>> that's all for this edition thank you for watching. thank you for watching this morning the u.s. and china appear deadlocked on trade negotiations. this as president trump's top economic adviser acknowledges that it's american consumers who end up paying for the administration's tariffs, not china. plus, the president lashes out at former white house counsel don mcgahn following reports that the white house asked mcgahn to publicly state that trump didn't obstruct justice and mcgahn refused. actress felicity huffman heads to court today where she's expected to plead guilty to paying a large sum of money to help her daughter get into college.

good morning, everybody, it is monday, may 13th, i'm yasmin vossoughian along side geoff bennett. let's start with the stock market. as u.s. and china negotiators appear far party in resolving president trump's trade war. on friday, the trump administration added fuel to the fire raising tariff rates on $200 billion worth of chinese goods to 25%. and over the weekend, the president issued a lengthy tweet storm beginning on saturday writing in part this, i think that china felt they are being beaten so badly in the recent negotiations that they may as well wait around for the next election to see if they could get lucky and have a democrat win in which case they would continue a ripoff of the united states. the only problem is they know i am going to win and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated my second term. would be wise for them to act now. obviously pushing some tariff

policy on twitter. then 23 hours later, this we are right where we want to be with china. remember, they broke the deal with us and tried to renegotiate. buyers of product can make it themselves in the usa or buy it from non-tariffsed countries. and distribute the food to starving people in nations around the world. great. and yesterday afternoon, the president added this, the chinese quote love ripping off america and is dreaming of sleepy joe biden. >> the president was busy this weekend on twitter. >> certainly busy, especially on mother's day. >> yeah. meanwhile, a member of the president's team is publicly breaking with him over the impact of the tariffs. >> our country can take in $120 billion in tariffs paid for mostly by china by the way, not by us.

a lot of people try and steer it in a different direction, ultimately it's paid for largely by china. >> larry, that isn't true. it's not china that pays tariffs. it's the american importers, the american companies that pay what in effect is a tax increase and oftentimes passes it on to u.s. consumers. >> fair enough. in fact, both sides pay. both sides will pay in these things, and of course it depends -- >> if it's a tariff on goods coming into the country, the chinese aren't paying. >> no, but the chinese will suffer gdp losses and so forth with respect to a diminishing export market and goods that they may need for their own -- >> i understand that, but the president says china doesn't -- china, it pays the tariffs. they may suffer consequences, but it's u.s. businesses and u.s. consumers who pay, correct? >> yes, to some extent. i don't disagree with that. again, both sides will suffer on this. >> goldman sachs says the cost

of trump's tariffs have fallen quote, entirely on american businesses and households, and with a greater impact on consumer prices than expected. and if president trump follows through on his promise to impose tariffs on all chinese goods it could result in a 0.4% hit to u.s. gdp. last year trump's tariffs cost americans $1.4 billion per month due to substantial price increases. as republican congressman justin amash notes trump's tariffs are quote, taxes on americans. president trump is boasting that he loves collecting big taxes on americans. >> china has responded by vowing to stand its ground but also by not taking any retaliatory measures so far. unlike in the past rounds of u.s. tariff increases china appears to be taking time to weigh its options. china cannot match the american increases dollar for dollar since it imports u.s. products than it exports.

it has other alternatives in its toolbox. what china is doing is responding rhetorically. beijing's negotiator says are not flinching and a commentary says quote, at no time will china forfeit the country's respect and no one should expect china to swallow bitter fruit. nothing is unbearable for china in order to safeguard its sovereignty and dignity. two reports this weekend say that the trump administration has been pressing former white house counsel don mcgahn to get on message with the president. officials reportedly asked mcgahn at least twice in the past month to say that he never believed that the president obstructed justice. two people briefed on the requests tell the "new york times," which along with the wall street journal reports that mcgahn rebuffed the requests, at least one made by president trump through white house counsel emmet flood. the times reports that the white house made one of the requests to mcgahn's lawyer before the mueller report was released publicly but after the justice

department gave a copy to trump's lawyers in the preceding days. reading the report, the presidents lawyers say mueller left out that mcgahn had told investigators that he believed the president never obstructed justice. mcgahn's lawyer reportedly had told them months earlier about his client's belief on the matter and that he had shared it with investigators. in a statement, burke said we did not perceive it as any kind of threat or something sinister. it was a request professionally and cordially made. >> the mueller report investigated president trump for ten possible instances of obstruction as we have talked about on numerous occasions, and don mcgahn played a role in several of those instances including the president telling mcgahn to stop a.g. jeff sessions from recusing himself calling mcgahn at home and directing him to fire mueller, then later telling mcgahn to quote correct a "new york times" report on the order to fire mueller and asking him again why he told investigators about the

order in the first place. the white house has directed mcgahn not to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and the president has said he will try and prevent mcgahn from testifying. and as mcgahn remains silent about potential obstruction this weekend president trump tweeted on this as well. here's what he said. i was going to ir foo bob mueller and did not fire bob mueller. lawyer mcgahn had a better chance of being fired than robert mueller. >> special counsel robert mueller is not expected to testify on capitol hill this week as many democratic lawmakers had hoped. on friday house judiciary chairman jerry nadler said mueller won't appear before congress this week but added mueller will come at some point. if necessary he'll subpoena him. >> joining us from washington, jackie alemany. good morning to you, thanks so much for joining us so early. this is quite a new development

with with regards to bob mueller. obviously we had this may 15th time line in place to hear testimony from robert mueller to clarify a lot that we had seen in the report. now hearing that robert mueller will not be testifying and with no date in mind in the future that he possibly may come. what do you make of this? >> yeah, well thris is just another twist in the massive amounts of roadblocks that the white house and the white house's counsel has been putting up in order to stone wall oversight's objective of trying to get to the bottom of determining whether or not the president actually committed obstruction of justice, and really more broadly speaking, whether or not this congress -- this democratic-controlled house can actually conduct oversight he hearings. this certainly doesn't give the appearances of necessarily what the president has been claiming of complete and total exonerati exoneration, not allowing attorney general barr, don mcgahn, steven mnuchin and now

robert mueller to come testify. but you know, as mueller becomes distanced from the department of justice once he finally leaves, that could be a different story in whether or not the president can actually exert executive privilege over special counsel mueller. >> jackie, do we know specifically that the president is blocking bob mueller from testifying and that's why he's not appearing before congress? >> no, i mean, the circumstances -- the circumstances at the moment are still unclear. we have to see and wait how that plays out exactly because as of last week, things appeared to be on track for mueller to be scheduled to come in and testify. but, you know, as you know, things rapidly change with this administration on a minute by minute basis. >> right. jackie's right. my reporting on this is that democrats still want to see him by the end of the month, but there was a scheduling issue on mueller's part as to why he wasn't able to make it this week.

>> we don't know what the scheduling issue was about. >> time's running out if they want to do it by the end of the month. jackie let's talk about don mcgahn. the thing that's stunning about the president's tweet is that don mcgahn is the guy who was responsible for doing all of the things that conservatives say they love about the trump administration. it's don mcgahn who packed the courts with conservative judges to include the two justices that donald trump got in the supreme court. so what do you make of the fact now that the president and the white house frankly is trying to press don mcgahn to get on the same page as president trump when it comes to the mueller report. >> yeah, i think this is another example of the president taking action in a way that doesn't necessarily positively serve himself. you know, this president is at the end of the day very concerned with perception, and it's clear that he's consistently wanted mcgahn to correct the record to reflect what the president wants the public to believe, whether or not that's, you know, accurate.

clearly don mcgahn does not agree with that and has refused on a number of occasions as we saw outlined in the mueller report to explicitly say that the president did not want him to fire robert mueller, and he's refused to coalesce under this political pressure to put out a statement yet again. i do think don mcgahn's public testimony could potentially be the most problematic thing for the president if he gets out there and really explains to the american people why exactly he is refusing to come out and say that, you know, the president wasn't pushing him to take measures that potentially amount to obstruction of justice. >> you know what i think is interesting about all of this is the fact that in the instances that were laid out with regard to mcgahn in the mueller report, it talks about the fact that the president asked mcgahn to fire bob mueller on numerous occasions. then when we see the tweets, he's basically saying i was not

going to fire bob mueller. in essence he's saying mcgahn perjured himself. >> he's calling don mcgahn a liar. >> go ahead jackie, were you going to say something? >> well, you know, the president's tweets aren't always necessarily ground instead reality. >> right. >> that's true. and the fact that he's calling out don mcgahn is another reason democrats want to hear from mcgahn on the hill. >> thank you. still ahead, president trump comes up with a new nickname for mayor pete buttigieg but one that apparently took some googling. >> and later the president's lawyer rudy giuliani cancels a trip to ukraine where he hoped to obtain information that could affect joe biden's 2020 campaign. those stories and much more when we come right back. xfinity mobile comes with our internet,

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"politico" president trump come paired joe biden's early success in a crowded 2020 field to his own entry and assent in the 2016 republican campaign. he told "politico" this, i look at it like my race in 2016 and predicted that biden will remain at the head of the pack of 2020 democrats running for president. he mocked the former vp for mistakenly referring to margaret thatcher instead of theresa may. biden quickly corrected himself calling it a freudian slip. front told "politico" is that a good front runner? i don't know that was a beauty. president trump took a jab at the 2020 field especially mayor pete buttigieg. the president was dismissive telling the paper, quote, alfred e. new mman cannot become president of the united states. buttigieg responded to trump's comments friday night.

>> so i'll be honest, i had to google that. i guess it's a generational thing. i didn't get the reference. it's kind of funny, i guess, but he's also the president of the united states and i'm surprised he's not spending more time trying to salvage this china deal. >> so mayor pete buttigieg called out his federal democrats for playing identity politics during his speech to the human rights campaign over the weekend. watch this. >> the more you know about exclusion, the more you think about belonging, and we have a crisis of belonging in this country. these divisive lines of thinking have even entered into the consciousness of my own party like when we're told we need to choose between supporting an auto worker and supporting trans woman of color without thinking about the fact that sometimes the auto worker is a trans woman of color and she definitely needs all the support she can get. >> buttigieg has faced questions about white privilege and his

campaign's struggle to attract minorities. >> looking to jump start his campaign, beto o'rourke is planning a full scale reintroduction before next month's democratic presidential debate. a campaign adviser tells the associated press the work has entered a quiet period to build out his campaign infrastructure and hammer out more concrete policy plans. so far he has only issued one on climate change. o'rourke will also refine his table top stump speech approach focusing on mostly rural and republican areas with six campaign events a day. he also plans to step up his national media appearances starting with the rachel maddow show and "the view" this week. the polls continue to show joe biden romping in the contest. the research poll of likely south carolina democratic voters puts biden at 46% up 10 points from their early poll in february.

bernie sanders is 31 points behind at 15%, senator kamala harris in third, pete buttigieg and elizabeth warren are tied for fourth. o'rourke now tied with andrew yang. a poll in new hampshire shows biden with an 18-point lead there. >> wow. still ahead, hollywood actress felicity huffman heads to court today as part of the sweeping college admissions scandal. plus, president trump apparently has big plans for this year's july 4th celebrations in washington, d.c. and not everybody is happy about it. we're back in a moment. we're back in a moment

welcome back, president trump has taken particular interest in this year's 4th of july celebration in the nation's capital. the washington post reports the president has made changes to the more than half a century tradition moving the fireworks display from its usual president is on the national mall to be closer to the potomac river. and he's planning a potential address to the nation from the steps of the lincoln memorial. the shift is raising alarms among officials concerned about how new plans will possibly impact the time honored annual event, while others worried the president's role may polarize the typically nonpartisan

independence day celebration. if i recalls s officials say it's unclear how much the changes could cost. actress felicity huffman is due back in court today expected to formally plead guilty to her role in the college admissions scandal. she's one of a dozen parents who have agreed to plead guilty who paid millions to get their kids into college. she admitted to paying $15,000 for a proctor to correct her oldest daughter's s.a.t. answers and agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud during a court appearance. huffman could face between four to ten months behind bars, a year of probation and a $20,000 fine. sad news out of hollywood as actress peggy lipton is being remembered after losing her battle with cancer. lipton had a long and ground breaking career as a model, singer and of course actress. nbc news's kate snow has more on her life.

>> peggy lipton made her biggest mark at the height of the 60s. the 21-year-old starring as undercover cop julie barns in the tv hit "the mod squad". >> sure, seems only the natural choice. >> the series a landmark in television, one of the first to feature an interracial cast. it also cemented lipton's status as one of hollywood's first "it" girls. >> i wanted to get out and be seen and be known. yet, along with that was like don't look at me. i don't want to be seen. >> "the mod squad" earned her a golden globe award for best actress in a television series. she would later step offscreen to raise a family with then husband quincy jones. lipton returned to the spotlight several times. >> norma jennings. >> most notably in a role on the tv cult classic "twin peaks."

co-star kyle mclaughlin tweeting the rr diner is dark today, very sorry to hear peggy lipton is gone. we've lost a beautiful soul. her daughters released a statement about their mother saying peggy was and will always be our beacon of light, both in this world and beyond. she will always be a part of us. peggy lipton was 72 years old. >> certainly a loss for hollywood. i definitely remember her in "the mod squad." still ahead, house democrats step up the fight over president trump's tax returns. what the president is saying about their effort to get his financial documents. more on the escalating trade tensions between the u.s. and china. we'll go live to beijing for reaction and how china may retaliate. we're back in a moment. let's try lindsey graham after opposing tariffs for decades, why do you suddenly support them from president trump? >> chuck, listen, when you have

a president who's a financial genius and a business jesus like donald trump, you just got to trust him. this man has lost 100 times more money than i've ever made. >> so you've done a complete 180 on the president even after calling him a jackass on the campaign? >> chuck, listen i am a man of principles, unless he can help me and then it's new lindsey who dis.

welcome back, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside

nbc news white house correspondent geoff bennett. let's start with the morning's top store ris. the stock market is set to start the week on a low note as u.s. and china negotiators, and as the president continues to needle china via twitter. joining us live from beijing, nbc news correspondent good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us on this. what is the feeling so far from what you're hearing from china surrounding these trade talks? >> reporter: well, 11 rounds of talks and they have ground to a halt, and there's the expectation that today president trump will also give instructions to start the process of putting tariffs on all chinese goods. beijing so far has promised retaliation. they haven't said in detail exactly what that will be, but they have many options before them, and there is the full expectation they will follow through with them. it's likely that farmers and farm exports will be likely

targets because they know that that can cause some political pain for president trump. there is some confusion, though, president trump saying it's going to be china that will bear the brunt of this trade war, but yesterday on fox news his top economic adviser larry kudlow suggested it will actually be both sides that will feel some pain. and for americans that means paying more for everything, luggage, sporting equipment, food, officials here are saying that there can be no agreement until all tariffs are canceled. yasmin. >> janice, what's the knock on effect of this? these trade talks don't exist in a vacuum, right? and as you know we rely so heavily on china when it comes to north korea, so the lack of a trade agreement, how is it affecting the u.s. relationship with north korea as we rely on china for that relationship as well? >> reporter: well, what we have running parallel to this break

down in trade talks and this intensifying trade war is this ramping up, this escalation of the situation with north korea. these are not entirely independent events. we've often seen the two sides working together or at least north korea and kim jong-un looking to gain leverage with the united states often in collaboration with or in consultation with china. so we could see this, you know, continued pressure mounting on the trump administration to have some sort of foreign policy win. if things are breaking down on the trade side kim jong-un may see the advantage of trying to have president trump or allow president trump to preserve what appears to be his only foreign policy win so far, and that's this new and warm relationship with kim jong-un. the sticking point and the stumbling block for the u.s. and china this time as it has been through past administrations is subsidies. the u.s. has a real problem with

the way that china's government offers grants and cheap loans to chinese companies. they say that this muddies competition, but china is saying that it's not going to let any foreign country tell it to change its laws. >> we'll certainly be watching what happens with these trade deals going back and forth. good talk to you janice. let's start on north korea and president trump who is down playing the dprk's latest ballistic missile tests. despite his claim from february that kim jong-un promised him there would be no more tests of any kind, north korea constructed two series of tests or conducted two series of tests in the past week and a half and three in the past month. regarding last week's launches trump says in an interview with "politico," they're short range and i don't consider that a breach of trust at all. these were short range missiles and very standard stuff. multiple outlets have reported that experts who analyzed photos

say it's clear the test was of a new solid fuel missile. >> donald trump's personal lawyer rudy giuliani has canceled a trip to ukraine in which he planned to urge the country's incoming president to pursue investigations that he sees as helpful to president trump's re-election. now, one of those cases involves former vice president joe biden who giuliani accuses of thwarting an investigation into a company his son did business with. when reports at the time show biden was part of a widely recognized western coalition to remove a corrupt prosecutor whose office had reportedly chosen not to prosecute the company tied to biden's son. nevertheless, giuliani continued to make his accusations against biden claiming an even wider expertis conspiracy. watch this. >> i'm not going to go to the ukraine. >> you're not going to go? >> i'm not going to go because i think i'm walking into a group of people that are enemies of

the president, in some cases enemies of the united states. i'm convinced from what i've heard from two very reliable people tonight that the president is surrounded by people who are enemies of the president and people who are, in at least one case, you know, clearly corrupt and involved in this scheme, and it's really a shame, and the reality is this has nothing to do with the election of 2020. the election of 2020 is a long time from now, and if i wanted to meddle in that election, which i don't, i could have held this for a year and dropped it right before the convention. >> in an interview with "politico," president trump said he's thinking about whether to ask attorney general bill barr to investigate biden as well. quote, certainly it is a very big issue and we'll see what happens. i've not spoken to him about it. would i speak to him about it? i haven't thought about that. less than a week after steve mnuchin said he wouldn't hand over president trump's tax returns, the house ways and means committee has issued a formal subpoena for the

documents. the escalating fight for trump's tax returns could test the balance of power between the white house and congress, especially considering president trump's vow to fight all subpoenas from house democrats. last monday secretary mnuchin rejected the committee's request to turn over the documents arguing that it lacked a legitimate legislative purpose. president trump weighed in on twitter over the weekend writing quote, i won the 2016 election partially based on no tax returns while i am under audit, which i still am, and the voters didn't care. now the radical left democrats want to again relitigate this matter, make it a part of the 2020 election. house ways and means chairman richard kne richard neal has given the treasury department and irs until 5:00 p.m. this friday to comply with the subpoena. the chairman of the senate judiciary committee lindsey graham is offering donald trump jr. legal advice in the wake of his subpoena by the gop led senate intel committee. >> as i understand it, this subpoena relates to what michael

cohen said about some meetings and about the trump tower in russia. anything based on what michael cohen said is worthless testimony. michael cohen is a worthless witness and if i were donald trump jr.'s lawyer, i would tell him you don't need to go back into this environment anymore. >> democrats in the house have taken the first step to hold a sitting president accountable for crimes they may have committed. jerry nadler along with ted deutsche and eric swalwell introduced an act that would pause the statute of limitations. the no president is above the law act is an attempt to make sure presidents do not become immune to criminal charges altogether simply because they cannot be indicted while in office. the justice department has previously conclude that had a quote, sitting president is constitutionally immune from indictment and criminal prosecution. >> joining us again from

washington author of the washington post's early morning news letter powerup, jackie alemany. how successful will this push to pass a bill to pause the statute of limitations on crimes by a president be given that congress is so divided? >> that's a great question, and i think it is sort of the worst kept secret in washington that it's actually going to be pretty difficult for democrats to pass something like this. i think speaker pelosi realizes that she's in a lose-lose position with this debate and this push over figuring out enforcement mechanisms to conduct congressional oversight, but you know, at the end of the day, the courts are going to be essentially playing referee here between the executive branch and the legislative branch on whether or not these subpoenas can be enforced. >> let's talk, jackie, about this fight over the president's taxes once again issuing a

subpoena to treasury secretary steve mnuchin for six years of the president's tax returns. the president not necessarily happy about it, said he won in 2016 without the release of his tax returns. where is this fight going to land? >> that's another good question. i think treasury secretary mnuchin has -- who has already blown two previous deadlines now has until friday to comply with house ways and means committee chairman richard neal's newest subpoenas on the treasury secretary to provide the tax returns. this comes after richard neal previously tried to enforce an obscure legal provision that says that a select group of top lawmakers can see and have access to any taxpayers' tax returns but ultimately decided that that tactic and that way of obtaining president trump's tax returns was going to be too

legally risky since it was unprecedented. so neal announced they were taking the measure of issuing subpoenas. but as we've seen with the last few subpoenas that house oversight has requested of the white house, you know, these haven't necessarily panned out, and again, you know, there is an unprecedented amount of, you know, unwillingness to cooperate with congressional oversight here that is going to put a test to the courts and you know, cause a very pro tracted legal battle to play out. >> we heard mnuchin -- when mnuchin rejected the request last monday, he said that it lacked a quote, legitimate legislative purpose. does that hold any water, jackie? >> well, you know, that actually is -- you know, i don't know if it necessarily holds water, but i do think a problem that richard neal is facing here is

because there are so many protracted legal fights going on all at the same time right now from house democrats there isn't a completely salient message, and what you've heard from are the white house on a consistent basis is, you know, let's move on. a lot of these investigations don't pertain to current policies that the president is enacting, and that, you know, remains true, and in the battle of public perception, i'm not sure that voters have yet to be convinced that there is a need for the president's tax returns and that they're going to necessarily learn something out of that. i do think that this week what i've heard from my sources on the hill, richard neal is going to be making sure that everyone on his committee is on the same page and they all have the exact messaging for their constituents for everyone to understand why exactly they need to obtain the president's tax returns and a lot of that relates to, you know, figuring out whether or not he has committed fraud, hasn't been paying income taxes

and whether he's beholden to any foreign entities or any potentially precarious, you know, investors or loans that could, you know, influence some of the white house's policies. >> jackie, you make a great point. at the start of this process, richard neal says this process has to be careful, not quick because he was pretty much assured this was going to end up in the courts and wanted to make sure that all the paperwork was right in place. >> yeah. >> jackie alemany thanks so much for your time this morning. >> thanks for having me. another democrat teases he may be jumping into the 2020 race. a look at who is expected to be joining the crowded field. former vice president biden faces pushback from congresswoman ocasio-cortez over his plan to come be the climate change, what she's calling a de deal breaker. those stories and bill karins with a check on your forecast when we come back.

democratic presidential

candidate and massachusetts senator elizabeth warren traveled to the heart of maga country over the weekend to discuss the devastating effects of the opioid crisis. warren greeted a crowd of about 150 people in kermit, west virginia, by asking them to raise their hands if they knew someone who has battled addiction. nearly everyone put their hands up. the less than 400 person town which overwhelmingly voted for trump in 2016 is also home to one of the highest overdose rates in the country. warren's campaign stop is one of a few geared toward reaching out to small town republican voters to explain her plan to end the opioid epidemic. democratic montana governor steve bullock appears to be joining the crowded field of 2020 hopefuls. in a short teaser, he touts his political accomplishments while noting he will be the only democratic contender who won a state president trump swept in

2016. the two-term governor later tweeted that quote, a big announcement is coming soon. former vice president joe biden is looking for middle ground on a climate change policy he hopes can appeal to environmentalists and blue collar voters. according to two sources, biden is working on the middle ground approach, which will most likely face opposition from green activists. biden's climate plan would include the u.s. rejoining the paris climate agreement and preserving regulations on emissions and fuel efficiency. the second source said the policy could be supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options. congress won alexandria ocasio-cortez responded writing this, this a deal braeeaker. there is no middle ground with climate denial and delay. a spokesperson declined to comment on the potential plan but says the former vp takes

climate change seriously and has in the past called it an existential threat. let's get a check on your weather. >> i can't wait for the debates. clie the >> think about how different the debates were. >> it wasn't even brought up. >> don't even talk about it at one point, and now it is the top three concerns. >> president obama, in his second inauguration he really got into it, you know. that was one of the first big moments and it's shifted ever since then. >> and of course the pope as well has commented now at this point on climate change. >> it will be very interesting to see, the democratic party's trying to own that issue. we'll see how it goes. >> let's get into this forecast. in the northeast it was one of the ugliest coldest, rainiest mother's day we've had in a long time. still raining in maryland and delaware. it's not pouring in new england. that will change later today. a little rain for you buffalo and syracuse and through

michigan. we're still in this dreary weather pattern, and during the day today, it's going to pour again, bring the umbrella with you and the raincoat in areas of the northeast. let's start off at 7:00 a.m., the morning commute, we're okay on i-95, by noon it starts raining hard. boston it looks like the rain holds off until the evening ride home, and then tomorrow we're going to still see more scattered showers out here for areas in the northeast. the bottom line is for travel today, if you're at the airports, d.c. early today will have some delays because of the rain. philadelphia right through the heart of the day, new york city it looks like noon to 7:00 p.m. is the worst of the rainy weather, boston more or less into this evening. as far as the drives go, anywhere on 80, a rainy drive. 90 will be a rainy drive for you too. it's just chilly too. highs today only in the 50s in areas of the northeast. showers and thunderstorms in florida, and we desperately need the dry weather in the south. we had a lot of flooding over the weekend in areas of louisiana and mississippi. i'll show you those pictures a

little hay ter. >> aside from having an incredible mother's day with my kids and everything i was complaining about the weather to my husband. it feels like winter. and he said you've got to talk to bill karins about this. >> it was in the 40s. it was rough. >> you shouldn't complain, it's going to snow tonight in areas of vermont, and maine. it's mid-may. still ahead, vice president pence delivers a warning to one group of college graduates, the challenges he says their faith will face from what he calls the secular left. one program aiming to promote literacy with kids facing protests over who's leading it. we're back in a moment.

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we live in a time when it's become acceptable and even fashionable to ridicule and even discriminate against people of faith. >> i think islam hates us. there's something -- there's something there that's a tremendous hatred. >> and i promise you we will always stand up for the right of americans to live, to learn, and to worship god according to the dictates of their conscience. >> donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> as you go about your daily life, be ready because you're going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith, you're going to be asked to endorse them. >> defrauding the public with ridiculous bull [ bleep ].

>> wow. a lot of back and forth there, obviously as you see the vice president there talking about the persecution of christians when he's speaking at liberty university but failing to acknowledge the fact that the president of the united states has come up with things like the muslim ban. so an interesting back and forth. >> yeah. >> all right, everybody that was vice president mike pence as you just saw in his commencement address at liberty university highlighting pence's remarks about endorsing things that violate your faith, former george w. bush speech writer david from wrote this, do you suppose pence gets his own joke? now to a controversy popping up at bookstores and libraries across this country, a nonprofit program run by drag queens has volunteers reading books to kids w with the goal of promoting literacy. it's been met with backlash and even protests in some areas. kristen dahlgren has more. >> across the country, protests,

police lines, and petitions all in a battle over books or rather who is reading books to children in a literacy program called drag queen story hour. >> once upon a time. >> jonathan hamolt helped bring the concept to new york. >> i guess our goal is to make every kid feel comfortable and have a safe space to explore. kids can feel safe in a space where they might be feeling different. there are now more than 35 chapters nationwide. performers with the nonprofit undergo training and in many cases background checks. for jonathan the dramatic flare and the kids curiosity seemed a perfect fit. >> is that your real hair? is that your real name? are those your real nails, just like really funny things like is that a wig? they know it's dress up and it's a costume. >> but there's been backlash. >> contentious city council meetings. >> the wickedness. >> even lawsuits, some saying

not in our town. >> on behalf of god we're asking him to move this totally out of our community. >> reporter: others insist it confuses kids still learning about gender identity. >> this is certainly inappropriate. this kind of thing for a little-bitty child, they're too young to comprehend such a thing. >> for jonathan, though, the protests are exactly the point, making sure the next generation is taught tolerance. >> when they grow up and see someone different down the street, they won't treat them any differently because of how they look or act. >> so for most of the programs are still in place. >> at the end of the day we're promoting literacy. we're playing games, we're having fun. >> reporter: kids and drag queens, controversial to some but here at least keeping the audience hanging on every word. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. coming up, the fallout over president trump's trade war looks to spill into a new week

as markets here in the u.s. face another day of losses as u.s. and chinese negotiators appear far apart on reaching a deal. >> we'll get the latest from beijing on how leaders there may retaliate to president trump's tariff hikes and also go to london for a look at how global markets are reacting this morning. we're back after this. morning. we're back after this. directly to petmeds.com.

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this morning the u.s. and china appear dead lock on trade negotiations. this as president trump's top economic adviser acknowledges that american consumers end up paying for the administration's tariffs not china. the president lashes out at don mcgahn, following reports that the white house asked mcgahn to publicly state that trump didn't obstruct justice but mcgahn refused. felicity huffman heads to court today where she's expected to plead guilty to help her daughter get into college.