Good morning. It is tuesday, september 18th. Im ayman mohyeldin. Republicans called for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey ford, the woman accusing him of Sexual Assault, to testify publicly next week at a hearing that could potentially determine the fate of his nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley announced the hearing will be next monday after fellow republicans called for an open examination of the allegations. Grassley said his staff tried reaching out the ford, but democrats refused to participate in that process. Gop leaders had initially signalled their preference for telephone interviews with kavanaugh and ford, but Senate Democrats rejected that plan, saying the seriousness of the charges merited a full fbi investigation. Republican susan collins, a key swing vote in the senate, pushed for both to testify under oath telling reporters that the truthfulness of kavanaughs testimony could put his nomination in jeopardy. If judge kavanaugh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying. Thats why its so important that we have testimony under oath with a lot of questions asked of both of them. Mondays hearing will delay the Judiciary Committees planned vote on kavanaughs nominati nomination. Meanwhile a white house official tells nbc news that kavanaugh and his team are calling key members of congress, including members of the senate Judiciary Committee, to do damage control after the Washington Post revealed fords allegations. Senator hatch told reporters this about their conversation. When you spoke with judge kavanaugh, he denied being at that party in question when you spoke with him . I believe he did, yeah. What did he say exactly . Well, if i recall it correctly, he wasnt even there. So what do you make of that . Well, i believe him. A white house official confirmed to nbc news that kavanaugh says he was not at the party in question. Kavanaughs attendance has not been corroborated. He has firmly denied the allegation of Sexual Assault since it emerged last week. President trump weighed in on the controversy. While trump maintained his support for kavanaugh and criticized Senate Democrats, he said he remains confident in the senate process. I wish the democrats couldve done this this a lot sooner because they had this information for many months and they shouldnt have waited until literally the last days. They should have done it a lot sooner. But with all of that being said, we want to go through the process. One thing i will say is that, as i understand it, judge kavanaugh spent quite a bit of time with senator feinstein and it wasnt even brought up at that meeting and she had this information. So you would have thought certainly that she would have brought it up at the meeting, not wait until everything is finished and then have to start a process all of again. With all of that being said, we want to go through a full process. I have great confidence in the u. S. Senate and their procedures and what theyre doing and i think thats probably what theyre going to do. Theyll go through a process and hear everybody out. I think its important. I believe they think its important. I want him to go in at the absolute highest level. I think to do that you have to go through this. If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay. It shouldnt certainly be very much. Trump also shut down speculation that kavanaughs nomination was in trouble or that he had offered to withdraw. Do you know if hes offered to withdraw from the process . Next question. What a ridiculous question that is. [ inaudible question ] do you think his confirmation is on trial . I think hes on track, yeah. I think hes very much on track. If they delay it a little bit just to make sure everybodys happy they want to be happy. I can tell you, the republican senators want to be 100 happy themselves. In an unprecedented move, presumptive nominee is using the power of his office to order the director of National Intelligence and the Justice Department to immediately declassify materials into the Ongoing Investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. The move relates to 20 pages part of a secret court order and demands the release of interviews with bruce orr. President trump also ordered the release of unredacted Text Messages of former doj and fbi officials whom he regularly criticizes on twitter including james comey, andrew mccabe, peter strzok, lisa page as well as orr. The white house said the order was made at the request of a number of committees of congress and for reasons of transparency. The Justice Department said that it has begun the declassification review process to ensure the safety of National Security interests. A u. S. Official told nbc news that the agencies would not be able to conduct a Damage Assessment on the Text Messages because there are too many of them. Lets talk a little bit about mitch mcconnell. Hes in a very crucial position right now. His role in the whole judge kavanaugh confirmation hangs in limbo because of these assault allegations. Tell us a hibt more abolittle b. For mcconnell, he sort of had to take the temperature within his own conference as well as particularly the republican members of the Judiciary Committee to figure out what the Judiciary Committee should be doing and what the senate needs to do Going Forward in dealing with the kavanaugh nomination. Had this vote gone forward on thursday as was expected at the Judiciary Committee, i think the reality is that that vote was not going to be successful. Once you have senators like ted cruz were not talking about moderates here necessarily. But once you have a senator like ted cruz who is saying, look, i believe that these accusations whether or not theyre credible, we need to find that out. And certainly thats sort of the position that mccome wnnell was. If youve got even the more conservative senators asking questions, you really cant push forward be the vote. Let me ask you about the president being uncharacteristically subdued about this saying he wa do yo think that masks a bit of concern over the future of Brett Kavanaughs confirmation . Its a long time between now and next monday when these hearings are supposed to be taking place. So it may well be that there is actually more concern about what might occur between now and then. But the other thing, of course, too is that this was sort of a more reserved venue for President Trump to make those comments. I think we that we all need to also be looking out for what he says. Thursday he has one of his Campaign Style rallies in las vegas. Whether or not the message is a little different to the trump faithful. Thats a very good point. Thank you. In the carolinas, the flooding disaster continues in the wake of what is now tropical depression florence. Many rivers are on the rise following the storm surge and record breaking rainfall. The death toll from the storm has now reached 31. 25 of those were in North Carolina, five in South Carolina and one person in virginia was killed yesterday when a building collapsed during a tornado caused by the remnants of florence. The storm has washed out roadways and shut down highways, giving residents in some cities like wilmington, North Carolina, no way in or out. Rescue crews continue to search for and save those who have been trapped by the water. This morning more than 300,000 are still without power in North Carolina. Meteorologist bill karins will have much more on the forecast coming up in just a little while. President trump is escalating americas trade war with china, announcing after markets close new tariffs on billions of dollars worth of chinese goods. Specifically the administration imposed 10 tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese imports which are effective starting september 24th, with the rate going up to 25 at the end of the year. That is in in addition to the 50 billion worth of tariffs already in effect, meaning that roughly half of of the good china exports to the United States are subject to duty taxes of some sort. Beijing is responding by imposing its own new tariffs on 60 billion worth of america exports and its considering restricting the sales of materials and equipment vital to u. S. Manufacture supply chains in this continue. All of the products china sends to the United States per year could be subject to additional tariffs. The president addressed the situation yesterday before the announcement while making several false statements about americas farming and soybean industry. I have a great xi. I was over there for two days with him. I have a lot of respect for china. Last year we lost 375 billion in deficits. So chinas not paying us billions of dollars in tariffs. Hopefully well be able to work something out. Has to take care of our workers. We cant have them pinpointing our farmers because they think that weakens me a little bit. Farmers are incredible patriots. They understand whats happening. The markets were closed to them. Vast markets were closed to them and the farmers have been hurting for 15 years. If you look at soybeans pricing before the election, for five years it was cut in half. Were just going to have to charge them when they sell their products to us. And our treasury will take in tremendous amounts of money, which is great for our country. Its jobs, a lot of other things, a lot of taxes coming to us. Now to one of the only bipartisan victories on capitol hill earlier this year. A sweeping bill to fight the Opioid Epidemic passed the senate yesterday. The 8. 4 billion legislation is made up of 70 bills in a single package. The bill requires the fda to prescribe drugs in smaller quantities and incentivizes the National Institutes of health to prioritize nonaddictive painkillers. The house passed a similar bill back in june. The next step is for lawmakers to hammer out a compromise bill that can pass both claimers. The cdc estimates that 72,000 americans died from drug overdoses last year. New in the russia probe, special Counsel Robert Mueller has asked for a sentencing date for former National Security advisor Michael Flynn. Plus we have all the winners and losers from last nights emmy awards. [announcer] the typical vacuum head can struggle with large debris and stuckon dust, so shark invented duoclean, replacing the front wall with a rotating soft brush. While deep cleaning carpets, two brush rolls pick up large particles with ease, make quick work of stuckon dust, giving hard floors a polished look, and fearlessly devour piles. Shark duoclean technology, designed to do more on carpets and floors, available in corded and cordfree vacuums, and only available from shark. This is a story about mail on carpets and floors, available in corded and packages. And its also a story about people. People who rely on us every day to deliver their dreams theyre handing us more than mail theyre handing us their business and while we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget. That your business is our business the United States postal service. Priority you im ready to crush ap english. Im ready to do what no one on my block has done before. Forget that. What no one in the world has done before. All i need access, tools, connections. Highspeed connections. Is the world ready for me . Through internet essentials, comcast has connected more than sixmillion lowincome people to lowcost, highspeed internet at home. Im trying to do some homework here. So theyre ready for anything. Welcome back. Lets get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. Good morning. We continue to watch the heavy rain now from florence or what was florence moving through the northeast. Overnight we had flooding on highway 79 in the Southern Tier of new york. We had a water rescue overnight because of florence in southern new york. We had a lot of heavy rain in the baltimore area. Youre still under a Flash Flood Watch and well still having areas all the way to boston and providence with 23 Million People under Flash Flood Watches. Its pouring right now around albany and schenectady and troy. These are the thunderstorms that rolled through baltimore, then they head eed through philadelphia. If youre on the i95 corridor through upstate new york, definitely bring the umbrella and be prepared for slow commutes. Heres the rainfall forecast. Some of the heaviest rain will be in the southern mountains of New Hampshire and the higher terrain. Providence possibly two inches. Other areas that we could see some airport delays, chicago and minneapolis. This is the beginning of fall air, but it is still summer from denver to oklahoma city. Dallas, 95. Even into tomorrow it stays very warm in st. Louis and throughout much of the south. No sign of any fall weather yet. Lets switch gears and go out to tinseltown. Tvs biggest stars took home top honors at the 70 th annual emmy award last night. Amazons streaming series lived up to its name. Four emmys for rachel brosnahan. The series creator won for writing and directing. My panic room is going to be so pretty. Another first year comedy, hbos barry earned best actor for bill hadar. Tonight i got to clear the table. Game of thrones won best drama and and Peter Dinklage won. And westworlds tandy new on the newton won. Im going to quit while im ahead. Because i want to call you my wife. He proposed to his girlfriend as a world wide audience watched on tvs biggest night. Some incredible moments there. What did you think . I love seeing betty white out there, 96 years old. She looks incredible. Also that marriage proposal. And how about Henry Winkler . Hard to imagine he won his first emmy after all these years. Still ahead, milwaukee brewer yellage does something nobody has ever done in major league history. And t a hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. So shark invented duo clean. While deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll picks up large particles, gives floors a polished look, and fearlessly devours piles. Duo clean technology, only from shark. Until i held her. Managing my type 2 diabetes wasnt my top priority. And fearlessly devours piles. I found my tresiba® reason. Now im doing more to lower my a1c. I take tresiba® once a day. Tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. woman wed been counting down to his retirement. It was our tresiba® reason. He needs insulin to control his high blood sugar and, at his age, hes at greater risk for low blood sugar. Tresiba® releases slow and steady and works all day and night like the bodys insulin. vo tresiba® is a longacting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. Dont use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. Dont share needles or insulin pens. Dont reuse needles. The most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. Check your blood sugar. Low blood sugar can be serious and may be lifethreatening. Injection site reactions may occur. Tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. Taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. Your insulin dose shouldnt be changed without asking your prescriber. Get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness or confusion. man i found my tresiba® reason. Find yours. vo ask your Health Care Provider about tresiba®. Covered by most commercial Health Insurance and Medicare Part d plans. Welcome back. Time now for sports. To chicago more monday night football. The bears defense was reminiscent of their famed 80s sel selves. They sacked Russell Wilson five times in the first half. Still it was only a onescore game in the fourth when chicago picked off wilson and returned it 49 yards to the house for the touchdown. Seattle would add one more late score. In the end the bears were mightier and they win 2417. Cleveland browns josh dwgordon was traded yesterday to the new england patriots. The 27yearold has been plagued by Substance Abuse issues throughout his career and has been suspended multiple times by the league over the past four seasons. Lets hope he can turn it around. In a fete, Christian Yelich hit hit for the psyfor the cycl reds, becoming the first player in history to hit for the cycle twice in one season. He did it last night in four straight at bats. Both accomplishes came during the brewers victories. Not to take anything away from him, its such a random statistic. Two stiek it is history. Kind of a loose definition. Still ahead, much more on the fallout facing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Plus, amid the flooding disaster from hurricane florence, the head of fema is reportedly facing a criminal investigation related to his use of government vehicles. Metastatic Breast Cancer is relentless, but im relentless too. Mbc doesnt take a day off, and neither will i. And i treat my mbc with new everyday verzenio the only one of its kind that can be taken every day. In fact, verzenio is a cdk4 6 inhibitor for postmenopausal women with hr , her2 mbc, approved, with hormonal therapy, as an everyday treatment for a relentless disease. Verzenio an ai is proven to help women have significantly more time without disease progression, and more than half of women saw their tumors shrink vs an ai. Diarrhea is common, may be severe, and may cause dehydration or infection. Before taking verzenio, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection. Verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. Serious liver problems can occur. Symptoms may include tiredness, loss of appetite, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising more easily than normal. Blood clots that can lead to death have also occurred. Talk to your doctor right away if you notice pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain or rapid breathing or heart rate. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include nausea, infections, low red and white blood cells and platelets, decreased appetite, headache, abdominal pain, tiredness, vomiting, and hair thinning or loss. Im relentless. And my doctor and i choose to treat my mbc with verzenio. Be relentless. Ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. But one blows them all out of the water. Hydro boost from neutrogena®. With hyaluronic acid to plump skin cells so it bounces back. Neutrogena® so it bounces back. Stop fearing your alarm clock. With new zzzquil pure zzzs. A drugfree blend of botanicals with melatonin. That supports your Natural Sleep cycle. So you can seize the morning. New zzzquil pure zzzs. Welcome back, everyone. Im ayman mohyeldin. It is the bottom of the hour. Lets start with the mornings top stories. President trump has broken his silence over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid a Sexual Assault allegation against the judge. The president s comments come as the white house and kavanaugh work to lock in support of key senators as his confirmation appeared in question. Kristin welker has the details. Reporter President Trump is standing by judge Brett Kavanaugh. Judge kavanaugh is one of the finest people that ive ever known. Reporter kavanaugh faces an allegation of Sexual Assaulting a teenage girl more than three decades ago at a high school party. He denies the accusation and according to the white house says he was never at the party in question. Hes an outstanding intellect, an outstanding judge, respected by everybody. Never had even a little blemish on his record. The accuser 51yearold Christine Blasey ford, a professor in california, tells the Washington Post a 17yearold kavanaugh was stumbling drunk at a house party in the 80s when he allegedly pinned her to a bed and groped her. I thought he might inadvertently kill me, she told the post. Her lawyer said ford is willing to testify mickly. Does she consider this an attempted rape . She does. Kavanaugh says hes also willing to testify, adding this is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes to her or to anyone because this never happened. I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself. In damage control, kavanaugh spent hours at the white house, calling lawmakers personally. I think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up. Senator orren hatch says kavanaugh told him he was never at the party. The alleged third person in the room, mark judge, has called the accusations nuts. Still, he may have undercut that message by writing a 1997 memoir called wastes tales of a general x drunk. Democrats and several Top Republicans say they wont be satisfied until they hear from kavanaugh and ford in a public hearing. If judge kavanaugh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying. Reporter as for the president , he says he wants a thorough process. You have to go through this. If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay. Reporter Top Republicans tell nbc news there will be a hearing next monday. Ford and kavanaugh will be invited. In a new statement, ka nvanaugh saying hes willing to testify as early as today to clear his name. Coming up, chris coons will have more on the kavanaugh confirmation fight. Federal prosecutors have requested a sentencing date for former National Security advisor Michael Flynn. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and flynns attorneys proposed sentencing be set for november 28th or any of the following seven business days. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his conversations with the russian ambassador. The crime calls for a maximum of a fiveyear sentence, but senior federal prosecutors not involved in the case told nbc news at the time of flynns plea deal, that it is unlikely that he will spend even one day in prison. And there is a new investigation targeting brock long, the top official at fema. According to the New York Times, House Republicans plan to investigate reports that long repeatedly misused government vehicles to commute from washington to North Carolina where his family resides. House Oversight Committee trey gowdy requested documentation about his use of the government vehicles. According to the wall street journal, the investigation has been turned over to federal prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued. An indicted representative chris kcolilins has announced h will in fact seek a fourth term in Congress Despite facing Insider Trading charges. He made the announcement yesterday in a stunning reversal. The republican decided to stay on the ballot on the advice of his lawyers. They argue that his removal from novembers contest, coupled with new york states complex election laws would have likely faced a democratic lawsuit and complicated the election, which in turn could leave his seat open to a democrat victory. The republican chairman in collins district was planning to unveil the plan to replace the congressman sometime this week. He tells the paper that leaders had a Crystal Clear way to replace collins on the ballot, adding this is obviously not something we were expecting. Collins was indicted in august after getting rid of a stock in a company after raelearning a k drug trial had failed. Former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg is actively considering a campaign for republican not as a republican but as a democrat. Despite being openly critical of several progressive stances the 76yearold bloomberg told the New York Times switching parties would be his only path to the white house. Its impossible to conceive i could run as a republican. Things like choice, so many of the issues, im way away from the party today. I dont see how you could possibly run as a republican. If you ran, yeah, youd have to run as a democrat. The billionaire mogul has already thrown his support behind democrats during the midterms pledging 80 million to flip control of the house of representativ representatives. He tells the paper he has no specific timeline to make his decision. Joining us once again from washington, d. C. , Senior Writer at roll call. Could the victims of hurricane florences destruction be further displaced by the investigation of brock long now that he is in the prosecutorial target . The question is really going to be whether or not theres sort of enough money to go around to handle all of the claims that might be coming in. But certainly the idea that the director of fema could potentially have been misusing funds for personal use is coming not couldnt really be any worse of a time. And the other thing is its not clear beyond that whether or not a lot of this is going to be a distraction from his ability to do his job and how much lower level officials will end up having to sort of carry the burden of the Disaster Recovery and who will be empowered basically if he has to step away to focus on his own legal troubl troubles, how this will be handled. Lets switch gears and talk about Michael Flynn with his scheduling for his sentencing date almost a year after his initial arrest. Does that signal he is no longer of significant value to the special counsels investigation . What does that tell us about the timeline of the Mueller Probe . Could go two different ways really. I think the most likely situation is that the plea agreement is worked out and the sbsing is sort of worked out in everyone knows the way its going to end up, so its okay for Michael Flynn to be sentenced at this time, probably probation. Remember, because he has already testified, we think and has certainly given all sorts of information to the Mueller Probe, he could expose himself to lying to federal agents or to a grand jury or perjury if he were subsequently called as a witness in some subsequent trial and he conflicted with his previous testimony and sworn statements. Maybe he has no new information to offer, but it doesnt mean they cant use the information that hes already proffered to them in future proceedings. The leaders of north and south korea are currently holding their third summit. Kim jongun was greeted by noon jay in wi moon jaein with a jovial hug. According to seoul, the summit is focusing on several topics, mainly efforts to denuclearize the korean peninsula, something various officials and the uns. N say north korea is not taking steps to achieve. Still ahead, new poll numbers showing democrats with the upper hand in senate races in two red states. Plus, the senate race in texas becomes even more heated as ted cruz brings barbecue into the mix while attacking beto orourke. To look at me now, you dont see psoriasis. You see clear skin. Cosentyx can help people with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis find clear skin that can last. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. How sexy are these elbows . Ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. Ask your dermatologist another antiwrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. Neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works in just one week. With the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce wrinkles. Neutrogena®. If youre waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. Its time to get out of line with upmc. At upmc, livingdonor transplants put you first. So you dont die waiting. Upmc does more livingdonor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. Find out more and get out of line today. This is not a screensaver. Game. This is the destruction of a cancer cell by the bodys own immune system, thanks to medicine that didnt exist until now. And today can save your life. To take care of yourself. But natures bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and wellrested. Because hey, tomorrows coming up fast. Natures bounty. Because youre better off healthy. With large debris and stuckon dust, so shark invented duoclean, replacing the front wall with a rotating soft brush. While deep cleaning carpets, two brush rolls pick up large particles with ease, make quick work of stuckon dust, giving hard floors a polished look, and fearlessly devour piles. Shark duoclean technology, designed to do more on carpets and floors, available in corded and cordfree vacuums, and only available from shark. Welcome back, everyone. While Democratic Senators are facing reelection in ten states President Trump won in 2016, new polls show republicans struggling to hold onto their own seats. The cnn poll conducted last week in arizona found that democrat kristin cinema, leading republican martha mcsallysally. Likely voters in tennessee are evenly split on the president s job performance, 49 to 48 . But in arizona, the president has fallen to a 39 Approval Rating with likely voters. 57 disapprove. Senator ted cruz is waging a cultural war against Democrat Beto Orourke over something close to texans hearts, barbecue ted cruz shows up to a site at a texas barbecue where peta members were handing out tofu samples in the form of a protection. Ted cruz said that summed up the entire election. He wrote on twitter if beto wins, barbecue will be illegal. The protesters armed with signs that read republicans eat tofu too. Cruz had said in part, quote, they want us to be just like california right down to tofu and silicone and dyed hair. Its worth noting that cruzs wife heidi is a vegetarian from california. Lets get a check on your weather with bill karins. Heres what were dealing with in North Carolina. Eastern North Carolina, the remnants are just about cresting in most cases. Then theyre going to come down from here. The Cape Fear River is one of the biggest ones and also the noose river, the river that flooded new bern with the water that same from the sound. A lot of places still under what we call major flood stage. A couple gauges near the lumberton river also in record flood stage. Its continuing to come down in areas of the east. Heavier downpours just outside of new york city. Overnight we got about 23 inches of rain outside of binghamton. This is over the berkshires too. When you get over the mountains you can get a little more problems when you get a quick 23 inches of rainfall. The other story today is the heat. If it wasnt for florence, we would be talking a lot about how warm this september has been. 93 today in denver, 93 in wichita, st. Louis at 94 degrees. As we go to tomorrow, still very warm from raleigh to nashville. Mississippi is warm, florida is warm. Chicago goes from thursday at 90 drops to 67 by saturday. So were ending summer and it definitely feels like it in a lot of areas. Still ahead, Global Markets under pressure this morning as President Trump once again es ka ra escalates his trade war with china. Plus, cocacola looks to develop a cannabis related beverage. And i dont add up the years. But what i do count on. Is staying happy and healthy. So, i add protein, vitamins and minerals to my diet with boost®. New boost® high protein nutritional drink now has 33 more highquality protein, along with 26 essential and minerals your body needs. All with guaranteed great taste. The upside im just getting started. Boost® high protein be up for life this is a story about mail and packages. And its also a story about people. People who rely on us every day to deliver their dreams theyre handing us more than mail theyre handing us their business and while we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget. That your business is our business the United States postal service. Priority you welcome back. Lets turn to business. The white house announced 10 tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese imports with more duties to come this year, escalating the trade war between the worlds two largest economies. China says that the new trade talks are now under threat. Whats the latest . Youre right. They were going to be traveling to beijing, officials from beijing. Were going to be trave to d. C. , officials from beijing. That may not be happening now this morning. Theres around 6,000 products being added to this targeted list. Notable things included the apple watch, rare metals, theyre often in used in manufacturing so this is quite good news for u. S. Manufacturers. In terms of beijing, theyve said they have no choice but to retaliate. Not clear yet what form that retaliation will make. They only have 130 billion worth of u. S. Goods being sold in china. They dont have as much firepower. It could mean they raise the tariffs or they could actually take action against u. S. Companies and that is something trump said he would not be happy with. He would then add tariffs to all had a of a trillion u. S. Goods coming to china. Cocacola says its in the market for marijuana as the Company Shifts its company from soda to canny because infused health drinks. What more can you tell us about this one . I can guess it would have change your college dramatically. I dont know. But a report came out from canada saying coke was in serious talks. Coke has not denied that story, but theyre looking at this market as evolving quickly. This is all about drinks being infused with cbd, one of the chemicals from marijuana that helps relieve pain and anxiety. Coke is saying no decision has been made. Aurora is saying they do not, quote, discuss Business Development initiatives until theyre finalized. But something to watch, clearly. Ayman is going to say something. Im very surprised at willhelms indepth knowledge. Weve all been to colorado, you know . All right, not yet. Thanks, wilhelm. Coming up on morning joe, the white house goes on the defense over President Trumps Supreme Court nominee amid Sexual Assault allegations as the president breaks his silence standing by his pick. Senate Judiciary Committee member chris kuhns explains why he things kavanaughs commencement needs to be delayed. Account with a great rate. But if thats not enough, our app helps monitor your spending too. And if thats not enough to help you save, we could start a carpool. Look at this traffic. Dont worry. Ok, if thats not enough well start a trainpool. Oh i have a meeting in five minutes. And if thats still not enough. I got it. Well just create a shortcut. Well do anything, seriously anything to help you save. Ally. Do it right. Talking 4th quarter . Yes. Where were changing withs . Contemporary makeovers. Then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. Who has the upper hand now . Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com. Shouldnt drive us apart. But when you experience sudden, frequent, uncontrollable episodes of laughing or crying that are exaggerated or simply dont match how you feel, it can often lead to feeling misunderstood. This is called pseudobulbar affect, or pba. A condition that can occur from brain injury or certain neurologic conditions like stroke or dementia. Nuedexta can make a difference by significantly reducing pseudobulbar affect episodes. Tell you doctor about medicines you take. Some cant be taken with nuedexta. Nuedexta is not for people with certain heart conditions. Serious side effects may occur. Dont take with maois or if you are allergic to dextromethorphan or quinidine. Tell your doctor if you have bleeding or bruising. Stop if muscle twitching, confusion, fever, or shivering occurs with antidepressants. Side effects may include diarrhea, dizziness, cough, vomiting, weakness or ankle swelling. Ask your doctor about the only fda approved treatment proven to reduce pba episodes. Nuedexta. You might or joints. Hing for your heart. Treatment proven to reduce pba episodes. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in Clinical Trials to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Whats going on . Oh hey thats it . Yeah. Thats it . Everybody two seconds dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance. Through the Tuition Assistance program, every day mcdonalds helps more people go to college. Its part of our commitment to being americas best first job. Welcome back, everyone. The cofounder of axios, mike had allen, what is the one big thing for this morning . Thank you, ayman. Im trying to recover from the tofu snafu. When i get it back together, the one big thing is Brett Kavanaugh prepares for the hearing of a lifetime. The preparation of that epic hearing that weve been hearing about all morning on your show. Yesterday at the white house, behind the scenes for nine hours, Brett Kavanaugh preparing for what was to come, calling senators on the hill trying to reassure them and were told that Brett Kavanaugh was asked by republicans prepping him for this hearing about what past girlfriends would say about his conduct and why that matters is republicans want to show that theres not a pattern of conduct the that is reflected in the new accusations against him. I can imagine a lot of digging is going to take place between now and next monday. What is the white house saying about all this . How do they feel about the way this is playing out . Some suggested President Trumps reaction has been subdued compared to what weve seen the president do in the past in terms of these choices. The white house post has a story where they say people in the white house saying the slightest thing he said could sooth the president. So he found another outlet. But what were told by republicans who are closely involved in this process is that they feel better than they did sunday night when this was all blowing up. Their theory is that because of the gaps in the recollection of the accuser, that theres not going to be new corroboration, that new facts may focus on the accuser. But theyre very candid about this. Republicans say we feel better, but this depends entirely on the performance of two people. Theres nothing scientific about this. This is gk to be what its like in the room. Is she credible. You have the ohio governors race but nos those closely watched in florida. What is the bottom line here . That is a great point. And those two are important races to watch. And thats the story of this election is that so many races are in play that werent when we started this. Were now down to 49 days. And every race that has gone on the table has been good for democrats. The bigger map is good for them. We see here on the axios 8, its led by that senate race. Ted cruz is barely ahead. Beto oh rock has electrified people, has unbelievable fundraising. On the other hand, ted cruz worried about cash. Your viewers are very interested in that ohio governors race between Richard Cordrey and mike dewine. People will be watching that closely. The rest of the axios 8 are house races and here is the story of this election. Most of those are held by republicans. Thats why this is all edge of your seat for republicans. The blue wave. They are hoping that had its a cat 4. They know its getting stronger. Mike, before i you go, i have to ask you about this sleeper issue for the next president ial election. Tell us about that. So this is the vast number of jobs taken by machines. We have a new report up. The white house has been trying to get ahead of this. We saw at the white house yesterday with ivanka trump looking at the future workforce. But here is why this matters. A lot of these jobs are in trump country, places that the president won. He knows dissatisfaction with wages and work is part of what fueled his rise. He realizes hes not going to be able to solve that and these new numbers show it will happen faster than we thought. Automation is taking over the world, mike allen, well be reading axios in just a bit. Sign up. Axios. Com. That does it for us. Morning joe starts right now. Senator, her testimony, it didnt plant any seed of doubt in your mind . Yes, there were lots of seeds of doubt in my mind about about Clarence Thomas . No. I know Clarence Thomas. Ive known him for 12 years. Do you think this is going to derail his nomination . No. And im not opposed to anita