Upping the ante, saying they hope to have a plan in place by the middle of this month to attack this region, if their military leaders accept it. Of course, many here on guam, 160,000 american citizens are worried about that news, but they also say they have heard threats like that before. This island is home to a Strong Military presence, some 600,000 troops on the ground. There is, of course, bombers in this region. There is a Nuclear Submarine in this region, and a Missile Defense system that is poised to protect this island, but of course, this rhetoric is very jarring for many that live here. The governor has urged everyone here to stay calm, saying he is in talks with the white house and that the islands safety is, of course, a top priority for the u. S. Hallie, back to you . Miguel almaguer reporting from guam. And in seoul, nbcs bill neely who is just south of that border with north korea. So, bill, were talking about more of these tensions, more anxiety here at home. But what about this plan from north korea . What are they saying and whats the mood like there . Reporter yeah, good morning, hallie. Well, there was a regular meeting of south Koreas National Security Council this morning, but of course, nothing is regular or normal here. They are taking all of these threats very seriously, indeed, because they have to. Were 35 miles from the north korean border here. This city could be annihilated within about a minute if north korea decided to fire off the 10,000 artillery tubes that it has on that border, just 35 miles from here. No readout from that meeting, but from the south korean president , a clear message to his military. He said we need to strengthen our defenses straight away. In fact, he talked about a rebirth of south koreas military. Also, from the military, another Statement Today from south korea to north korea, saying if north korea commits provocations, despite our warnings, it will face a strong response from the u. S. south korea alliance. And of course, 30,000 u. S. Troops here, south korea under the Nuclear Umbrella of america. And the two countries, of course, conducting regular joint exercises, the next of which is later this month. Nor north korea, those exercises are a provocation. And of course, we heard yet another provocative statement yesterday, from north korea, calling Donald Trumps threat just a load of nonsense. And saying only absolute force can work on him. Hallie, the one thing that i took from the last 24 hours is, you know, weve heard fiery statements and rhetoric from pyongyang for so many years, but this threat to guam is so specific, about the timing, about the trajectory, about the number of missiles, talking about four missiles, naming the missiles, saying that they would hit 20 miles into the ocean, off guam. You know, that kind of specificity is really extraordinary. Either north korea is in some way bluffing or they will carry this out. Theyre talking about the plan being ready by midaugust and then its going to be put to kim jongun. One final point, hallie, which is extraordinary, amid all this talk, there is no talk here from any american ambassador. President trump has still not nominated anyone to be ambassador in seoul. So the American Point of view, someone who might tell the south kor koreaens which voice in washington really does speak for the United States, there is no american voice here. Quite extraordinary. Hallie . Bill neely with some excellent points. And of course, the voice who speaks for the United States is with Kelly Odonnell in new jersey, in bedminster. Kellys there in bridgewater. Kelly, the president is the one whose words will count the most when it comes to our allies here. We know that the National Security adviser, h. R. Mcmaster, is making the trek over to bedminster today. Can you walk us through this meeting and what we expect to see over the next 24 hours as this crisis continues to develop . Reporter well, good to be with you, hallie. I didnt have to travel as far as our colleagues, but it feels like were right in the center of it here. H. R. Mcmaster is plann ened to arrive here, so its not a specific response to the heated challenges between the United States and north korea. Thats important to note. There have been other senior staffers who have been with the president throughout this. But his role is really to give the president guidance, strategy, options to talk things through. The National Security adviser is also gathering intel, if you will, from other parts of the u. S. Government, from allies, that he can bring to the president to try to evaluate next steps. Also important, that the Vice President will be here today, as well. Theyre going to have lunch, and we expect that therell be, at least, a chance to see them interacting. Perhaps the president will want to make some additional comments. Well have to find out if these are ad libbed, or if theres more plan and thought given to what he wants to do in terms of tone sp tone. So the 36hole summit, if you will, thats how many holes are on the president s golf course, we expect that there will be real opportunity to connect over this. And perhaps to hear some of the feedback that has been critical of the president s tone, but at the same time, also many in the government saying that the president sent the right signal in terms of being forceful, even if the language is inflammatory and worrisome to many. Hallie . Reporter Kelly Odonnell there, live for us in bridgewater, just down the road from bedminster. As she mentioned, lots to discuss with the president s plans today. Weve also been talking about that new reporting that we have here at nbc on how the u. S. Would respond if attacked by north korea. For that, i want to bring in nbc news senior legal and investigative correspondent, cynthia mcfadden. Along with our panel, Amber Phillips and jim vandehei. Guys, thank you for being here. And sicynthia, i want to start with you, walk us through this new reporting. What does this plan look like and what is the timing for it . First off, this is not necessarily a response to an attack, this would be a preemptive strike. What nbc news has discovered through a variety of sources of very highlevel, military and intelligence sources, is that the pentagon has prepared a specific strike plan, should the administration should the president order up military force. Now, i can tell you a little bit about the details. The key to the plan, uptotheis the b1 bomber, which are stationed in guam. There are six of them stationed there. They fly in pairs. The planes are not nuclear capable, which is significant. The payload, however, could include something very important. The payload can include a thing called the jazzumer, which is a highly sophisticated Missile System that can fire at its target from 500 miles away. Which means in this intense, the b1 could take out targets within north korea without ever penetrating the air space of the south. So, all of that put together, they have been actively training for this. They have stepped up their training, there have been 11 training sessions in just just since the end of may, including one, this past monday. And the target, two dozen north korean launch sites affiliated with the icbm program. Cynthia with that new reporting. Jim and amber, hearing cynthia talk about this, what strikes you about some of this . Well, i think theres a lot of hyperventilating. Some of it is warranted, some of it is not warranted. If you think about the north koreans, they do two things. They do lunacy and bellicosity. And those are the two things we continue to see from them. Whats different is you certainly see a different level of rhetoric from donald trump. To me, the most interesting thing was a story that i thought got not enough appreciation, which was, their success in getting the u. N. To actually put really series sanctions on north korea, to get the chinese, the russians to do that, president obama couldnt do that. So thats a whole new level of pressure that this regime is feeling. And it certainly creates this heightened level of urgency on both sides. But the pressure, the idea from us, we have to put more and more pressure on them. And this is somebody who only responds to lunacy and bellicosity, perhaps. Well, you talk about in the response from the president , the very strong statements that hes made. But our next guest, coming up in just a couple of minutes later on in the show, amber, talks about cory shake, a member of the bush 43 administration, talks about how the surprising part has been so little alarm has been expressed so far by the governments of south korea, japan, and china. This suggests that governments are beginning to ignore the president s statements. Yeah. We know words matter. Do you think they still do . The president is at a real risk here in this first really Major International test of his presidency, of making empty threats. If hes going to say, listen, were going to go after them with fire and fury, were going to, you know, try to beef up and brag about our nuclear arsenal. In fact, its happening right now, regimes are either going to listen or try to call his bluff. And we sense thats exactly what north korea is doing right now. And apparently the rest of the world isnt really taking the president seriously. Well, you know, americans are, though, right . This is something that, i think, has absolutely penetrated the National Consciousness at this point. Its led every Network Broadcast for the last three days or so. Cynthia is talking about this new plan, essentially, this preemptive strike plan that the pentagon has been put together, based on our investigative teams reporting. How do you think people are going to react if that actually goes down . I think people should be paying a lot of attention to this story. Theres no doubt about it. I do think i worry sometimes that in the coverage, people walk away thinking that the north koreans have the capacity today to take a Nuclear Weapon and hit california, colorado, and chicago. They dont. What is different is, theyre moving much more quickly to develop an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile that can reach our shores and that ultimately could be equipped with nuclear material. And theyre moving the faster than anyone had anticipated. Thats why you see a new urgency. And on the rhetoric, its not just the president s rhetoric. I thought that general mattis rhetoric was almost as tough as the president s. So there clearly is a strategy to try to intimidate the north korean regime. And that is a different approach, certainly, than we saw from skbrabarack obama and a sly different approach than cynthia, i know you want to jump in here. I think jims exactly right. Mattis said yesterday that the u. S. Military is prepared, rehearsed, and ready. Yeah, he may have said it a little more artfully than the president did, but he was carrying the same message quite clearly. I would also say that this plan was ordered up, one of the first orders of business at the white house, when the president took office, was to request a review of military options, visavis north korea, as we all know, president obama, in his famous meeting with President Trump at the white house said, north korea is going to be number one on your plate. So this has been in the works. But certainly, the focus has become more intense since the second icbm test. Thats for sure. Cynthia mcfadden, i know you are continuing to follow up on this. Thank you for joining us here. I appreciate it. Im going to ask jim and amber to stick around. Because with everything going on in the world right now, President Trump is tweeting about the leader of his own party in the senate. And hes turning up the heat on that fight with Mitch Mcconnell. Quote, he just couldnt get repeal and replace done, the president says. Well, up next, senator mcconnells former chief of staff is joining us to respond and to talk about the fallout. For your heart. Your joints. Or your digestion. So why wouldnt you take something for the most important part of you. Your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Alzheimers disease the fi is out there. 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Only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. Find out how at sanfranciscodignity. Com. Hey youve gotta see this. Cno. N. Alright, see you down there. Mmm, fine. Okay, what do we got . Okay, watch this. Do the thing we talked about. What do we say . Its going to be great. Watch. Remember what we were just saying . Go irish see that . Yes im gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. Find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. So with everything happening overseas, President Trump is still keeping an eye on what is happening here at home. Taking a shot, another one, at Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell. Tweeting just today, can you believe that Mitch Mcconnell, who has screamed repeal and replace for seven years couldnt get it done. Must repeal and replace obamacare. That tweet not really helping, one might say, with the gap, right, between the president and his own party, particularly the most powerful senator on capitol hill. Nbc news capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt is joining us now from new york. A little field trip for the day. Kas, whats the reaction here from Mitch Mcconnells camp . Give us some insight. Well, hallie, theyve been muted in public, which is, of course, the way mcconnell typically does business. But privately, theres a lot of anger and a lot of frustration because they feel like, look, the president needs Mitch Mcconnell, if hes actually going to get anything done. Theres a lot else going on in the world. The prospect of nuclear war with north korea. Theres also a sense that, you know, the president played a role in how health care played out. Mcconnells team thought that lisa murkowski, for example, was someone they could have gotten onboard with that skinny repeal, until the president s administration, somewhat hamhandedly had the interior secretary call the senators from alaska saying, hey, were going to take this out on your state. So i think that, you know, you hear this in mcconnells own sort of tempered tone, right . I mean, even the words that he said about the president were kind of delivered in classic, understated mcconnell fashion. Hes not somebody who ever gets, you know, hot under the collar in public. But at the same time, i think the fact that hes willing to say it at all underscores the level of frustration that is going on right now. And this is kind of a collapse of trust that potentially has serious ramifications for the president s ability to get anything done, and i think, what to watch for here, is what the president does in races where there are vulnerable republicans. And i would also point out, the president endorsing Luther Strange is in the Alabama Senate race yes an overture . Well, the president s actions in this case are much different than his words. Kasie hunt there live for us from new york. Thank you very much for that perspective. I want to bring in now brad maguire, who knows Mitch Mcconnell pretty well, his former chief of staff. Wi back with us, jim vandehei and Amber Phillips. Brian, you first. You heard kasie talking about privately folks in mcconnell world feeling some frustration and anger. Are you frustrated and angry with how this is playing out with your old boss . Knno, i would focus on Something Else senator mcconnell said earlier this week, that this congress will be judged on the whole congress and not one part of this congress. Hes very good on focusing on the long game. He entitled his memoir, the long game. Right. And i think hes thinking at the end of this congress, thats where we should be putting our focus and thats where i think he is focused. The president , and by the way, dan ska vino, one of his stop advisers in the west wing, seemed to be pretty ticked off about something Mitch Mcconnell said earlier this week, talking about the president perhaps not understanding the expectations on the hill. Can you walk us through, and im not asking you to reveal private conversations, but Mitch Mcconnells thinking here, and if theres a strategic move to kind of coming out and speaking pretty openly about his frustrations . As kasie said, i think what he said the other day was very understated. And i think the only thing to me thats notable about it is how infrequent these kinds of disagreements have been between mcconnell and trump, over the past two years. So you think, nothing to see here . No biggy, whatever, no problem . I think that its very uncommon for them to have any kind of a public disagreement. And its the exception that proves the rule that they have a very good working relationship. Does the president , when he tweets, you know, Mitch Mcconnells been talking about repeal and replace for seven years, didnt get it done, is the president wrong . I think that, again, this is a congress thats going to be judged in the longterm. And we have yet to see whether this can get done. And there is still time to get something done on obamacare. Senators are working toward that end right now. The question is, can you get 50 votes for what theyre putting together. Thats what mcconnell is most focused on. And in the meantime, i think hell focus on the more urgent priorities that congress is going to turn to, and on tax reform, which is something that the president and leader mcconnell are both very interested in getting done and working together to achieve that. But when you have President Trump blasting Mitch Mcconnell, how do you even start to move forward on Something Like tax reform . I think that staffs a to the white house and in the senate have been working very closely together, for instance, on tax reform and on all of these other issues for months. So i dont think that this one exchange is really going to define this relationship or the legislative agenda going forward. Is it just, i want to come to jim and amber here, hang on for a second, who will hang out with me. Is it just this unexchange . Can the staff, as brian is making his point, can the staffs overcome some of this . The funny thing is, this is about theyre both right, right . Trumps mad because mcconnell said, you dont understand congress. He doesnt. Mcconnells mad because he said for you for seven years promised repeal and replace and you didnt deliver. You didnt. So this one episode doesnt matter at all. What matters is, and i think this is a manifestation of it, is that republicans, most of them, and i would include mcconnell, are not privately big fans of donald trump. They are not trump republicans. And his support among republicans is very, very tenuous. And with each passing month, i think it becomes more tenuous. And its going to make it harder and harder, if donald trump needs republicans, particularly if mueller ends up acting on his investigation, he needs those republicans and i dont think he really has them. Brian with, is that a Fair Assessment . You have matt miller, one of our justice analysts for msnbc saying, fast forward months and years. If mueller ever makes an impeachment referral, probably no one is more important to Donald Trumps fate than Mitch Mcconnell. How much does the president bri . I think the president is free to say what he wants, obviously, but i think the larger question is whether its in his best interests. Is it . And i think in this case, its better that they work together, publicly and privately. And i think both of their goals are the same and they should just focus on those. Brian, i can say why you were Mitch Mcconnells chief of staff. You were just as understated, perhaps, as he was, sending a message. Amber . Yeah, Mitch Mcconnell, as brian pointed out, is very good at keeping his head down, doing his work. They may not like President Trump, but, oh, were going to get Obamacare Repealed. Oh, were going to get tax reform. That matters more. So the fact that the Senate Majority leader came out in public, knowing we would hear all of this, and decided to criticize the president i dont care how understated it was, he criticized the president and he knew the president was going to have very thin skin and fire back. Maybe not to this disagree. Suggests that mcconnell knew what he was doing to try to i dont know. It was like very quickly before i let you go here, can you just talk about, what is Mitch Mcconnell going to do next. There is some reporting that the two of them had a very feisty phone conversation. Is Mitch Mcconnell going to call the president . Stop by the residence when the president gets back from bedminster . Is he going to go to new jersey . What do you know . I think hell put all of his energies the into getting 50 votes for tax reform and potentially a Health Care Repeal bill. Appreciate it. President trump seems to be catching some of his advisers by surprise with that fire and fury threat to north korea. So what power does the commander in chief actually have to follow through on that . And where is congress in all of this . A member of the Armed Services committee and marine corps veteran is going to join us to weigh in. During our made to move 2017 clearance event, you can do endless online research. Or, you can take advantage of our best offer ever on an xt5. Dont wait. Our 2017 models will be moving fast. You can drive a car. Or you can drive a cadillac. Come in now before the end of our made to move 2017 clearance event and leave with the perfect cadillac xt5 for your next adventure. 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She also prescribed lyrica. Fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Woman for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. Or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can be more active. Ask your doctor about lyrica. We are back now with a look at your morning headlines. Japan and south korea are now promising a strong response if north korea actually goes through with it and goes after guam. The Japanese Defense minister says this morning, any attack on guam could be considered a National Emergency. It comes after north korea outlined a plan to fire four missiles towards the u. S. Territory. And back here at home, wisconsin senator ron johnson is, well, clarifying his suggestion that john mccains brain tumor played a role in his decision to vote against republicans Obamacare Repeal bill. Heres what johnson is tellings cnbc, that his comments were, he says, completely misconstrued and clumsy. He also said he had a great deal of respect for mckaucain. A spokesperson for the congressmans bizarre and deeply unfortunate. And the president s comments on north korea have triggered yet another debate on capitol hill. Can the president actually launch what he calls fire and fury on north korea without congressional approval. Heres what one republican is saying. If one of the military options that the administration is looking at is a preemptive war on the Korean Peninsula launched by the United States, that would require the authorization of congress, article one of the u. S. Constitution is very clear about that. All right. Joining me now is democratic congressman, ruben guyago. Thank you so much for being with us here. You served in iraq and in the marine corps. You heard what one of your colleagues across the aisle just had to say there about congressional approval. Do you believe the president needs that approval for a preemptive strike . Certainly for a preemptive strike. Certainly, there is nothing we have in the books right now that gives authorization to the president to conduct a preemptive strike on north korea. This is not hes not operating under a current authorized use of military force, like he is in iraq and in syria. And considering that were dealing with potential nuclear war, and if not, even the threshold below that, which would be hundreds of thousands of casualties across the board in south korea, it definitely would demand that we have at least some congressional approval over whats going to happen. Do you think, at this point, there is an appetite for your republican colleagues to also demand that . Its very hard to tell what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want or are willing to do in terms of standing up to the president. I would advise that when were dealing with millions of lives and the fact that potential nuclear winter, if things go really wrong, that they find their spine and actually join us in keeping the president in check. Youve advocated for sanctions against north koreas trade partners. Youve criticized the administration nor not nominating an ambassador to south korea. We heard about that earlier, the idea that there is not a u. S. Rep in seoul to be advocating and pushing the president s message here. To your knowledge, who is the south korean government talking with right now . From what we understand, mostly theyre talking to our military commanders and in the pacific rim region, as well as secretary tillerson, and secretary mattis. The problem is that we actually need somebody on the ground, not just to talk bilaterally between south korea and the United States, but also to keep up the rest of our regional partners calm. And right now, thats actually what Everyone Needs to do, is to just keep calm and try to work diplomacy at this point, including putting up even more sanctions on north korea and north korean businesses that are doing business with china. We havent gone through a full extent of sanctions right now. One of our guests here says that some of this is a little bit of hyperventilating when it comes to north korea. Do you agree with that assessment . Certainly, its hyperventilating, but the best way to deal with hyperventilation is also not to respond in kind. The goal of this is to get to the point where we can stop the further nuclearization arms race that is occurring in north korea and then slowly put pressure on korea, north korea, as well as china, so that way we can get to a point where it can actually deescalate and actually start the denuclearization, if at all possible. But most importantly, we just need stability and security on the Korean Peninsula. And right now this type of rhetoric is not helping. Before i let you go, ive got to get you on another topic, which is immigration, specifically some of the new guidelines this administration has been working under. During one i. C. E. Operation last week, 457 of those people were arrested that werent the target. How is that affecting your district, your state . This is a backdoor mass Deportation Force that the president had been advocating during the campaign. Whats occurring, you have a lot of people now living in fear. Theyre not sending their kids to school, theyre not going to see the doctor, theyre not calling the local police when, you know, theres crimes going on that need to be reported. This is a really bad policy. We understand and agree that really hardcore criminals need to be targeted and deported and arrested, obviously, but using this process where you just basically have a dragnet, and essentially if you are basically if you are next to someone thats being investigated, even though youve done no crime yourself, you are potentially deported, is causing, you know, essentially a lot of people to not talk to the police, because theyre afraid theyre going to be dragged in, too, and sent across the border. This is not how you increase safety. All this does is increase fear and makes these neighborhoods even less safe, because now basically, the criminals know that they could walk without any worries of them having the police call on them. Congressman ruben guyago, thank you very much for being here. Coming up next, President Trump has been tweeting that the u. S. Nuclear arsenal is very stronger and more powerful than ever before. But what exactly has the military done . Were heading to the pentagon with a closer look, next. When i received the diagnosis, i knew at that exact moment, whatever it takes, wherever i have to go. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors that work together. When a patient comes to ctca, theyre meeting a team of physicians that specialize in the management of cancer. Breast Cancer Treatment is continuing to evolve. And i would say that ctca is definitely on the cusp of those changes. Patients can be overwhelmed. 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Thank you both for being here. Courtney, ill start with you. Because i want you to take us through the facts, right . The nuts and bolts about this u. S. Nuclear arsenal, this revamp that is happening. So theres been some increased interest in this in the past 24 hours because President Trump tweeted about it yesterday, saying that under his presidency, its more modernized than ever and its the strongest its ever been sp. So the reality has been, in 2010, president obama agreed to a Nuclear Modernization effort, that actually began several years later in 2014, when he ordered it to begin. What this is is a 30year, as you said, 1 trillion, estimated 1 trillion project that would modernize all three legs of the Nuclear Triad. So that means, at sea, in the air, and on land. That includes, as you mentioned, hallie, that includes Nuclear Submarines. It includes, potentially, also this new surfacetoair missile, thats one of the more contentious parts of this, and one of more expensive parts of this, is the development of this new missile. So, in fact, President Trump did order something new when he came into office, and thats relatively standard, its a Nuclear Posture view. What that really does is look at where the Nuclear Triad exists right now. Its an overall look at it. He ordered it early on in his administration and it was implemented, they began the review earlier this spring. Courtney, i want to bring in cory now, to get your take on all of this, cory, plus, listen, you wrote a book with secretary mattis. He said th do you agree that secretary mattis would defy an order for a Nuclear Strike . I dont think we should be having a conversation about that. Because the suggestion that its somehow in the countrys interest to have the secretary of defense refuse to obey a legal order from the president of the United States isnt its not particularly helpful and i wouldnt encourage people to think that the failsafe in the system is people refusing to obey orders. Whether those people are civilians or they are in the military. If the president issues a legal order, and a preemptive attack on the Nuclear Facilities in north korea would be a legal order. I think there is a responsibility and the respect for the chain of command that it would be carried out. I think colonel jacobs was, i think thats i dont think thats a useful path for us to be speculating on. Particularly not in a crisis with north korea. You talked about the possibility that the president might order a preemptive strike. In your assessment, is that the best strategic move . Well, i actually dont think were close to that. I personally wouldnt advocate a preemptive strike on north koreas Nuclear Facilities or missile facilities, unless the president believed there was an imminent attack on the United States, south korea, or japan underway. For the simple reason that even if we could take out north Koreas Nuclear sites and many of their launchers are mobile, so thats a very demanding task, even if we could do that, south korea is the capital of south korea is in artillery range of north korea. They have 8,000 to 10,000 artillery launchers aimed at south korea. Even if you could take those launchers out very quickly, two, three hours, which would be an extraordinary feat, you probably still have tens of thousands, possibly even hundreds of thousands of dead south koreans on our hands. I dont think an american president should make that choice lightly or short of imminent danger of a nuclear attack. Kori and courtney, i want to bring in jim and amber here. Jim, you have some new reporting out today in axios, talking about the description of secretary mattis who is one of the few people who is privately pushing this sense of duty. The idea that, as you say, sort of protect the president from himself, almost. How is that playing out in realtime, and kori, as someone who knows the secretary, i would like to get your reaction as well. Two things, in what kori is talking about, in terms of being is it premature to be talking about a preemptive strike . Thats what im talking about a preemptive strike. Were trying to get the north koreaness to do something weve been wanting them to do for 25 years, so were trying a new path. That doesnt mean nuclear war is tomorrow. I think thats where tv, a lot of the media could calm down a little bit, because oertherwisei think were going to stir up hysteria. There is a Loose Alliance inside the white house, mattis, your chief of staff kelly, the new yorkers, people like gary cohen, others Republican Leadership in congress. The Republican Leadership in congress, who do see themselves as being there to keep the president from doing really what they would say are crazy things or stupid things. To basically modify his behavior. There was a report in the ap a week ago that kelly and mattis have this sort of pact that they would never level the country together, because they want to make sure early on that someones there to make sure that theyre keeping a check on the orders that hes making. And i would say, finally, that the president , for all the flaws, and we assume that everything he does, it seems like everything in the media, people assume everything he does is stupid, one of the things thats smart, he does seem to be deferring to mattis and to his jn generals when it come to these decisions. This is not a president embr improvi improvising. Very quickly, ko a orkskori, reaction to this . Is this something in line with the jim mattis you know . Well, i do think that while the president exercises quite a lot of sale and reckless rhetoric, we havent seen him make reckless Foreign Policy choices. In fact, on afghan strategy, on isis strategy, and even on north korea, the policy choices hes making are a lot better than the talk hes talking about them. So i think hes more restrained in action than he is in rhetoric. And i also think that the cabinet, the National Security cabinet, is extraordinarily calm, cautious, and deliberative. And thats a great thing in a crisis like north korea. Kori schake, appreciate your expertise on this program. Theres been a lot of talk today about weapons attacks. But what about acoustic attacks. Have you heard about this one . Americans working at the embassy in cuba forced to return home in one of the most bizarre stories of the day. 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Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist if humira may be right for you. With humira, control is possible. Ahyou the law . Weve had some complaints of. Is that a fire . Theres your payoff, deputy. Git velveeta shells cheese. Theres gold in them thar shells. Snch have you heard about this bizarre story out of cuba. An acoustic attack against u. S. Diplomats. A bunch of them started having trouble hearing last fall, according to the ap, and some of them had symptoms so severe, they had to come back to the u. S. Early. The ap also reporting, investigators are blaming a secret sonic device for it all. Nbcs Peter Alexander has been following this story and has more for us from bridgewater, new jersey. Peter, this sounds like some cold war spy stuff, man. Reporter yeah, hallie, this is the kind of thing you would read on a bookstore shelf one day, but this is the real deal, dating back to the fall of 2016, this unexplained loss of hearing, first complained about by some u. S. Diplomats at the u. S. Embassy in havana. The ap first reporting on this. That the diplomats, as they reported, according to the ap officials with knowledge of that probe, that they were exposed to advanced devices operating outside the range of audible sound, that they say were deployed either inside or outside the u. S. Embassy there. Its not clear whether it was a weapon or it was some other device that was used for some other purpose. We have now heard from the state Department Spokesperson on this topic. They will only go so far as to say that these individuals suffered a variety of physical symptoms. Heres heather noward. Take a listen. We take this situation very seater seriously. One of the things we talk about here often is that the safety and security of american citizens at home and abroad is our top priority. Were taking that situation seriously and its under investigation right now. Reporter so seriously that the u. S. Has already retaliated, in fact, by expelling two cuban diplomats from the United States. Cuba calling that move unjustified. They insist they are the Diplomatic Security service as well. Peter alexander in new jersey. E we miss you in washington. Well see you soon. Amber, what does this say about the relationship right now under President Trump between the u. S. And cuba . That its volatile and the world is volatile. President obamas way out the door he opened up relations with cuba. Made a big show of it. President trump came into. Office and basically started closing the door. It wasnt popular with most people in congress. Republicans and democrat, except for a few republican hawks, but that was kind of it. It was a weak story and President Trumps administration was going to carry forth those policies. Now that were having a standoff with words, u. S. Diplomats in cuba are the ones who are being hurt. Not elsewhere in the world. This just underscores how the world is volatile. We have situations where World Leaders are trying to test how far they can push this inexperienced president. Do you agree with this assessment . Theres a lot of republicans who want the it to escalate. Marco rubio has met with the president three times to talk about reversing a lot of what barack obama did in terms of normalizing relations with cuba. You have a different position from the get go on cuba. This gives them more ammunition. When you look at what the state department is saying, i want to tell you what else they had to say more broadly about the situation. Listen. The cuban government has a responsibility and an obligation under the geneva convention. Thats why this is a concern of ours and why we take this so serious sourcely and addition to the protection of americans. This is a serious situation. Its a state department has said they are not trying to assuage peoples concerns. They are saying this is serious. We saw the u. S. Kick out cuban diplomats in retribution. Who knows what couba does next. Do we have another situation on our hands. Lots of Foreign Policy discussions going on. Amber phillips, thank you for coming on. I appreciate it. We have five minutes of show left. Were talking about the Opioid Crisis that has hit home for the mayor of nashville. Her only child overdosed and died and she said it all started with a prescription for xanax. Its a story bringing all these headlines into focus. Well have that plus todays big picture, next. Restlessness. Extreme anxiety. Pacing. A constant urge to move. If someone you know is suffering from schizophrenia they may also be struggling with akathisia a common side effect of some schizophrenia medications. Learn more at myakathisia. Com. Chances are, the last time yoyou got robbed. An, i know i got a loan 20 years ago, and i got robbed. Thats why i started lendingtree the only place you can compare up to 5 real offers side by side, for free. Its like shopping for hotels online, but our average customer can save twenty thousand dollars. At lendingtree, you know youre getting the best deal. So take the power back and come to lendingtree. Com, because at lendingtree when banks compete, you win. If you watch this show with any regularity, you have probably heard the statistics about the opioid ep e demic. 142 americans dying each day from it. One of the loading causes of death for people under 50. As lawmakers try to figure out a way to tackle this, one mayor is grieving over one death she could not prevent, her own son. Gabe gutierrez spoke to the mayor of nashville about her loss. Reporter this is megan barrys family during better times. The mayor got a knock on her daughter at 3 00 a. M. Your first thought is that you had had a Police Officer who has been injured and you need to get dressed and go to the hospital and you need to comfort the family. Reporter instead service she who needed comforting. Her son had just died as an overdose. Did it come as a shock . Totally. She says max had been to rehab once before but he recently graduated from college and moved to colorado. He was your only child. He was only our child. Yeah. Your only. Reporter today the mayor revealed he had a lethal combination of drugs in his system includininining xanax an cocaine. On tuesday President Trump stopped short of declaring a National Emergency and pledged to ramp up Law Enforcement to combat the crisis. Is that enough . No, were not going to arrest our way out of this problem. You need access to beds and treatment. Has it sunk in yet . I dont think so. I think that this hold i have in my heart will never be filled. She shared with us their final texts. Im so grateful that it the last words we said and the last text we sent said i love you. Max barry was 22. Gabe gutierrez reporting. Just to give you perspective on the epidemic, from the start of our show until right now, three people died of an opioid overdose. In the last 58 minutes, 3 people died from overdosing on opioids according to statistics from the cdc. Coming to us from new york, its a small town against. The border thats become a destination point. You are looking at a haitian boy and his dad earlier this week. They are walking a back road toward an i illegal crossing point. Those are officers waiting to arrest them. Why are these two walking straight into custody . For months mie grants from around the world just like this little boy have walked this back road from new york across the border hoping that canada unlike the u. S. , will grant them asylum. The photographer here for the ap. As always, would love to hear your thoughts on the big picture and on the show. Im also on instagram as well. I appreciate you joining us for this hour of msnbc lye. Well see you back here tomorrow. More news in new york. 40,000 refugees canada has taken in from 2015. So if tr that family, they have some hope. Good morning, its thursday, august 10th. Lets get started. Both the u. S. And the north korean regime now saying plans are being readied to carry out attacks on the l other. North korea now warning they are seriously examining plans to attack guam, calling the president senile saying he was. Cooped up at the golf course and clueless about how things are developing. Sdwl a u. S. President for the first time suggesting what sounded like a Nuclear First strike. Now it turns out without language agreed to by his National Security team. Were hope iing that the generals around the president control the president and even with that, general mattis is talking about the destruction of the people of north korea. When President Trump engijs in the same kind of rhetoric, he actually elevates the north Korean Leader and diminishes the United States. I think the rhetoric was justified. I would not fire one missile or drop one bomb against north korea unless we were ready to