i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin. >>> looking ahead to a potential nuclear test in north korea and a graf warning from the united states, as multiple senior intelligence officials tell nbc news, america is prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike if they believe north korean leader kim jong-un will launch a nuclear weapons test. tactics could include cyber warfare and special operations on the ground. u.s. officials say a test could come as early as this weekend. a large-scale military parade is expected for saturday. the 105th anniversary of kim il-sung's birth, the nation's most important holiday. yesterday president trump tweeted i have great confidence china will properly deal with north korea. if they're unable to do so, the u.s. with its allies will, usa. this morning in pyongyang's north korea's vice foreign minister blamed president trump's aggressive words for a vicious cycle of tensions telling the associated press in an interview, we will go to war if they choose. adding, we have a powerful nuclear deter ren

i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's give you a rundown of what happened this evening. at missiles launched on the syrian airfield. 59 tomahawk cruise missiles inside a target in syria. department of defense released this video showing those missiles at the moment they were launched. they rained down on shayrat airfield. launching the planes that carried those chemical weapons. ammunition supplies, air defense systems and radars. the strikes were a response to tuesday's horrific chemical weapons attack that killed and injured hundreds of people, many of them children, as seen in these disturbing images on your screen, images that apparently moved the president and led to change his year's long stance against intervention in syria. in fact, here is part of what the president said in a brief statement overnight from his mar-a-lago resort. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the air field in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal d

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin. we begin with breaking news. the united states has launched cruise missile strikes against a syrian air base. at roughly 8:40 eastern time last night, 59 tomahawk missiles were launched from "uss ross" and "uss porter," targeting the shayrat airfield near the city of hchloms before dropping cheml weapons on city of idlib. autopsies supervised by world health organization conducted on three victims showed sarin gas was most likely used. the target of last night's strike is the same location where prior to 2013 the assad regime stored its chemical weapons stockpile. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. there can be no dispute that syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the u.n. security council. >> now, the pentagon s

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin.morning's top stories. >>> the passenger dragged off that united airlines flight monday is signaling plans to take legal action. lawyers for dr. david dao have filed corporaurt papers key mang the airline keep all papers, including video surveillance, cockpit and crew recordings. >>> a draft report from department of homeland security has outlined rio grande valley as spot to start the mexico border wall. they will do away with polygraph and fitness test as way to speed up hiring of hundreds of boardeagents. it still needs to approved. >>> president came back from mar-a-lago and set to return for his seventh trip to the palm beach resort. the cost to taxpayers at $1 million and other estimates have been as high as $3 million a visit. >>> we're seeing major reversals of president's campaign promises, ones he mentioned on the trail openly and it begs the question, where does it leave so many who supported him now? kristen welker reports. >> reporter: president trump making a number of st

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf.he hour so we're starting you off with the top stories. >>> metro bomb death toll rose to 15. 50 other people were injured in the explosion between two underground train stations. st. petersburg authorities have declared three days of mourning. no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. >>> at least five deaths are blamed on that massive storm system that swept across the south from texas to carolinas, the latest in mississippi where officials say two people were killed, including a 52-year-old woman whose car ran off the road into fast-moving floodwaters. although least 15 tornados were reported across the south in the last 24 hours. >>> the senate is headed for a potentially historic clash over the confirmation of neil gorsuch. he passed judiciary committee on party line vote and now democrats plan to filibuster before it goes before full senate. mitch mcconnell has not ruled out the option of going nuclear, meaning change the rules so gorsuch can be confirmed with a simple

i'm alex witt alongside louis burgdorf and ayman mohyeldin.iation came when president obama drew a red line in syria, and the whole world knew it meant absolutely nothing. >> the obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. >> north korea, like so many other things, is one more hillary clinton failure, barack obama failure. >> i inherited a mess, whether it's the middle east, whether it's north korea, whether it's so many other things. >> with that the world still waits to hear president trump's plan to deal with two major crises raging right now as he prepares for perhaps the most important meeting of his presidency today with the leader of china. joe, what did you make of the president's statement from the rose ga

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louisbuerg door o.ff murkily remains on the senate floor speaking on the protest of supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. he began speaking just before 7:00 last night just hours after the final debate on gorsuch's nomination began. the final vote is expected on friday. >>> a dangerous storm system is moving eastward after creating major damage. the storm dropped baseball size hail and a possible tornado may be responsible for damaging a fire house in goodman, missouri. damaging winds, flooding, hail all expected in the southeast. >>> baltimore's mayor and police commissioner have pledged to move forward with police reforms with or without the justice department. this follows the doj's request for a federal judge to postpone a decree. >>> drama over the russian investigation and what critics are calling repeated attempts by president trump and the white house to deflect attention away from it. in the spotlight now former obama national security adviser saying now rice is firing back exclusively to nbc's a

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. >>> the community of san bernardino is in mourning once again after a tragic shooting. an elementary teacher and student were killed after a gunman open fire inside a classroom before turning the weapon on himself. police are calling the shooting the result of a domestic dispute. cedric anderson walked into the elementary and told the front desk he was dropping something off for his wife, karen smith, a special education teacher. the police chief said the couple had only been married a few months and described them as estranged. authorities say when anderson entered the classroom, he began firing. smith was fatally shot. two other students who were standing behind her were injured, including 8-year-old jonathan martinez, who later died at a nearby hospital. another 9-year-old student was wounded and remains hospitalized in stable condition. officials said they do not believe the children inside the classroom were specifically targeted. >> she came running in the classroom and said -- she said to lock the doors and our teacher

i'm alex witt in with richard lui in nor ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf with us.ore on the planned executions in arkansas. early this morning the security blocked the state's request to carry out the first of eight death sentences. lawyers for the death row inmates labeled the state's plan assembly line killing and says it increases the chances of a botched procedure. they also claim that the lethal injection drug, one of which expires at the end of the month, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. there are five more execution scheduled before the end of april. >>> and it's tax day in america. chances are, slim here that tax rules will be any different when americans file again in 2016. steve mnuchin is pushing back on tax timeline. he says the failure to reach a deal on health care. august was his original get it done by goal. mnuchin now says the end of the year is his expectation. >>> the people of flint, michigan, will be one step closer to finding out where their water will be coming from in the future. mayor karen weaver will announce her recommendation f

i'm alex witt alongside richard lui in for ayman mohyeldin. louis burgdorf is also joining us. >>> today begins the 99th day of donald trump's presidency with new comments this morning about how he's adjusting to the job and the challenges. in an interview last night, trump told reuters that the presidency not what he expected. >> i loved my previous life i loved my previous life. i had so many in going. i actually -- this is more work than in my previous life. i thought it would be easier. i thought it was more of a -- i'm a details-oriented person, i think you would say that, but i do miss my old life. this -- i like to work, so that's not a problem, but this is actually more work. and while i had very little privacy in my old life because, you know, i've been famous for a long time, i really -- this is -- this is much less privacy than i've ever seen before. >> reuters also found the 2016 election is still at the front of trump's mind. reporting that midway through a discussion about chinese president xi jinping, the president paused to han

our and ayman mohyeldin is on set. the president, we read about what the president said, his thinking has been changed in light of this. here it is, what the president had to say earlier today. >> i like to think of myself as a very flexible person. i don't have to have one specific way and if the world changes, i go the same way. i don't change. well, i do change. and i am flexible and i'm proud of that flexibility and i will tell you, that attack on children yesterday had a big l impact on me. big impact. that was a horrible, horrible thing. and i have that flexibility and it's very, very possible, and i will tell you, it's already happened, that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. >> so michael, let me start with you. i'm curious how you would internet that. at one point he was asked as well about the red line, idea of a red line. president obama had famously said that in 2013, trump was asked was this a red line moment for you? he said, well, it crossed a lot of lines. he wouldn't use the red

i'm ayman mohyeldin joined by frances rivera. at approximately 8:40 p.m. eastern, tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at a single target inside syria. the video you see there are those exact missiles, shared with us by the department of defense. those thousand-pound missiles rained down on shayrat airfield in the homs province of western syria, where military officials tell nbc news the u.s. believe seer the syrian president fired chemical weapons into idlib. the pinpoint -- the strike, i should say, ordered by president trump was targeting aircraft shelters, fuel and ammunition supplies as well as air defense systems. the strikes were a response to tuesday's horrific chemical weapons attack that killed and injured hundreds of people. many of them women and children as seen in these disturbing images. images that moved the president to change his years-long stance against intervention in syria as he confirmed in his brief statement overnight at his mar-a-lago resort. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the ch

i'm frances rivera joined by ayman mohyeldin at msnbc headquarters in new york. here's a timeline for you. at approximately 8:40 p.m. eastern time, two u.s. warships in the mediterranean fired 59 tomahawk cruise missiles at a single target in syria. this video you see here are those exact missiles shared with us by the u.s. defense department. well, those department. the missiles rained down on the shayrat airfield in western syria where military officials tell nbc news the united states believes syrian president bashar al assad fired chemical weapons into the rebel-held syrian territory of idlib. >> the pinpoint missile strike ordered by president trump was targeting aircraft shelters, fuel, and ammunition supplies as well as air defense systems. now the strikes were a response to tuesday's horrific chemical weapons attack that killed and injured hundreds of people. this according to the white house. many of those women and children as seen in these disturbing images. images that moved the president to change his years-long stance against intervention in syria.

i'm ayman mohyeldin joined by frances rivera. at approximately 8:40 p.m.omahawk cruise missiles were fired at a single target inside syria. the video you see there are those exact missiles, shared with us by the department of defense. those thousand-pound missiles rained down on shayrat airfield in the homs province of western syria, where military

. >>> good morning, i'm alex witt along ayman mohyeldin and louis

. >> that's a wrap, i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> two major foreign policy crises developing right now. north korea launched another ballistic missile, the fourth this year alone. an an apparent chemical weapons attack onhe syrian people killing more than 80 people, many children. at what point are these sarin gas attacks too much to ignore? the president is waking up this morning to ever sinking plummeting poll numbers, under water on just about every key issue. more than a blow to his ego. the likes of kim jong-un and bass sar al assad are access to these numbers and weakness is what these numbers are saying, are they not? >> no doubt about it, mika, whether an enemy abroad, an ally abroad, a political opponent at home or ally at home, you look at these numbers and this is a president who has been undercut by bad decisions, low poll numbers. it's a real crisis in the white house politically. >> so on this important day, welcome to "morning joe." it's wednesday, april 5th. we have seen your politi

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin.arts right now. >>> the white house draws a tough line on syria, expanding nato and declaring assad's days to be numbered. a gaff on ukraine that unsettled allies. >> speaking of gaffs, in a mid afternoon firestorm, sean spicer calls his vegas rabbi. the controversy that involved adolf hitler, sheldon aid elson and a messy, messy passover. >> that's not good. the republican party asking what's the matter with kansas as a narrow win could spell big trouble for 2018. good morning everyone. it's wednesday, april 12th. with us onset we have

i'm alex witt, richard lui in for ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf joining us. >>> arkansas has carriedon after a number of legal heurdles. ledell lee was put to death last night. arkansas mrandz to execute eighth eninmates but three death warrants expired while the court stayed another. >>> in seattle this is the dramatic front page of the seattle times hitting doorsteps after three officers were shot. three officers were hit in the shootout after a robbery at the 7-eleven. two suspects have been detained. one was found dead inside the building. they range in age from 17 to 19 years old. >>> new details are emerging about the man officials in france say carried out the deadly shooting on police officers in paris as the country remains on high alert just days before its presidential election. the shooter apparently pulled up beside a parked police car last night before opening fire, killing one police officer and wounding two others. officials have not officially identified the suspect. he was shot and killed by police while trying to flee on foot down the famed champs-elysees. just a s

i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's give you a rundown of what happened this evening.at missiles launched on the syrian airfield. 59 tomahawk cruise missiles inside a target in syria. department of defense released this video showing those missiles at the moment they were launched. they rained down on shayrat airfield. launching the planes that carried those chemical weapons. ammunition supplies, air defense systems and radars. the strikes were a response to tuesday's horrific chemical weapons attack that killed and injured hundreds of op,

i'm alex witt, richard lui is in for ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf is in studio as well. >>> theut the nation's first double execution in 17 years. a lawyer for 52-year-old convicted murderer and rapist jack jones says his client suffered a, quote, torturous and inhumane execution, even gumming for air after being administered the lethal. the execution proceeded with marcel williams. the state says they need to be carried out before a critical lethal injection drug expires at the end of the month. the original plan called for eight executions in ten days but four have been blocked by the courts. >>> one aviation security officers suspended for dragging a passenger off that united airlines flight claims he used minimal but necessary force to remove dr. dao from the oversold flight. according to incident reports released by the city of chicago, officer rodriguez jr. says dr. dao ignored repeated requests to remove himself from the plane and that when another officer tried to remove him, he started swinging his arms violently, eventually causing his own fall. witnesses, however, dis

richard lui is in for ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf is in studio as well with us.ting you off with the morning's top stories. we're following a standoff in delaware between police and a suspect after a state trooper was shot and killed. authorities say the trooper was shot outside of a convenience store yesterday after approaching two men in a vehicle. one of the suspects was taken into custody. that second support remains barricaded inside a home right near the shooting scene where he has fired on officers trying to negotiate with them. >>> and critics are slamming the trump administration's new crime victims office as anti-immigrant. homeland security secretary john kelly unveiled the office yesterday. it is aimed at supporting victims of crimes committed solely by undocumented immigrants. the staff is made up of existing i.c.e. officers. critics say many of the services like the victims' hot line already exist. but secretary kelly says the victims in these cases are getting a voice of their own for the first time. >>> attorney general jeff sessions is expected t

. >> ayman mohyeldin, the arab spring which you covered of course and now we have mubarak out of jail only in the last couple of days and el-sisi in the white house this is also a high priority for israel and benjamin netanyahu because isis has begun to take increasing positions in the sinai peninsula, and it's a direct threat to israel. >> that's something that's going to be high on the agenda. that is one of the driving forces behind the welcome embrace, if you will, of presidencicy here at the white house. clearly, the trump administration is putting security above the interests of human rights and perhaps some of the domestic democratic issues that human rights organizations and others have been critical of egypt. when it comes to the issue of security, there is no doubt, there are several pillars in which egypt provides an important role for the united states. chief among th, the peace accords beeen egypt and israel along the sinai peninsula, maintaining a secure border there, but keep in mind you have the situation in libya which has imploded over the last couple years, a full-o

ayman mohyeldin has been keeping track soft situation in syria. john finer joins us, the former chief of staff for former secretary of state john kerry under obama. and i'll talk to matt baucus in a few minutes about china and korea. he's the former u.s. ambassador to china as well as a former democratic senator from montana. but let me start, if i may, on syria. kristen, i want to start with you. it really was the topic of this press conference that he just held, this joint press conference with jordan's leader. and he talked about his attitude on assad, the leader of syria, changing. there seemed to be a tone of change and it seemed, kristen, almost as if he had been really moved by the vigil -- by the video and pictures we were seeing coming out of syria. >> reporter: like so many people, kate, you're right, he did indicate that he was moved by the images coming out of syria. but you're also right that we heard a shift in his tone talking about president bashar al assad. he said, it has changed the way it views assad, but the big question remai

ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> it's tuesday, april 4th. bloomberg is reporting that it was former national security adviser under president obama, susan rice who asked for the unmasking of the identities of u.s. citizens in raw intelligence reports that connect to the donald trump transition and campaign. the other is "the washington post" story on a secret meeting back in january between founder of blackwater and a russian close to president vladimir putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back channel line of communication between moscow and president-elect donald trump. >> just another day at the office. >> amazing. >> the partisan roar around both of these stories is loud. we'll try to separate fact from fiction and lay out how the white use is haning all this. >> with us senior pitical analyst for nbc muse mark halperin. president of the council on foreign relations and author of "america in world array" richard haass. columnist and associate editor for "the washington post" david ignatius with us as well. willie is back. w

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> the white house draws a tough line on syria, expanding nato and declaring assad's days to be numbered. a gaff on ukraine that unsettled allies. >> speaking of gaffs, in a mid afternoon firestorm, sean spicer calls his vegas rabbi. the controversy that involved adolf hitler, sheldon aid elson and a messy, messy passover. >> that's not good. the republican party asking what's the matter with kansas as a narrow win could spell big trouble for 2018. good morning everyone. it's wednesday, april 12th. with us onset we have pulitzer prize winning historian jon meacham -- >> wait. jen, help us out here. we get barnicle and it's legendary. whenever we say meacham's name, everyone shouts out french and indian war. french and indian war. >> it was the first global conflict. >> how about just boring. >> pulitzer prize winning historian jon meacham. >> political writer for "the new york times," niclas confessore. will patterson also joining us. in make up in the

burgdorf and ayman mohyeldin. "morning joe" starts right now. >> another humiliation came when president obama drew a red line in syria, and the whole world knew it meant absolutely nothing. >> the obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. >> north korea, like so many other things, is one more hillary clinton failure, barack obama failure. >> i inherited a mess, whether it's the middle east, whether it's north korea, whether it's so many other things. >> with that the world still waits to hear president trump's plan to deal with two major crises raging right now as he prepares for perhaps the most important meeting of his presidency today with the leader of china. joe, what did you make of the president's statement from the rose garden? >> i think yesterday we talked about the president's unf unfortunate statement coming out of the white house talking about president obama. yesterday he righted himself, said what he needed to say, sayin

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin. "morning joe" starts right now. >> what should the american people make of these shifts and are there any policy areas that are non-negotiable? >> respectfully you can look at what you're referring to as a shift in a lot of ways. if you look at what's happened, those entities or individuals in those cases are issues evolving towards the president's position. in some cases the issues evolve, that it's not just a clear and fast statement, that this is -- that the entity itself is moving towards his or the issue is evolving toward the position that he articulated. that can't be proven more true in the case of nato. >> good morning. it's friday, april 14th. pretty good song. >> it is. >> welcome to "morning joe." >> there's meaning to that. with us columnist and associate editor of "the washington post" david ignatius, executive producers and co-hosts of "the circus" on show time, mark halperin and joe heilemann. >> where is heilemann? >> he's in a bunker. >> there he is. >> heavy circus