that story. that's going to wrap up our broadcast on this tuesday evening. thank you so much for being with us. good night from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. ws headquarters here in new york. this morning, new worries and signs coming from north korea days after president trump and president kim jong-un's summit. plus the investigations into president trump and his inner circle wrap up. investigators are looking into the trump organization insurance policy while house democrats want to see tax returns. and new reporting that the president pressured aidi ivanka security clearance. they refuse to turn over documentations of the security clearance process.

good morning, everyone, it's wednesday, march 6th. we begin with the latest concerning north korea. at the news conference following the collapse of the hanoi summit, president trump revealed a promise kim jong-un made him. >> kim promised me last night, regardless, he is not going to do testing of rockets and nuclear, not going to do testing. so you know i trust him and i take him at his word. i hope that's true. but in the meantime, we'll be talking. >> however, a new analysis of commercial satellite imagery saturday two days of trump's remarks is north korea is pursuing the rapid rebuilding of a long range rocket site. the only operational space launch facility has been used in the past for satellite launches, which use similar technology for what is needed for

intercontinental ballistic missiles. researchers add the recent activity at that site, it includes the rebuilding of a rocket building testing and it's not only consistent for another test but indicates the dprk's nuclear missile capability may have passed the developmental stage and reached a prototype phase. north korea began to disassemble parts of the site last summer but never actually finished it. it is believed to be the same facility kim told trump he would shut at a single summit. meanwhile, senator toomey and democrat vis chris van hollen introduced a bill to impose sanctions for any bank that does business with kim jong-un. insurance practices, a source with direct knowledge of the matter tells nbc a subpoena has been issued to the trump organization's insurance company as part of an investigation into the policies and claims tied to

trump's namesake. the move by the fork state department of financial services adds to the growing scrutiny facing the trump organization. during michael cohen's public testimony last week the president's former fixer was asked about practices when it came to insurance. >> to your knowledge, the i'd the president ever provide inflated assets to an insurance company? >> yes. >> who else knows that the president did this? >> allen weiselberg, ron lieberman and matthew calimari. >> a top law maker say democrats plan to formally demand president trump's tax returns if about two weeks. congressman bill parscale says they will seek a week's of tax returns from the treasury department. they were almost ready to go. the chairman will be ready in two weeks to sent e send his letter. i volunteer to deliver it. a 1924 law allows the heads of

congress' tax committees to look at anyone's confidential tax filings. they could vote to make those returns publicly available. aimed at addressing suicide among veterans yesterday, donald trump was asked about the democrat's sweeping new probe of his presidency. >> the witch hunt has continued. the fact is that i guess we got 81 letters. there was no collusion. that was a hoax. there was no anything and they want to do that instead of getting legislation passed. 81 people or organizations got letters. it's a disgrace. it's a disgrace to our company. i'm not surprised it's happening. basically they started the campaign. so the campaign begins. president obama from what they tell me was under a similar kind of a thing, didn't give one letter. they didn't give one letter of the request. many requests were made. they didn't give a letter.

>> a new polling finds that more americans than not believe the president engaged if criminal activities, asked by the quinnipiac university poll, did president trump commit crimes before becoming president? a whoping 64% of voters say he did. 24% said he did not. when asked if he committed crimes after becoming president. 45% say yes. 43% say no in the poll taken friday through monday, voters say they are more likely to believe the president's former lawyer michael cohen 50% over 35% who believe trump and 58% believe congress should do more about the unethical and illegal behavior. 35% disagree. nearly six in ten voters, 59%, are against congress beginning impeachment proceedings against the president. cohen will appear in front of the intelligence committee later today. president trump received

good news on his job performance rating. a gallup poll is at 43% and while 54 disapprove, his february ratings have claimed back a few points after being stuck between 38 and 40% since october. americans also gave president trump his highest rating yet on handling of the economy with over 50%. 56% approving. the quinnipiac registered poll of voters, trump has a lower but steady job approval of 38%. joining us from washington editor and chief of politico magazine, good to have you with us. let's discuss president trump's approval rating numbers, people are scratching their heads that he is actually dock as well as he is. what might be a reason for this number upticking? >> well, i think you saw it right there. the economy is holding steady.

but keep in mind a lot of these surveys were conducted before the north korean summit, before the cohen testimony. so i doubt they reflect voter's assessment how he performed in hanoi, what they learned from his former attorney savageing him as a liar and a cheat. i expect those numbers won't change very much. keep in mind, they won't tick up very far. you saw them gallop down a point. a "wall street journal" poll was up 3 points. so these numbers tend to bounce around a little bit. but they stay within this pretty steady ban throughout his presidency. >> hey, blake, we know. we heard from jerry nadler wanting to wrap up the investigation on capitol hill, also adam schiff wanting to hone in as well. what are the chances that we are going to actually see trump's tax returns if, in fact the democrats get what they want? >> well, so as i understand it the secretary of the treasury steve mnuchin is the guy that

gets to side whether the administration will release the returns. given everything we've seen from mnuchin, he hasn't criticized the president very much. i think he is under strict instructions not to give them away. i think what we will see is a pretty stiff legal battle over the next two years. it could end up all the way in the supreme court, with a guy like brett kavanaugh, for instance, being the deciding vote. >> huh. >> wow. >> it should be an interesting couple years. >> for that and many more reasons. >> exactly. to count them. we will talk to you in a little bit. later today, homeland secretary kiersten nielsen will appear before the house homeland security hearings. she will face the immigration strategy, including family separations. it comes as new government figures reveal despite the trump

policies, migrant border crossings hit record highs. last month more than 76,000 illegal documents were apprehended at the points of entry. that's the high nest 12 years. the highest single month total since trump was elected president. however, it is not an overall record as border crossings were consistently over 100,000 in 28 and were higher than 200,000 per month under president clinton. the "new york times" reports more than 50,000 adults are currently in i.c.e. custody, the highest number ever. food and drug commissioner scott gottlieb resigned next month. gottlieb, a physician and former drug company consultant was known for his work fighting the use of ecigarettes among teens and the opioid addiction crisis. he pushed for accelerated approval of generic drugs. despite early skeptics that worried about his ties to drug

companies. many of his initiatives garnered bipartisan support and praise from critics. the 46-year-old has been commuting weekly from connecticut to walk. he says he needs to spend more time with his family. still ahead the latest democratic field, former nyc mayor michael bloomberg says he is not entering the white house race and explains why, new signs that texas congressman beto o'rourke may be thinking of a 2020 bid. of course those stories and a check on your weather when we come back. a check on your weather when we co bmeack. too long. ♪

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to help you look and feel like a team. why are all these business owners so excited? we're going to comcast. it's ahead of the game, ahead of the curve. comcast business is for me. it's switch and save days at comcast business. right now, get fast, reliable internet for $49.95 a month and save $600 a year. just one more way we take your business beyond. but hurry, switch and save days ends april 7th. i can't wait to go home and tell everyone about it. i just wanna get it right now. guess what i'm gonna do. (laughing) call today. comcast business. beyond fast. look, i don't think iowans and other folks, you are not concerned about the fast decision. you should be concerned about making the right decision. >> that was montana governor and possible candidate steve bullock in iowa speaking to nbc news about whether he is waiting too

long to get into the race, this as former new york city mayor michael bloomberg has opted not to run. >> surprising. >> advisers to bloomberg concluded he would have a real but narrow path to the nomination that would all but disappear if vice president joe biden decided to run. we did know he was waiting on this. in an op-ed he explained, it's essential we nominate a democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat donald trump and bring our country back together. we cannot allow it to bring it to an extreme to diminish in the general election and translate into four more years. bloomberg is expected to be heavily involved in the general election, organizing and financing the term. we do know he has a lot of opposition with regard to howard schultz running, the other billionaire. >> the independent. >> exactly.

>> does that mean joe biden will run? >> there had been a conversation that was had. >> we'll wait to see. and former congressman beto o'rourke has talks with campaign managers in case he decides to run for 2020 cnbc is reporting. according to one of his closest advis advisers, o'rourke has talked to one person for his presidential campaign if he were to enter the race. no job offer has been made. the source has not disclosed who he has spoken with. a spokesman declined to comment on that report. a long-term bernie sanders signed yesterday during the presidential race. sanders who is seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2020 claims he would seek the presidency as a democrat and govern as a democrat if elected. the pledge is all a part of a new rule from the national committee that requires all candidates for the party's 2020

presidential nomination to sign the promise. a move many sander's ally versus objected to. sanders in 2016 ran for president as a democrat but ran for re-election to the vermont senate seat last year as an independent. all right, well, on his first campaign stop in iowa, washington governor jay inslee announced a $1 million advertising police yesterday. the ad, which promotes a record combating climate change will run nationally on cable channels and online. other contenders have been staunch opponents of the super pacs, here's what inslee had to say, it aired just yesterday. >> my understanding is these are people that want to defeat climate change. so, no, i will not be condemning any organization that wants to

defeat climate change. i am saying, however, i hope my other colleagues follow me. i am sayingly not take any corporate pacs nor will i accept a dollar from the fossil fuel industry. >> they will run today for two weeks. let's get a check with your weather with meteorologist michelle grossman, it is freezing outside, how long is this going to last? >> is it too much to ask to walk into work without being completely freezeing? >> frost bitten? >> exactly. >> that will be a couple more days. we are looking at another day, you need the layers. get the kids out to the train and the bus. it's feeling more like january and february in some spots. here's our cold spots. we are looking at freeze warnings. that's where you see the hot pink. you see that cold canadian air coming down. it will be another frigid day. so 7 degrees right now in minneapolis. you factor in the wind. we have a lot of spots with

windy conditions. 16 in cincinnati, 14 in st. louis. atlanta just 28 degrees. their typical high for today, 61. as we go throughout thursday, staying in place, 13 in chicago to start out their morning. wind chill, columbus 16, nashville 24, charlotte, 28 degrees. here's the good news, we will rebound slowly, our highs are not going very far this afternoon. you need to keep that winter gear on, below, it is typical this time of year, so many spots below average, except for albuquerque. maybe we need to get a flight there. everywhere east of the rockies, we are chilly. we will remain chilly at least until friday. i want to gave sneak peek towards the weekend. we are at least getting normal in some spots, individual, this time of year is 51. we are getting there, 14 more days until spring.

>> slowly but surely. >> the shorter the better. still ahead, r. kelly meltdown. the singer gives an angry emotional interview since being charged with sexual abuse. we will play the clip next. p next >> that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. 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. upper respiratory tract infection

and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ready to treat differently with a pill? otezla. show more of you. ready to treat differently with a pill? so we improved everything.g. we used 50% fewer ingredients. added one-handed pumps. and beat the top safety standards. johnson's® choose gentle. audible members know listening has the power to change us make us better parents, better leaders, better people. and there's no better place to listen than audible. with audible you get a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. and now, you'll also get two audible originals: titles exclusively produced for audible. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them, and if you don't like a book just swap it for free. enjoy 100% ad free listening in the car,

on your phone or any connected device. and when you switch a device pick up right where you left off. with our commitment free guarantee, there's never been a better time to start listening to audible. the most inspiring minds, the most compelling stories, the best place to listen. to start your free 30-day trial, text listen27 to 500500 today. ♪ . welcome back. singer r. kelly is denying charges of sexual abuse in a sit-down interview after being charged last month.

>> women have come forward and said r. kelly had sex with me when i was under the age of 18. r. kelly was abusive to me emotionally, physically, and verbally. r. kelly took me in a back room where unspeakable things happened. this is what they're saying about you. these aren't old rumors. >> not true, whether they're old rumors, new rumors. >> why would they say this about you? >> not true. use your common sense. how stupid would it be for me with my crazy past and what i have been through, oh, right now, i think i need to be a monster and hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, don't let them eat and out unless they leave some shoes down the street. you got to quit playing. quit playing. i didn't do this stuff. this is not me. >> that interview continued to be all over the place. kelly pled not guilty to ten counts of felony, aggravated

sexual abuse including with three women who were under the age of 17 when the alleged acts occurred. kelly and his attorneys have consistently denied claims he engaged in any illegal activity. >> i think a lot was triggered by the r. kelly documentary that aired a few weeks ago. a lot of people questioning, reopening the investigation. you see him opening his appeal he had nothing to do with it. you hear some of the accounts presented in that documentary it is hard to not think something was going on terribly wrong in his young life with these women. >> he was so emotional. gayle keeping her composure. >> you have artists working with him, lady gaga. >> denouncing him. >> denouncing the fact that they made the choice to work with him. the interview, itself, remarkable. >> yes. >> it's another example of the cultural shift that is happening in this country around the issue of sexual harassment in all parts of life. >> right. and also calling out celebrities

for it right now. all right. thanks. the house will likely vote on an anti-semitism resolution in the wake of comments by israel made by congressman ilhan omar. it has ig night a debate amongst house democrats. senior democrats and some younger colleagues believe omar is being singled out for her rhetoric. new york congressman alexandria ocasio-cortez questioned why there haven't been other resolutions condemning offensive speech such as islamophobia in the past. nancy pelosi told top democrats the upcoming language would contain language with anti-mus lam bias. congress women omar and ocasio-cortez are members. the house vote on the resolution will likely be set tomorrow. president trump is stepping up efforts on issues of veteran suicide. the president signed an order

yesterday creating cabinet task force that will develop a national road map using state and federal resources. the task force will be led by veteran's affairs secretary robert wilk. >> reporter: the veteran's suicide is staggering proportions. it's hard to believe 20 veterans and service members take their lives every single day. who would believe that's possible? >> the most recent data shows suicides are estimated at 20 a day and suicide veterans 18 to 24 have been rising over the past decade. first lady melania trump wrapped up her domestic tour for her be best campaign yesterday. he ended speaking about opioids at a town hall event and criticized the media's coverage of the crisis. take a listen. >> in 2017, we lost at least 72,000 americans to overdoses.

that's 19 -- 197 americans lives per day. more than eight lost lives per hour. a challenge to vote as much time to the lives lost and the potential lives that could be saved by dedicating the same amount of coverage that you do to either gossip stories. >> all right. still ahead, everybody, first daughter ivanka trump flat out denied her father had involvement in her security clearance. there is new reporting that raises questions about that. the federal deficit is soaring. it's up seven77% compared to a ago. what that could mean for the u.s. commitment we are back in a moment. the u.s. commitment we are back in a moment sometimes, the pressures of today's world can make it tough

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and wellness programs. and now, you'll also get two audible originals: titles exclusively produced for audible. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them, and if you don't like a book just swap it for free. enjoy 100% ad free listening in the car, on your phone or any connected device. and when you switch a device pick up right where you left off. with our commitment free guarantee, there's never been a better time to start listening to audible. the most inspiring minds, the most compelling stories, the best place to listen. to start your free 30-day trial, text listen5 to 500500 today. ♪

welcome back, everybody, it's the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories. a new report claims president trump pressured his high ranking aides to grant security clearance to his daughter, senior adviser ivanka trump against their recommendations. three people say the president pushed chief of staff kelly and don mcgahn to make the decision on his daughter and son-in-law jared kushner so it seemed he would fought be interfering. after they refused. trump granted them security clearance, counter to denials from him and his daughter.

nbc has not independently confirmed this report. several sources say it is feasible avan ka trump was unaware of problems raised in her background check and her father's involvement in it. the white house says it does not comment on security clearances. >> they could be facing a subpoena after the white house rejected the oversight committee's requests. chairman elijah couplings indicated his next step will be to send a subpoena. they replied that such a measure would be would support, premature. instead, cipollone offered to let the committee review documents. congress says they don't have the thoort to get the documents. stating the white house' argument defies the constitutional separation of

powersdeck decades of precedent before this committee and plain common sense. michael cohen will be on capitol hill. adam schiff is tapping federal prosecutor from the southern district of new york daniel goldman to lead the investigation into possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia. goldman a former nbc news legal analyst served as deputy chief of the southern district organized crime unit, taking down dozens of defendants in racketeering and fraud cases against individuals with organized crime. two other federal prosecutors will join goldman on the staff. >> it's interesting, i was wondering where he had gone, especially in light of the indictments coming down the pipeline. >> he was working so hard, i thought he was taking a vacation. >> literally, two weeks ago, amid all this roger stone stuff, now we know.

speaking, once again of roger stone, he is in hot water as a result of a publication of one of his books. judge amy berman jackson ordered stone yesterday to explain why he thinks the new introduction in the book does not violate her strict gag order preventing him of making public statements about the trial. in the re-he lease of his book the myth of russian collusion, he writes that he now finds himself on quote crooked special prosecutor's robert mueller's hit list, adding it is the deep state liberals want to silence me and testify against my good friend, referencing president trump. the judge says stone's lawyers made no mention of the book when she issued the new gag order and he quote deliberately waited until public sales were not only imminent but ongoing to inform the court of the pub publication. she ordered stone to file a report by this monday on his efforts to come into compliance with her gag order, which she says should include records of

his interactions with the book's publisher. when stone became aware when the book was available and anything he has done on social media. >> joe jackson seems to be exercising a lot of patience with roger stone or he is testing her legal patience on this issue. >> i think he is testing her patience, whether or not that will break soon is the question. attorney general william barr revealed he will not be recusing himself from overseeing the mueller probe. barr would maintain investigation after the active doj concluded he should not recuse himself, during his confirmation hearings, barr refused to promise democrats he would recuse himself as jeff sessions did. democrats concerned a memo the attorney general wrote last year explaining why he thought the president's firing of james comey was not an obstruction of

justice. we learn robert mueller is expected to end up his investigation in the coming weeks. the attorney general will decide how much he shares with congress. once against the editor-in-chief, break, the big question, will we or won't we see this report when it is wrapped up? bill barr said during his confirmation hearing he couldn't promise to recuse himself from the russia probe. he would not make promises on releasing the final report despite the fact many people want to see it. does this all intensify the worries of the democrats right now in washington? >> well, i think you are seeing a lot of hedging on the part of democrats right now. they working the refs and making clear they expect bar torre lease as much as possible. also keep in mind we don't know what barr is going to get from mueller. he could get something that just explains his decision not to

prosecute certain individuals, there is a lot of precedent for not losing those declaration decisions. of course, if it involves the president or any potential crimes by the president, there will be a lot of pressure on barr and obviously there is huge public interest in him releasing that information at least to congress. i don't think he will sit there and tweet it out. he will have to make a decision of what to redact in terms of what's classified and proper to share. but i think there the a lot of institutional weight inside the justice department towards being as transparent as possible. and he's going to face a lot of internal pressure from his colleagues. but also pressure from the most important calling of all, donald trump. so he's going to have to weighing his decision very carefully go yeah. i was going to say when you think how much donald trump the president has railed on jeff session for recusing himself, even mocking him recently at the cpac conference, i would have never hired him had i known he was going to recuse himself, you

can imagine that put pressure on william barr in making his calculation. let me get your thoughts on another thing real quick. the hiring of david golden by adam schiff's committee. what does that tell you about the direction of the investigation in terms of what they are trying to go after given his expertise in organized fighting, organized russian crime? >> yeah. i think chairman schiff has expressed some concern the mueller investigation didn't delve into things like money laundering in the trump organization and whether any of that went on. so i think you will see that committee go after trump's business pretty aggressively. goldman is certainly a guy who in new york went after like the genovese mob and various racketeering cases. so i expect him to be pretty aggressive. they will delve into areas the president and the lawyers said was a red line for them. so i think we can expect some fireworks on the hill.

>> good talk to'ing to you. still ahead, primp apparently reversing course on pulling u.s. troops out of syria. >> the new plan for american forces there. plus richard engel on the front line for the final battle of isis' last strong holds. e of isis' last strong holds. guys go through a lot to deal with shave irritation. so, we built the new gillette skinguard with a specialized guard designed to reduce it. because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. the best a man can get. gillette.

but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. syri . let's get a check now on your weather with meteorologist michelle grossman. >> hey, we were talking lake effect snow the lake effect snow machine not quite cut up quite yet. we are looking at snow bands coming through. we can see 18 inches in some spots. we have some warnings in place, especially for syracuse. they could see possibly 2 inches per hour. it will cause roadway problems throughout the day. be careful. we are talking about cold, tomorrow, friday we moderate a bit. we have freeze warnings in place, you see the pink from texas to parts of north korea,

that's where we will see temperatures below freezing. so it will be a cold morning there. we are seeing chilly temperatures in the northern plains as well. 7 degrees this morning in minneapolis. it feels more like 5 below zero. cincinnati 16. fork 22 degrees. i can attest to that. it was a cold walk in this morning. raleigh 29. we will see throughout the afternoon those frigid temperatures in place. you have to go far down to the southwest to see warmer temperatures. temperatures in the '80s. otherwise the rockies to the east, we are below normal in many spots, 14 degrees beho normal. green bay, around 21. we are generally 15 to 25 degrees, typical this time of year. oklahoma city 50 degrees. louisdale 34. that's 20 degrees below normal this time of year. louis. >> thank you, michelle. turning overseas now, two months after claiming the defeat of isis, the president wrote to

congress he believes 100% with keeping a military presence in the country. in late february, a bipartisan group of senators wrote a letter to the president supporting his follow-up forces in syria. nbc news has obtained a copy of that letter, which trump annotated and sent back to the group. as you can see the president highlighted a paragraph from the lawmakers state an international presence is needed in northern syria to ensure isis doesn't return and to make sure iran is not emboldened. trump wrote directly on the letter, quote, i agree 100%, all is being done. isis appears on the verge of defeat in its last strong hold, chief correspondent richard engel has rare access inside syria with the u.s.-backed forces. he filed this report. >> reporter: isis' last

stronghold is crumbling. attacked by u.s. backed kurdish forces and walloped by american airstrikes. under the cover of darkness, we venture to the front lines with the kurdish commander. we could see the heavy price isis is paying for holding out. but the pause haled for trucks to leave packed with thousands of isis fighters and their families now surrendering. we watched as the men were separated, searched and handed over to u.s. special forces to collect intelligence. women and children go to camps. many unrepentant. mohammed came from france to join isis. >> of course i came to him practice what i want. >> reporter: so you don't regret coming? >> no. >> reporter: and there is no plan for what to do with all those who no longer live under isis but want it to rise again.

kurdish commanders tell us they are shocked at the number of isis fighters and families they are seeing. but they are encouraged so many are surrendering. still ahead, a major merge i amid a report on one of the firms involved spent big money at a trump-owned property. plus the fda gave green light to the new way of treating depression. details on those stories. excuse me, driving your business day coming up next. me, drivings day coming up next but nature's bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and well-rested. because hey, tomorrow's coming up fast. nature's bounty. because you're better off healthy. nature's bounty. upgrade to new tide pods 2.0.

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it's ahead of the game, ahead of the curve. comcast business is for me. it's switch and save days at comcast business. right now, get fast, reliable internet for $49.95 a month and save $600 a year. just one more way we take your business beyond. but hurry, switch and save days ends april 7th. i can't wait to go home and tell everyone about it. i just wanna get it right now. guess what i'm gonna do. (laughing) call today. comcast business. beyond fast.

welcome back. t-mobile will face a merger. on the heels of a report they upspent on a property, citing a letter to congressional democrats. the company admits it sharply increased the amount of business it did at the president's washington, d.c. hotel after the merger was revealed. after the april announcement of the $26 billion mega-deal, executives of the company spent about $195,000 at the property. the "post" writes the company says before news of the deal growth, only two top officials had ever stayed at trump's hotel. >> the paper reported back in january the day after the merger's announcement, nine of t-mobile's top executives were scheduled to check into the hotel. since then the "post" citing documents saying t-mobile executives reserved at least 52

nights at the hotel. the uptick comes as its merger with sprint is being considered by the justice department. the ceos of t-mobile and sprint will be among those testifying on the union to the house anti-trust subcommittee next week. new figures reveal the federal budget deficit ballooned a whopping 77% in the first four months of 2019 from a year ago. we are joined live with more on what's behind this dramatic increase, 77%. that's a staggering number. >> reporter: clutely, louis. it has now hit $310 up from $176 billion a year ago. now the pressure the e treasutr shift in the timing of the payments and the deficit is in part to the 2017 republican tax reform. this is important right now because it comes as the white house is preparing their new budget. now, in other business news the

fda has approved johnson & johnson nasal spray for depression. it's similar to the often used ketamine drug. it's interesting cases of depression. the drug is also being tested with patients who suffer from depression and are at a high-risk of committing suicide. we would add it's designed for patients who have not benefitted from two or more anti-depressants. back to you. >> i heard about that story, there's going to be black box warnings and it will be regulated pretty highly. let's move on the next story. bugatti unveiled the most expensive car ever. how much will you have to shell out for my next birthday gift?

>> this car is worth $12 million. for those of you car lovers out there, few details on the specks. eight liter engine. 16 cylinders. this bugatti is a french car brand that's owned by volkswagen. i would stuck up to ayman mohyeldin and yasmin vossoughian right now. >> i like the idea of louis sucking up to us. >> start sucking us up to us. we'll let you know what color you get. >> i can't afford parking in new york. i'll have to leave it on the street. >> good idea. put a note on it my car cost $12 million, please don't hurt it. >> get me one of those bumper

things. coming up, everybody, axios nick johnson has a look at this morning's one big thing. and on "morning joe" north korea looks to be breaking its promise over missile testing. >> and a new report on a rapid rebuilding of a long range rocket site. >> chris murphy and james lankford will both weigh in. "morning joe" is moments away. "morning joe" is moments away. and elbow grease. the official truck of getting to work, and getting to work. it's the official truck of homecoming, and coming home. the all new chevy silverado. now during chevy truck month, get 0% financing for 72 months on this all-new silverado. find new roads at your local chevy dealer. you don't see psoriasis. you see clear skin.

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welcome back. joining us from washington with a look at axios, nicholas johnson. nick, good to see you this morning. talk to us about axios one big thing. >> we have three big things. axios partnered with the harris poll on their annual survey of the reputation rankings of the 100 biggest companies in the united states and there were three big trends that jumped out. tech lash is real. giant tech companies almost all

saw their reputations suffer in the latest survey. led by facebook, one of the leading followers in the survey driven by privacy scandals, their involvement in fake news. google, apple and netflix saw their reputations drop. amazon which was number one fell to two. outlier in that is microsoft which used to be viewed far more nefarious now more positive. number two, captains of controversy. if you're a ceo is a big controversial name that's a hit to your reputation. tesla, elon musk. he's being investigated by the sec. that podcast appearance where he was smoking marijuana. his reputation took a big hit. wellness revolution. a lot of these specialty grocery chains look great. wegman's is number one. specialty grocer that has almost

like a cult like following. these other smaller grocery chains are doing very well. you can see the entire list today on axios.com. >> there appears to be a new privacy issue to be concerned about and that is phone numbers. that one will get a lot of people concerned. tell us more about your reporting on that. >> this is an issue that snuck up on us. we didn't realize it was right before our eyes. more times you're using websites and entering your cell phone number as an i'ver e er -- ider as a way to authenticate your identity. it builds profiles and sharing that with other platforms. the cell phone number is a de facto national i.d. not something americans want. now that you can get your cell phone number and change plans that's become a de facto way we identify people. more complicated use as a

privacy tool. >> wow. i know you're following some trends about teenagers when it comes to risky behaviors in that regard. what does the data show? >> they are doing less of it. . latest trends we've come across is teenagers are having less sex, drinking less alcohol and doing less drugs. looking at these kinds of trends it's leading to more anxiety and that teenagers are becoming risk adverse. they are concentrating how well they do in school and the internet is a big factor. a lot of these trends started before the rise of the internet. spending more time on the internet and less time with friends doing naughty things. >> we want that trend to continue so when they become teenagers it doesn't go in the opposite direction. >> thank you very much. of course we'll be reading axios

a.m. in a little while. is in up at signup @axios.com. >> "morning joe" starts right now. the point i'm trying to make is you don't even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic. if this body determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role, because impeachment is not about punishment. impeachment is about cleansing the office. impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office. >> i remember that. the public thought we were pushing clinton too hard and went too far on impeachment and it blew up in our face. there's a billionaire

threatening everyone democratic to vote on impeachment. the pressure for them to do something to impeach donald trump is pretty enormous. all i can tell you if it worked out as well for you as it did for republicans, good luck. >> that is glindsey graham 20 years apart. democrats control the house. good morning. welcome to "morning joe". it is wednesday, march 6th. joe is off. he's still with his family preparing for his mother's funeral. he should be back tomorrow. along with willie and me we have mike barnicle. washington anchor for bbc world news america katty kay. msnbc political contributor rick tyler. and former chief of staff at the cia and department of defense nbc news national security analyst jeremy bash. we got so much to get to this morning including new developments in two areas that have shattered the trump presidency from the start.

the mueller probe and