Good morning, everybody. It is tuesday, february 19, im Yasmin Vossoughian alongside a louis burgdorf. Well start with deputy ag, Rod Rosenstein who spent the last 21 months overseeing the special counsels investigation has aboutat three weeks left at the Justice Department. Officials put Rod Rosensteins date of departure around the middle ofnd march after a brief transition period under new attorney general william barr. Reportsli indicate that barr settled on deputy transportation secretary Jeffrey Rossin as his replacement. The departure is in keeping with the timeline Rod Rosenstein gave for himself earlier this year and ends a three decade career in federale Law Enforcement th beganal shortly after his graduation fromtl harvard law school. This as President Trump is accusingum Rod Rosenstein of a quote treasonous act after former acting fbi director or Andrew Mccabe claimed Rod Rosenstein discussed trumps removal undermp the 25th amendmt in two meeting with senior doj officials andse offered to weara wire to record the president backde in may of 2017. Now the Justice Department issued ade statement which read this, the deputy ag never authorized any recording that mr. Mccabe references. In an interview yesterday mccabe pushed back. While the Deputy Attorney general says he never authorized anyone to wear a wire, that is true. He never authorized it because we never asked him for that authorization. Meaning his semiing didnt he had dial of the story is not actually a denial. Of course, President Trump tweeted about the former doj officials all day long yesterday. In the morning heng accused mcce andac rosenstein ever planning very illegal act. Eg also describing it as treasonous. Late last night he threw fired fbi director james comey into the mix. Remember this Andrew Mccabe didnt go to the bathroom without the approval of leaking james comey. On the same program of sean hannity,ea Lindsey Graham discussed the investigation hes planning. Ill bes looking at two things. Ill beo look at before electi and after a the election. Be looking whether or not the warrant process was abused. Ill be looking as to whether or not the Counter Intelligence investigation was actually a back door way to get into Trump Campaign and the real motive was to take the campaign down and to bring criminal charges. Counter intelligent investigation, sean, are designed to protect the target which was the trump examine against foreign influence. They didnt act that way. They acted do you agree with me an associate of President Trump says theres talk in the white house of removing the director of National Intelligence dan coats after he and other intelligent chiefs disagreed with the president s public statements on north korea ats a Senate Hearing last montt we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wmd capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its Nuclear Weapons and s production capabilities becausec its leaders ultimately view Nuclear Weapons asti critical t regime survival. You still have confidence in gin jafr haskell and dan coats to give you good advice. I disagree with what they w said. I think im right. Timei will prove me right. Mr. President , did you talk toyo your intelligent chiefs toy about the displeasure you had . Ur i did. They said they were misquoted and it was taken out of context so what i do i suggest that you call stthem. Director coats has remained largely silent as the president prepares for a second summit withec kim jongun in hanoi at e end of this month and now a trumpd ally the ceo of newsmax media says coats has gotten has not excuse me gotten back on thego president s good side. John, im hearing from ri sources around the white house theres general disappointment e of the president with director coats. Re theres a feeling maybe there needs a change of leadership in that position . Do you think hell dismiss director coats . Well, i dont know what his planno is. He doesnt tell me who hes going to dismiss or not. Iss have talked to various peop, not him, thats very close in the white house, with the security positions the president is taking. I think generally theres a deep concern that on the eve of the north korea to have your director of National Intelligence in open hearings undercutting your positionen wa very bad form. We should note President Trump is scheduled to have an intelligence briefing on thursday. A coalition of 16 states has filed a lawsuit to keep the president from using Emergency Powers to redirect federal funds for f his border wall. The lawsuit led by the state of california accuses the president ofes violating the separation o powers stating congress made clear that funding could not be used to b build President Trump proposed border trwall. The lawsuit also cites the president s own words from fridays News Conference when he said congress provided more tham enough money for border security. I went through congress. Ro i made a deal. I got almost 1. 4 billion when i wasnt supposed to get 1. Not 1. Hes not going to guess 1. I got 1. 4 billion. Im not happy with that. I got billions and billions of dollars for other things. Port of entry, lots of other thing. Purchase of drug equipment. More than we requested. The primary fight was on the wall. Everything else we have so much as i said i dont know what to do with it we have so much money. But onmu the wall they skimped. So i did i was successful in that sense but i want to do it faster. I can do the wall over a longer period of time. I didntri need to do this. But i rather do it much faster. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of california meaning any appeal would be heard by the 9th circuit, which last year blocked the president s asylum ban. Meanwhile protests against the president s emergency order were held across the country yesterday, t president s day. There are pictures from los angeles, the son, denver and new york city. Er moveon. Org said its supporters gathered in 260 events while indisvisible made up by ib volunteers of congressional districts also came outf in protest. People gathered from coast to coast thefr president spent a thirdes day in a row at his wes Palm Beach Golf Club since declaring the emergency. Talk to us about this move by 16 states. How6 could this block the president s chances of enhancing his border wall funding . Sure. I think it looks like the travel ban, if you recall, when President Trump imposed by p executive order a ban on countries, on immigrants from muslimmajority countries. There was a quick legal fight, and he went through several iterations of that traditional ban before it reached the Supreme Court andhe the Supreme Courtem rejected one version an eventually ruled that heer did r have the power to impose a revised version of the travel pan. I think youof can see a similar pattern play out here. I expect that hes going to lose in this first legal round and it will make it all the way up to the Supreme Court eventually. Judging bypr the way the suprem court ruled on thehe travel bant seems likely especially now tham Brett Kavanaugh is on the court, someone who has a history of showing deference to executive power seems they will rule in his favor on some level. Hell s have to tweak things he and there. On one hand you have congresssr Constitutional Authority to appropriate money. Ut on the other hand youo have th president s powerhe to exclude foreign nationals from the borders of the United States. And judging by the way the court ruled in the travel ban case it seems likely they will defer to the president s executive authority on immigration which powers tend to be very vast. I want to talk quickly about this Andrew MccabeRod Rosenstein story thats been developing in the last couple of days especially after the 60 minutes interview on sunday nu that we all saw. And, of course, allegations of 25th amendment andti conversatis that were had between roz roz tw and mccabe, some of which it seems asso if Rod Rosenstein is denying but not so. Where do these allegations go with regards to this 25th amendment as were getting news that Rod Rosenstein will be leaving office r in about three weeks . Well,re you know, the way Ro Rosenstein seemed to explain at any time last timeme this came was that he was kind of joking, like hey, andy, you want me to wear au wire. What do you want me to do . Toright. The context at the time was the concern in the top ranks of the Justice Department about tht president s firing of james comey and what did it mean for the country. You know, to organize some sort of 25th amendment process you would have to have some sort of secret conversation among members of theat cabinet, and i dont see howan you would get tt level of trust when you have people with varying degrees of loyalty to the president. So it seems likely that this was just ais conversation borne of panic at the time, and it never went anywhere. Do you think it will go away now that Rod Rosenstein is leaving office in three weeks or do you think theres going to be congressional leaders following up on things and launching investigations into this. It sounds from Lindsey Graham who is heading the judiciary committee, sounds like hell probe into lithis. Itsob more about him showing loyalty to President Trump than it is to get to the bottom of something that really sounds like it was a fanciful conversation. More political plaync on his part. O blake, good seeing you. Well talk to you again in just a little bit. President trump is issuing a sharp warning to military leaders in venezuela during a Campaign Style smeech in miami. The president expressed support for juan guaido. Trump urged members of the venezuelas military tomb aband the countrys socialist president Nicolas Maduro warning that they would lose everything iflo they remained loyal. Trump also called on venezuelas military to allow humanitarian aid into the country. Today i have a message for every official helping to keep maduro in place. The eyesdu of the entire world e upon you. Every day and every day in the future. Can you not hide from the choice that now confronts you. We seek a peaceful transition of power. But all options are open. All right. Three children and a woman were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds at a home in kent county, michigan yesterday afternoon. The ken county sheriff said they do not believe a suspect is at large and i is investigating thv incident as a possible murdersuicide. Authorities have not confirmed theau identities of the victimsr if they were related, pending the completion r of autopsies family members identified the three kids as sisters to an nbc affiliate. Ages 2 to 8 years old. The woman as their mother. Since the anniversary of the parkland shooting last thursday there have been a number of mass casualty gun deaths across the country. In clinton, mississippi a man shot and killed four people inside a home after a 12 hour stan offwith authorities over the weekend there. On fridaye police say a shoote killed five people and injured several Police Officers in aurora, illinoisff after a workplace dispute. And in minnesota Law EnforcementOfficials Say two people were killed in a valentines day mass shooting, thema motive in that incident is still unknown. All right, everybody. Stillgh ahead investigators in North Carolina say they found evidence of ballot fraud in a midterm race thats still uncertified. U. S. Forces surrounded the last square mile of isis territory in syria and preparing for a final assault. Well have the latest on fight against terror group and a check on your weather when we come back. clapping every day, visionaries are creating the future. so, every day, we put our latest technology and vast expertise to work. the United StatesPostal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, affordably and ontime. ringing the future only happens with people who really know how to deliver it. The future only happens i never count trthe wrinkles. S. 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®. Boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. All with guaranteed great taste. The upside im just getting started. Boost® high protein be up for life. Check in from afar with remote access, and have professional monitoring backing you up with xfinity home. Demo in an xfinity store. Call, or go online today. Investigators at the center of the dispute in the North Carolina house race detailed an unlawful coordinated and well funded plot to tamper with absentee ballots during first dave hearings yesterday. The states board of elections heard from handful of witnesses that describe republican political operative plan to collect and falsify ballots in the district 9 house race. The race has yet to be certified. Mark harris who sat in on the hearing yesterday currently leads the democrat by 905 votes. Dallas stepdaughter described the process she was directed to follow. Including matching pen colors to unsigned ballots. Sending only a few at a time from select locations and how to strategically place stamps to avoid setting off alarms. Mccray dallas refused toto testify unless given immunity which was denied. The board has the power to call for a new race or certify the race. Lets get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. Bill, a mixed bag to say the least for today but a lot of weather out there flooding, snow, ice and millions ever people will have to deal with it in the next two days. 49 million are under Winter Weather headlines. Youll be affected by snow, ice or freezing rain. Washington, d. C. To roanoke, des moines to minneapolis, Winter Weather advisory, kansas city, st. Louis, and its heading in to the east tomorrow. Not today. So heres the snowfall forecast. Were still dealing with snow in the for you corners region. This starts later today into tonight. Midatlantic overnight into tomorrow morning. Lets get into the specifics. Heaviest snow, the area of red up to eight inches will be harrisburg, virginia, northeastern sections of virginia. Washington, d. C. Sneaks in here, four to six inches of snow. Decent little snowstorm. That will be during the day wednesday. That will mean a lot of schools will be cancelled if they are in session on wednesday. Philadelphia, looks like wednesday afternoon, maybe around three inches for you. New york city not a lot. Maybe zero to one or two inches. Be a little too warm in the transition over to sleet and freezing rain and rain will happen pretty quickly. Same scenario for southern new england. Columbus to cleveland can pick up one to three inches. Second piece of this storm, what a winter its been. Snow pack is very deep right nine iowa. Des moines expecting another six inches of snow. Minneapolis four inches. Chicago less than an inch over to sleet and freezing rain for you. Similar scenario for areas like st. Louis. On top of all this we have flash flood watches for 16 Million People. Well talk more about this and the timing of it. We can have damaging river flooding as we head towards the weekend. On a somber note the man in the iconic world war ii photo of a sailor kissing a woman in New York Times swquare has died. His picture came to represent the joy felt at the end of the war in which 406,000 americans died and another 671,000 were wounded. She in turn came to represent the 342,000 women who served in the war as pilots, nurses and more, just an iconic photograph. So sad to hear of his passing. Such a beautiful photograph in a historic time. Still ahead, ukraines military forces are preparing for a potential showdown with russia. Well get the very latest from the front lines of the fight. Stay with us. H us 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. 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Those who have escaped paint a vivid and frightening picture of the desperate attempt for survival by the group in the waning days of their control on that area. According to the Washington Post citing more than a dozen interviews at screening points and other displacement camps those who fled include wives in a children of fighters who look confused and exhausted the. Women and their families who have been enslaved by the group were in shock with one saying she had walked out of hell. In an escalating crisis overseas, you katrinas military backed by the United States preparing for a potential showdown at sea with russia. Bill neely has the latest from the front lines. Reporter resisting russia. Ukraines navy now drilling for possible confrontation. Fearing russia will attack at sea as it did last year. Ramming and seizing ukrainian ships. Arresting two dozen sailors who are still in a russian jail. Its a conflict on land too. Ukraines army took us to a front line war where they are battling russian backed separatists. All russian officers . Here. Reporter its a killing ground. Trench warfare thats claimed 13,000 lives. Russian snipers they told me just 300 yards away. A december ceasefire dead. This is a ceasefire in name only. Broken thousands of times along this front line ofry week. The Trump Administration supplies weapons to you crane. The u. S. Now preparing new sanctions to punish russia. This the main flash point between russia and the west, an almost forgotten war with deadly potential. Bill neely, nbc news in eastern ukraine. Our thanks to bill neely for his terrific reporting there. Still ahead, senator Kamala Harris makes a stop in New Hampshire and tries to separate herself from the other democrats making a run for the white house in 2020. Plus long time trump ally roger stone takes a swipe at a federal judge on social media and then ends up apologizing for it. 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So we thought that we would travel to Cancer Treatment centers of america and see what they had to offer. One of the things that we loved about ctca was that there is no one option, they give you a series of options, and you do whats best for you. Every patient that walks through the door is being discussed by this team in various forms. Dr. Fernandez was wonderful. He said it was up to me to do whats best. Its about giving her options, where amy has all the information to make a decision thats best for her. We left the hospital on day one feeling like this is go be okay. Were gonna beat this and this is the place thats gonna help us do it. That feeling is priceless. Learn more at cancercenter. Com. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Appointments available now. Welcome back, everybody. Im Yasmin Vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf. It is the bottom of the hour. The fight over President Trumps National Emergency declaration for his border wall, it has intensified as california along with 15 other states officially filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging the move. The president s actions also sparked demonstrations across the country as editions in over the plan. Kristen welker has more. Reporter from los angeles to denver and just outside the white house, backlash boiling over to the president s National Emergency declaration. The president planning to go around congress to get more money for his border wall, including declaring an emergency to divert 3. 6 billion from military construction projects. We have certain funds that are being used at the discretion of generals, at the discretion of the military. Some of them havent been allocated yet. Some of the generals think that this is more important. Reporter but now california will become the first state to sue, joining several advocacy groups who have already gone to court. No one is surprised that donald trump is acting beyond his authority. This is another example, a very egregious example where hes testing the constitution and separation of powers. Reporter the states attorney general says their case is strengthened by this comment friday. I didnt need to dho this. Its tougher for him to sustain his argument of declaration of an emergency when he said himself he didnt have to do this. Thats not a tool that the president needs in order to solve this problem. The congress is locked down and will not give him what weve given past president s. Unfortunately he has to do it on its own. Reporter the white house has signaled the president will issue his first veto if Congress Tries to block him and hell win a legal challenge. Roger stone is apologizing after an image was posted to his Instagram Account showing the federal judge overseeing his trial next to what appears to be crosshairs. The image which was later deleted after being up for about an hour featured a photo of the judge with a target placed adjacent to her head along with a message that appeared to be a fundraising appeal for Legal Defense costs. After the initial picture was taken down stone posted a statement on instagram saying the image was misinterpreted and it was a random photo taken off the internet while denying it was meant to be a threat against the judge. In Court Filings yesterday stone said his post was improper and he humbly apologized for the incident. Lets talk 2020. Senator Kamala Harris has made her first stop in New Hampshire since announcing her 2020 white house bid. The california democrat held events in concord and portsmo h portsmouth. At one point she put some distance between herself and Bernie Sanders when asked about her political ideology. Sanders who calls himself a democratic socialist. Harris was asked by a reporter if she believes she would have to embrace sanders ideology to win New Hampshires 2020 primary, she said that she would not. Harris said quote this the people of New Hampshire will tell me whats required to compete in New Hampshire. But i will tell you, i am not a democratic socialist. At her event in portsmouth, New Hampshire, senator harris was asked whether she would support efforts on a federal level to also change columbus day to i y Indigenous Women day. She said sign me up. We have to remember our history, uncomfortable to about truths. Though it may make us. If were not honest one were not going to deal with the vestiges of harm or true to our morals and values. So similarly, when it comes to in Indigenous People theres a lot of work we have to do. And i appreciate and applaud your point and effort and count me in on support. Former president obama intends to remain quiet on who he will support for president until after the primary. The New York Times reports that obama has told friends and likely Democratic Candidates that he does not see it his role to set tell 2020 nomination and he repierce to let the primary unfold. Former Vice President joe biden is not expected to receive obamas endorsement if he runs. So far obama has cancelled more than a dozen declared or likely candidates looking to defeat donald trump including Kamala Harris, maria butina, Elizabeth Warren and eric holder and former new york mayor bloomberg. Obama has told candidates hes concerned about the potential of a damaging primary fight and has urged them to avoid attacking each other in ways that could help trump. Joining us again, editorinchief of politico magazine, blake is back with us again. Lets first talk about this obama story that louis was reading through. The decision to wait until after the primaries to endorse a candidate. How could this either help or hurt democrats running for 2020 . Well, i think definitely louis put his finger on it, the candidate that could be most damaged by this is biden, his Vice President. If you recall, in 2016 obama made it pretty clear that he preferred hillary even though he was proclaiming neutrality. He made it clear to biden and his people he didnt think it was a great idea for him to jump into the race. If youre Vice President biden youre hoping your old boss works you know, cheer for you. And i think proclaimed neutrality on obamas part suggests that hes not on bidens side. I think it could also involve as the primaries go on theres one correspond noted in the New York Times article well if it comes down two or fleem and its a bitter primary fight near the end maybe obama will make his intentions clear. I think we could expect him to signal one way or the other. I wonder if those two or three people doesnt include biden if he makes his intentions clear. Good point. I quickly want to talk about the optics of sort of these dozen or so states that have made the decision to sue President Trump on president s day. How does this look overall and also to his supporters as he approaches another fight for the office in 2020 . Well, youll note that with the exception of maryland all states have democratic governors so i think President Trump can point to this rightly or wrongly as a partisan exercise. Its going to energize his base to say look these democrats are opposing this wall. And to some extent the whole Emergency Declaration idea was political, right . He was in a jam in the shutdown. He wasnt getting the money he wanted. He only ended up with 1. 4 billion. For him to say oh, look im getting all this money i reallocated and these nasty democrats are against me energizes his base. I dont know what it does for an independent who is concerned about the president using his Emergency Powers in what many would say is an abusive way. But it certainly helps get his people out to the polls in 2020 if this is still something thats going as the legal fight drags on over the next year or so. He can say listen i tried my best to build the wall. He has this new chance finish the wall. So i expect him to use this to the maximum of his political powers. Im wondering if there could be more incentive here as this thing goes on for the next two years or so for the president to be primaried. We heard talk of the Maryland Governor possibly want to primary the governor. If they see a ground swell of support behind that considering all this stuff sort of locked up legal jeopardy if we can see the president be primaried that would be the question people have been asking. Blake, thanks so much. Good talking to you. The woman who accused virginia Lieutenant Governor governor Justin Fairfax of Sexual Assault at Duke University in 2000 is calling out the state legislature for not holding a hearing on her allegation. A new oped for the washington often quote im willing to testify in public Justin Fairfax should do. Meredith what sopranos writes. Since i came forward less than two weeks ago certain politicians offered to support me if i made it a partisan issue. I refused. Likewise i refused to make this a financial issue by suing for compensation. Ive refused to make it a Law Enforcement issue despite nearly 100 offers to be interviewed i have refused to make my rape a media opportunity. She continues. Im frustrated by calls for an investigation rather than a public hearing inthose matters. Such investigations are secret proceedings out of the public eye, leaving victims vulnerable to selective leaks and smears. We all know how such investigations end. With inconclusive results. My privacy has already been violated yet im still willing to testify publicly under oath. Tyson has made the same offer. Our plea to the virginia General Assembly to require the same of fairfax has been met with inaction. Another woman dr. Vanessa tyson accused fairfax of sexually assaulting her in 2004. The Lieutenant Governor claims both encounters were consensual. An ally deals a symbolic blow to the u. S. And cairns is back with details on a winter storm set to create a mess across the country. Well be right back. K. K. 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 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 metastatic Breast Cancer, 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. 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But prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Wake up sweetie. Doctor dave. Heres your order. Applebees to go. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Welcome back. The Chinese Government accused the u. S. Of blocking the countrys Industrial Development by posing a Cyber Security threat to countries rolling out new internet systems. But a blow to u. S. Support british media reports that uk intelligence agencies found it was able to limit potential security risks of chinese equipment in fifth generation networks. U. S. Officials have argued china may use Chinese Tech Companies to gather intelligence about foreign countries. This has caused the Trump Administration to push its allies to shun network supplied by the Chinese Tech Company huawei, threatening their access to 5 g markets. According to a report by Financial Times britains intelligence agencies found the risk of using huaweis networks manage National Assembly marking a turning point for Trump Administrations attempt to isolate the tech company. Bill, i guess the question is what are the odds of it being a snow day in las vegas yesterday the kids were out playing. The roads werent too bad. For the second time this month vegas got snow. They had snow flurries earlier this month. This was a snowstorm. The pavement was fine. Look at the grass. That was up to two inches of snow in vegas. This is pretty cool. Seeing snow in the desert like that in the mountains and then you can see the roof tops covered in snow. So lets get into our big event in areas of the south. Youre dealing with a little bit of sleet and freezing rain in alabama and mississippi. This rain is going to be with us for two straight days. You gate break and then comes back friday into saturday. 19 Million People under flash flood watches. The ground has been soaked. Rivers are already high. Well see river flooding. If we get these thunderstorms tomorrow flash flooding throughout this region. Just, obviously, small streams be prepared for the worse. The heaviest rains this is up to four inches, mountains of north georgia any time you got heavy rain in the mountains its a problem. Areas between montgomery and birmingham and then almost all of tennessee, mississippi and eastern the organization portions of arkansas could get up to three inches of rain. Huge footprint of a lot of rain. Lets talk about the snow side. Again, its going to go from snow over to an icy mix to rain. Before it changes over theres a chance of three to six inches of snow in Northern Virginia including washington, d. C. Philadelphia only about three. New york city maybe about a coating to an inch before it turns over to sleet and then rain. So going to be a messi wednesday. A lot of travel issues on the eastern seaboard. Thats tomorrow. All right. Thank you. Still ahead european leaders promise swift action on the u. S. threat of auto tariffs as one top official tries to cold water on that athlete. Amazon looks to go green and makes sure your shipment doesnt leaf a carbon footprint. Thats next. Carbon footprint. Thats next. Every day, visionaries are creating the future. so, every day, we put our latest technology and vast expertise to work. the United StatesPostal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, affordably and ontime. ringing the future only happens with people who really know how to deliver it. The future only happens guys go through a lot to deal with shave irritation. So, we built the new Gillette Skinguard with a specialized guard designed to reduce it. Because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. The best a man can get. Gillette. Check in from afar with remote access, and have professional monitoring backing you up with xfinity home. Demo in an xfinity store. Call, or go online today. Welcome back. Tensions continue to rise between the u. S. And eu as President Trump continues his response to a Security Threat of car imports but europe isnt waiting quietly for his answer, promising quick action if tariffs are imposed. Reporter essentially the relationship when it comes to trade and investment between the eu and u. S. Is the largest bilateral relationship in the world. Angela bilat raheralship in th world. When the commerce began the section 232 investigation into auto imports, weve heard the recommendations arrived at the white house from the commerce department. Trump will have 90 days to take action. Weve heard the commissioner he was offered a promise there would be no tariffs. Another auto story is gms decision to invest 36 million into one of its plants in michigan, in lancing. Theyre focusing on one of the crossover vehicles that has performed well over the last few years but theyre closing another Production Company there. Amazon responding to the impact theyre going to go groon to be Carbon Neutral. In this is a company that sh stuff around in world in card board boxes. Theyre saying theyll rely on more biofuel in their aircraft to get half of their deliveries down to Carbon Neutral status by 2030. They have not set a specific de deadline to get all of those number down. It will be an impressive goal if they can achieve it. Coming up, Nick Johnston has a look at this mornings 1 big thing. And coming up on morning joe, the new reporting on the exit of Rod Rosenstein. Plus former massachusetts government bill weld joins the conversation to discuss his bid for the 2020 republican nomination. Morning joe moments away. Nomination morning joe moments away i dont keep track of regrets. And i dont add up the years. But what i do count on. Is boost® delicious boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. Boost® high protein. Be up for life. But some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. Fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. Some only call when they have something to sell. Fisher calls regularly so you stay informed. And while some advisors are happy to earn commissions whether you do well or not. Fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. Maybe thats why most of our clients come from other money managers. Fisher investments. Clearly better money management. Is this Even Technology . Did they just move a cpas in their software . Genius. Ill never have to leave the house to do my taxes again. Oh thats not good, man. You need your vitamin d. Why does everyone keep saying that . Doublechecked all your expenses, and i found another deduction for you. Oh my gosh, a cat. Wow ive never seen you smile before. Did i do it right . Yeah. Thank you. Can i see . Nice. Turbotax live now with cpas on demand. Welcome back, everybody. Joining us from washington with a look at axios a. M. , editor in chief nic johnson. Glad to talk to you today. Good morning. Todays 1 big thing is republicans see a 2020 lifeline in socialism. The winning issue theyre calling socialism versus freedom. Some of the recent democratic policy ideas, that america will never being a socialist country. If you look at recent polling, socialism doesnt have the power it used to have. Its not viewed as negative as it used to be. And many think the Economic System needs to be overhauled and changed. So socialism may not have as much punch as it did in the past. Some of the democrats, Kamala Harris, have taken great gains to say theyre capitalist, not socialists. Is that going to be a real Sticking Point with Elizabeth Warren and we heard Kamala Harris wanting to separate herself from Bernie Sanders . Folks in the house, people like Bernie Sanders identify with that. But some like Elizabeth Warren proudly say theyre capitalists not socialists. So theres new reporting on howard schultz. A lot of democrats out there of very wary of him runs as an independent, taking votes away and possibly helping President Trump get another term. What are you hearing . Including friends who worked with him said he would be a spoiler. Howard schultz is reaching out to his reporters today sending a message to his backers saying that is not his intent, saying he would run only as an independent, he would certainly not want to be a spoiler, hes continuing to fight back against this perception that if he ran, he would just guarantee another term for President Trump. So what is the point of him running at the end of the day . Why not put his money into somebody elses pot . Hes saying he wants to explore the issues that are important him, like the deficit and it gets democrats very worried he will pull votes from a democratic nominee ensuring trump wins again. Nicholas johnston, thank you. To all of our viewers out there, sign up for the newsletter. That does it for us on this tuesday morning. Im Yasmin Vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf. Morning joe start right now. We have break being news that Vladimir Putin is coming to the white house in the fall. Say that again . [ laughter ] Vladimir Putin coming did i hear you right . Yeah, yeah. Okay. Thats going to be special. Oh, yes. Dan coats was clearly surprised last summer by the president s ad libbed foreign policy. Now there are suggestions that the director of National Intelligence may be on his way out. After offering Congress Last month a very different view of the world than donald trumps. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. It is tuesday, february 19th. With us we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. You here . You staying . Yes, i am. And columnist at usa today and author of the death of expertise, zeplin aficionado. Is that what were playing . That was the request. Thats what i listen to at 6 a. M. , a little zep. I saw you listening to a little stairway to heaven in your car. I cant get away from it. Also with us, associate editor of the Washington Post and political analyst eugene robinson. Good to you have on board this morning. Weve got several big stories to cover, including, did you see this, roger stones loaded ta