what appears to be thawing relations with north korea. president trump hosting japanese prime minister abe and resolving the crisis was front and center and in addition to president trump's possible summit with kim jong un. >> and i hope to have a very successful meeting. if we don't think it's going to be successful, mark, we don't have it. we won't have it. if i think that it's a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we're not going to go. if the meeting is not fruitful i will leave the meeting. >> president trump said on tuesday that five locations are currently under consideration for a possible summit with kim and multiple u.s. officials are telling nbc news that singapore and sweden are among the front runners. several locations have been ruled out. all of this raise security concerns. bloomburg reports that the armistice signing has also been ruled out. mike pompeo's secret meeting which he confirmed yesterday morning. >> he left north korea, had a great meeting with kim jong un and got along with him really well, really great. >> all right. so the white house issued a correction yesterday on the timing of pompeo's of his trip to north korea saying it took place over easter weekend. nearly three weeks ago not last week as the president stated. jim mattis was asked about the status of the situation yesterday. >> i prefer you speak to mr. pompeo and the white house about those since those are the leading people in our negotiations right now. >> all right. speaking of mike pompeo, the senate foreign relations committee is set to vote on his nomination of secretary of state on monday and there is no guarantee he will be confirmed. pompeo was on capitol hill yesterday making the rounds in a final effort to win support. a meeting with mark warner as well as senator, partner of the armed services committee. paul said he would vote no and could be the final factor. he will meet with pompeo at the request of the president. the president remains confident in his selection. listen to this. >> i think mike pompeo is extraordinary. he was number one at west pointe, he's a great gentleman. i think he'll go down as truly a great secretary of state. i will say this about rand paul. he's never led me down. rand paul is a very special guy as far as i'm concerned. he's never let me down. >> turning now to the ongoing saga over sanctioning russia following days of mixed messages from the white house. president trump discussed where the white house stands. >> sanctions as soon as they very much deserve it. that is a question -- there has been nobody tougher on russia than president trump. we had a very, very severe, we were talking about it a little while ago, fight in syria recently, a month ago between our troops and russian troops and that's very sad. but many people died in that fight. but russia will tell you, there has been nobody tougher than donald trump. >> now, you may recall that trump's new director of the national council said that haley had momentary confusions when she announced new sanctions would be imminent over the weekend. >> i'm very happy to have larry kudlow with us. i've been on his show many times over the years and we've had a lot of fun together. we haven't always agreed but i notice lately larry's agreeing with me more and more which makes me happy. >> how's your relationship with president? >> perfect. >> his republican colleagues are setting up deputy ag rod rosenstein to be punished. yesterday the justice department said a potential investigation could complicate house republicans request for james comey's memo. he said he believes the doj cannot meet the republicans demands adding quote, i fear the majority will have manufactured an excuse to hold the deputy attorney general in contempt of congress. a joint news conference with the japanese prime minister, he said he has been restrained forwards the investigators. listen to this. >> on the mueller probe, have you concluded that it's not worth the political fallout to remove either special counsel mueller or deb deputy attorney rosenstein? >> nobody has ever been more transparent as i have. i believe we've given them 1.4 million pages of document if you can believe this and haven't used that i know of or for the most part presidential powers or privilege. as far as the two gentlemen you told me about, they've been saying i'm going to get rid of them for the last three months, four months, five months and they're still here. so we want to get the investigation over with, done with, put it behind us. >> all right. so there's also news of a settlement in the case brought by the former playboy model that claims she had an affair with donald trump back in 2006. karen mcdougal sued the parent company of national inquirer claiming she was misled when she sold her story. the settlement also allows her to speak publicly about her claims and keep the 150,000 payment from ami while the publisher retains rights from her story up to $75,000. mcdougal alleged in ore lawsuit, a former lawyer of stormy daniels never told her that michael cohen was involved. her tone tells to "new york times" that she was prepared to start written discovery. it could have provided information that would not be available through the material the fbi seized from michael cosen. cohen is under investigation. they are looking at his business dealings. he denies any wrong doings. the "new york times" reports that investigators were looking for payments to karen mcdougal and stormy daniels and he's being investigated for campaign finance violations a lot more on this story. as karen mcdougal's attorney joins "morning joe" later this morning. joining us is you nene scott. thanks for joining us so early. so the confirmation process for mike pompeo, the white house as we mentioned sort of stepping in to help it seems. do you think he's going to be able to secure the votes that he needs? >> obviously the gop is certainly hoping so. he's skating on thin ice. the major concern from mike pompeo is that he is too hawkish and they want secretary of state who would be a bit more diplomatic moving forward especially considering the challenges that people believe the u.s. government is currently having under president trump's leadership when it comes to working with foreign leaders. >> let me ask you about the comey memos because they're getting a lot of attention. republicans pushing for their handover at least to congress, but there are growing concerns that this could possibly lead to a showdown between rod rosenstein, the department of justice at large and members of congress. could rod rosenstein be held in contempt add is this going to become a show down? >> that's possible if you look at the republicans who are very much supportive of donald trump. they're being aggressive in their interactions with rosenstein and in response with their ongoing frustration and really believe they could be stone walling and giving them the information they need to respond respectfully to this as a whole. i would tell people to focus on the republicans in congress who are most supportive of trump. >> before we let you go, we have seen a number of blunders from this white house. larry kudlow saying that nikki haley seeming confused. trump saying that he did speak to kim jong un, the wrong year on president trump's barbara bush statement and the flags not being at half staff and trump tweeting about mike pompeo's meeting with kim jong un saying it was last week when it was march 31st. what does this tell you about what's going on inside the west wing? >> i think one thing you could think is it shows that there is an absence of a communications direct torr and perhaps somebody to get everybody on the same page, but many of these challenges existed before there was a vacancy there and i wonder how much it is that we're dealing with a novice group of people who have not worked at this level of government before. they're quite challenged. >> it's the turnover. i mean they're a year and a half into this presidency. they should have their sea legs so to speak. still ahead, in the wake of her passing how members of the bush family are remembers barbara bush. >> and mitch mcconnell said the legislation to protect mueller was not necessary, but at least one republican is still moving forward with a bill. those stories and of course a check on your weather when we come back. ♪ ♪ build your next big thing to run in more places, without recoding. the ibm cloud. the cloud for smarter business. ♪ whether it's a big thing, small thing, or something unexpected, pnc will be right there when you need us. because when it comes to your finances, if you focus on today, tomorrow has a way of working itself out. what do i want to be if when i grow up?day, i want to be someone who ... makes the world beautiful ... and builds up my neighborhood. i want to be someone who helps others ... and teaches them new things. every year, comcast employees and their families come together on comcast cares day to give back. it's a celebration of their year-long commitment to their communities. what do i want to be? i want to be someone who cares. welcome back. former president trump george h.w. bush has released a statement on the passing of his wife. he says quote, i always know barbara was the most beloved woman in the world. the truth is the outpouring of love and friendship being directed at the enforcer, that's what they used to call her, is lifting us all up. we know life will go on as she would have it, so cross the bushes off your worry list. at separate events yesterday her children offered her tributes as well. take a listen. >> i appreciate everybody's prayers and their condolences for the passing of my mom. if she was here, she'd say thank god you made it because she would have been very upset if i stayed home. that's not a bush attribute. >> the day before she died i said mom, i want you to know you've been a fabulous mother and she said i want you to know that you're my favorite son on the phone. >> a little humor, you've got to love that. on saturday first lady melania trump will attend bush's funeral in houston. zern months after being hit by hurricane maria, puerto rico lost power yesterday. 1.5 million people scrambled. the island's residents have dealt with several small blackouts. more than 300,000 were still without power there. and after nearly $2.5 billion in repairs the island's electrical grid, tens of thousands have not had electricity since the hurricane. that must be extremely difficult situation. >> don't they have backups? what a mess. >> no power for anyone there. i can't imagine. >> all right. hopefully some good news around the corner. >> yeah, we have to get through one more nasty day in the northeast and then things are going to improve for the northern half of the country. yesterday we had 6 to 12 inches of snow. a couple spots in northern iowa had 12 inches of snow yesterday. ridiculous. so what's left of that storm from yesterday, a little bit of light snow in northern ohio coming out of indiana. that's going to push through massachusetts. it's not going to add up to a lot. temperatures are near freezing or close to freezing and so it's only going to accumulate in the northern portions of new england. so when are we getting rid of this mess? this is 7:00 a.m. this morning. a steady cold rain from providence to hartford. not bad d.c. to philly and we linger with these showers. by 5:00 p.m., maybe a couple of sprinkles here in the i-95 corridors. snow showers back in new york. this mess is completely gone by friday. today's forecast, much cooler today than the southeast, but 63 in atlanta. florida looks great and 50 in chicago today and as we go toward the weekend outlook we'll stay cool but there's no more snow in the forecast. only tracking a rainstorm through the weekend through the deep south. >> i'm not going to be happy or excited because it could quickly change. >> put some trust in billy k. >> #billy k. >> they don't trend. >> king james took matters into his own hands outscoring the entire pacers' team in the first quarter. but would it be enough to right the ship in cleveland? 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(vo) feed their fantasy. friskies. welcome back. time now for sports and we start with sports. the wife of spurs head coach greg popovich passed away yesterday. she was just 67 years old. they were married for over four decades. she leaves behind two children and two grandchildren it is not known if popovich will continue coaching the spurs for the rest of the playoffs. tributes poured in from around the nba including from kevin durant and lebron james. >> the whole nba family is supporting him and got his back through it all. it's bigger than the game, bigger than winning or losing. it's about the brotherhood that we've built. everybody in the nba family. >> i love pop. that's such a tragedy and you know, my best wishes goes out to pop and his family. i know that's devastating news. >> our thoughts and prayers go out to the popovich family during this tragic time. turning now to the playoffs the number one seeded rockets got out to a slow start against the timberwolves but that didn't last for long. chris paul had a high of 27 points. gerald green coming off the bench picked up this last scoring 21 and grabbing 12 boards as the rockets go on to win 102-82. they lead the series 2-0. the pacers ended his 21 game winning streak. he started back in 2012. lebron james told the public he was quote ieven keel. the kings scored 46 points leading the cavs to a victory to tie the series at a game apiece. that sparked some good play out of him. in oklahoma city the jazz even up their first round series thanks to a late game boost who scored in the fourth quarter hl ping utah to a victory there. let's kwich gears and go to the nhl playoffs. the ducks only scored four goals throughout the entire series compared to 16 by the sharks. the ducks were able to tie in the third period but the sharks came back and scored the game winning goal. the sharks will go on to face the golden knights in the second round. meanwhile the predators are now within one game of advancing after defeating the avalanche 3-2 last night. the avalanche made a run late in the third period scoring two but could not complete the comeback. the predators lead the series 3-1 there. and no newark new jersey where the devils are on a brink of elimination. the lightning the spark they needed netting a pair of goals and knocking new jersey's top defender out of the game. they will look to wrap up the series at home on saturday and in philadelphia, the penguins sydney crosby passes lemieux as the points leader after scoring his fifth goal of this series against theful flyers. it puts them a win away from the next round, some incredible hockey, guys. >> absolutely. i'm not sure if you're a big hockey fan, but seeing sydney crosby at the top of his game -- >> it's a lot of fun to watch. >> and to pass lemieux is just mind boggling. >> i was thinking the exact same thing. >> thanks luis. >> a top republican moves to protect robert mueller even though mitch mcconnell says he would not bring a 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all-new lexus ls 500 and ls 500h. experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. welcome back, everybody. it is the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories. president trump shedding new light in a potential summit between himself and kim jong un. >> the president said he was looking ahead to what would be historic talks but also reserved the right to pull out. nbc news correspondent peter alexander has all the details for us. >> reporter: the summit could really happen with this new caveat. >> if the meeting when i'm there is not fruitful, i will respectfully leave the meeting and we'll continue what we're doing or whatever it is that we'll continue, but something will happen. >> reporter: the president sharing new details about mike pompeo's secret face to face with the dictator. >> he had a great meeting with kim jong un and got along with him really well, really great. >> the president confirming the trip on twitter stating what success would look like. denuclearization will be a great thing for the world, the planning earning praise even among some of the fiercest critics. >> it's much better than the footing we had before comparing the size of our nuclear buttons. >> it's a giant gamble. if it leads north korea to dismantle its we pops, it will be a game changer. >> when you bring the president into a diplomatic negotiation, it should be as a closer. in this case, he's being brought in in the beginning when we don't know how many issues there are and whether we can reach agreement on any of them. >> what did you learn from your conversation with kim jong un? >> pompeo making the rounds of capitol hill, despite being one of the president's most trusted confidants. >> president trump saying it's been narrowed to five locations and among the front runners sweden, switzerland and singapore. >> my odds are on switzerlanswi. bob corker on tuesday criticized the trump administration for the ongoing quote, confusion and immediate walkbacks regarding policy announcements. yesterday, corker seemed to double down on these critiques. take a listen. >> any republican senator that hasn't been conflicted over this presidency is either comatose or is pretty useless in their blindness. i don't know what his history as been. i think the rallies, you know, generated much of the policy. right? so -- and you find, you know, a lot of movement, right? one day we're doing this, the next day we're doing that. for a chief of staff it's got to be a nightmare that at night there are people calling in from all around the country. the chief of staff doesn't know he's talking with -- there are people that the chief of staff -- my staff is sitting back there, they spent all week spending all week making sure i'm not meeting with people that are crack pots. he comes in with a different mind set. some of it i would attribute to the lack of just the way the decision making process is or isn't. >> all right. bob corker there giving his two cents. >> i love the crack pot comment. >> so some democrats fighting to keep their seats in congress, trying to appeal to their constituents. some straight shooting with blunt language sprinkled in. one says facing very tough odds of facing re-election. he weighed in not only with how to do with the battle of republicans but how it has found him clashing with progressives in his own party. when i have to do what i think is right for montana i do it and adding, if i lose this election because of it, i'd do it again anyway. meanwhile fellow senator of west virginia mazhas taken a similar stance while giving a frank amessment of d.c. politics. >> i lost an uncle, i lost guys i played ball with. this is real for me. as west virginiaians we've all faced hardships but we help each other. people here have been crewed by both political parties. yes, washington sucks but west virginiaians don't give up. for me it's always about west virginia. that will never change. >> all right. so this is not the first time he's let it known that he's over washington so to speak. he told democratic leaders that this place sucks before reluctantly filing for re-election. a democrat is asking to close a loophole in new york's double jeopardy law that shields people who have been pardoned by the president from facing state prosecution. he writes, quote, simply put, a defendant pardoned by a serious federal crime could be free from all federal and state criminal law even though the president has no authority to pardon state crimes. trump and sniderman have faced off in the past. and prior to tablging office, trump has called him quote, the worst -- the nation's worst ag as well as a light weight and a total loser on twitter. >> so the senate judiciary committee is moving forward with a bipartisan bill to protect robert mueller despite mcconnell saying that legislation was not necessary. when asked if they would give the special bill a vote, he says i feel an obligation to keep my word and to move forward. on tuesday, mcconnell told fox news that he has no intention of brings legislation to protect mueller up for a vote and according to the hill, grassley side stepped a question object wheth -- about whether he would bring up the bill. the bill is expected to have enough votes to clear the judiciary committee next week. >> joining us now, you nene scott, great to have you back with us once again. let's talk about the mueller investigation. lawmakers, they look to be moving forward this this bipartisan bill to protect the special counsel. even though you've got mcconnell saying he has no intentions of bringing the legislation to the floor. >> one lawmaker you want to focus on and asking how does it play out for is mitch mcconnell and he's one that appears to be trying to stay on trump's good side and not creating more conflict for him than necessary. but he did raise an important point when he was suggesting that he didn't see any move or -- it wasn't necessary to move forward with all of this. he said what makes people think trump would sign this and he's probably right. >> we just heard from corker having some strong words there with what he regards to be some chaos within the white house. >> to say the least. >> do you see words like corker's, like flake's like other retiring senators having an impact on the midterm elections? >> we're going to see some wins based on a few percentage points just like we have in some of these other elections that came after trump won. i think the corkers of the world have to grapple with is the fact that they helped trump become trump and they endorsed him and were considered for top positions in his administration even when the president displayed so many of the traits that corker now seems to consider problematic. >> all right. thanks, eugene. >> still ahead. james comey talks about regrets with his new book. he now says he wishes he would have left out of the book. >> and bill karins is back with a check of your 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(all) yes. we brewed the love, right guys? when you have something you love, ♪ you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. where life meets legal. if these packs have the same number of bladder leak pads, i bet you think bigger is better. actually, it's bulkier. always discreet quickly turns liquid to gel, for drier protection that's a lot less bulky. always discreet. with a class leading 31mpgs nx combined estimate. lease the 2018 nx 300 and nx 300 all wheel drive for these terms. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. 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. thisreally passionate about- i really want to help. i was on my way out of this life. there are patients out there that don't have a lot of time. finally, it was like the sun rose again and i was going to start fighting back now. when those patients come to me and say, "you saved my life...." my life was saved by a two week old targeted therapy drug. that's what really drives me to- to save lives. you've tried moisturizer but there's one... that blows them all out of the water. hydro boost water gel from neutrogena®. with hyaluronic acid it goes beneath the surface to plump skin cells from within and lock in hydration leaving skin so supple, it actually bounces back. the results will blow you away! hydro boost and our gentle exfoliating cleanser from neutrogena® welcome back, everyone. james comey is continuing his media blitz promoting his new book and he's speaking out about one regret. he would have left his physical appearance of the president out of the book. >> i wouldn't put that paragraph in even though just because it gave people a hand hold who hadn't read the book to attack the book and i just want people to read the book so it can be useful to them but that would have made it inconsistent with everyone else. i say in the book his hands seem normal size to me. but -- >> you don't think that's throwing shade at his hand size though? >> i'm going to answer honestly, i would tear that paragraph out. >> a group of republican makers are calling for him to be potentially prosecuted. chris wray and u.s. attorney john huber, the 11 house members call on them to investigate comey along with hillary clinton and former fbi director andrew mccabe for violations of federal statutes. >> let's get a check on your weather now with bill karins. they may not trust if you, but i trust in you that the good weather is coming soon. >> it's around the corner and the people that deserve it the most are the people in the northern plains. the cold that won't quit. temperatures have been about 20 to 15 degrees below average. this is how many cities are on pace for their coldest april ever on record. about 50 midwest cities from kansas city north wards all the way up to the dakotas and a lot of these people have 6 to 12 inches of snow on the ground as well. the 6 to 12 inches that fell through southern wisconsin, what's left of it is now snowing in areas of northern ohio and hopefully this will be the last snow you'll see. same for albany and areas of central massachusetts. some wet snow flakes in connecticut and a cold chilly rain in new york. this is where you feel it day after day. overnight lows in the 30s. 30s in the ohio valley and it's hard to melt snow when you're at 26 degrees in minneapolis. but we are going to turn the corner on this, so the cold air is coming with us today. it's pushing all the way through the southeast and this time of year, you get into the 60s so it's not that cold. 24 degrees below average in pittsburgh. nashville about 17 below average and it's hard to complain when you're 62, but here's the good news. we do rebound. minneapolis, 66 degrees on monday. indianapolis gets to 65 and some of this warmth will make it to the northeast and the mid-atlantic by about tuesday of next week so we have turned the corner, we just have to get through today's misery. >> don't you love how louis throws us under the bus? it looks like we too will turn the corner regarding bill karins. >> a bad attitude. >> and the new safety measures in the wake of that deadly southwest airlines flight. details on what steps the company is now taking. dynamic lighting elevated comfort powerfully efficient and one more thing the world comes with it ♪you can go your own way... the 2019 jeep cherokee and sometimes, i don't eat the way i should. so, i drink boost. boost high protein nutritional drink has 15 grams of protein to help maintain muscle and 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d. boost high protein be up for it we use our phones the same way these days. so why do we pay to have a phone connected when we're already paying for internet? shouldn't it all just be one thing? that's why xfinity mobile comes with your internet. you can get up to 5 lines of talk and text included at no extra cost. so all you pay for is data. see how you could save $400 or more a year. and get $200 back when you sign up for xfinity mobile and add a new line of unlimited. xfinity mobile. it's a new kind of network designed to save you money. click, call or visit an xfinity store today. welcome back. let's turn to business following that midair engine explosion that killed one passenger and injured several others. southwest airlines have started to investigate its planes with the same type of engine. we're joined live from london and how many planes could be affected and have there been any new additional safety measures announced as a result of that midair explosion? >> i was looking into this and back in 2016 there was a similar problem and they were recommending 220 different aircrafts being inspected. if you look at the numbers globally, there's 8,000 of these engines out there. the chairman of the ntsb says he's worried about metal fatigue. he says there needs to be a proper investigation. jeff bezos telling investors that amazon has 10s of millions of subscribers. netflix we heard last week has 125 million subscribers. investors love these number because it guarantees cash flow every month. >> one more for you here. hyperloop has an ambitious plan with a more ambitious timeline. by 2020. is that even possible? what more can you tell us about this? >> they signed a deal with the abu dhabi formula one racing track. those cars top 200 miles per hour. it is going to be at a 10 kilometer track. i went there last year for the abu dhabi and dubai air show. is a new big hub for this emirates. pretty dusty, very well behind schedule. but we have oil prices going back up and i wouldn't rule anything out in abu dhabi because they'll have a lot of money to spend on things like this. >> that's two years. we'll see what happens. thanks so much. >> 800 miles an hour. that is incredible. >> i think that will be scary no matter -- >> no matter how safe you think it is. mike allen has a look at this morning's "one big thing." the president gives a bullish outlook on accomplishing what has alluded so many of his predecessors. admiral james stravidis and richard haass will weigh in whether the president's tactics will work and elizabeth warren and elijah cummings. "morning joe" just moments away. the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. and now there's a new way to smooth. introducing new venus platinum. a premium metal handle boosts control... to reveal up to 100% smooth skin. venus play [music plays]his". when everything's connected, it's simple. easy. awesome. welcome back, everyone. joining us now from washington, d.c., with a look at axias am. what is the one big thing. >> the one big thing is president trump great man play. when president trump came into office he was going to have peace in the middle east. the president knows that is pretty fruitless at this point. middle east peace plan going no where. but he still wants to write his name in the history books in a big way and axios jonathan swan's reporting shows he wants to do that on north korea at that summit that is coming up. >> so, mike, sources close to the president are telling axios that he genuinely believes he that he and he alone can overcome what's been happening on the korean peninsula. just president trump all by himself could do it. could you explain his thinking to us? >> tall order. >> tall order. explain the president's thinking for us. >> i can tell you the president's thinking, i can't necessarily explain it, but i can tell you what it is. you remember the president said i fix things, that's what i do. that's the way that he looks at his upcoming meeting with north korea. what he says when he's behind the scenes is just get me in a room with a guy and i'll figure it out. >> let me ask you about that a little bit. i'm curious to get your thoughts about the president treating the summit with north korea as a duel of personalities of sorts. how will this play with how he deals with kim jong-un on a personal level. what the intelligence capabilities are and understanding how kim jong-un thinks? >> that is a good question and kind of a blind spot for us, right? like kim jong moves around and we don't really know. when he went to beijing, the intelligence community wasn't as clear on that as they are about most movements around the world. but the president sees this as a test of wills. he said, like the two work in a shadow box. he did this a little bit when he kicked off with his rocketman tweets. all this is part of the president's thinking that he can handle this guy. >> the two are going to -- >> like a celebrity death match. >> i also know you're hearing the president is expressing some concerns about this meeting going forward. what did they tell you? >> listen to this, so, behind the scenes, president trump said to somebody, i don't know what kim jong-un is capable of. so, this is the president in a quiet moment, but recognizing that this isn't any old real estate negotiation. >> let's shift gears a little bit -- >> there could be some we weaknesses there. >> let's shift gears for a quick second. i want to ask you about axios world's list of the greatest leaders for 2018. who made the list? we're dying to know. >> this tells us a lot about our times. the fortune magazine 50 greatest leaders and of those 50, four aren't people. four are notable groups of people. they're not individuals. so, we have on there, the me too movement. we have the west virginia teachers. we have those american gymnasts who stood up and their allies. so, this is a time of social movements and the number one on the list is the parkland students and this was very smart of fortune magazine, they're also recognizing the other students around the country who picked this up with their own walkouts and demonstrations. sweeping the nation and look at snapchat and you'll see students are engaged in a way that we haven't seen in many years. >> a major story driving the narratives as of late. good to see them up there. >> the power of the people trumping over the people in power. mike allen live in washington, d.c. to all our viewers out there, you, too, can sign up for the newsletter by going to axios.com. "morning joe" starts right now. >> rest well and in a month from now this hollywood big shot is going to give you what you want. >> totally, they start shooting in a week. >> i'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. >> unless they offer us a deal we cannot refuse, i would not go back into tpp. >> going right to the "godfather" this morning. alongside's japan's leader. also the russia investigation, the war in syria and his planned meeting with north korea's leader. the president says he will walk out if he doesn't like what he hears from the nuclear arm dictator. good morning, welcome to "morning joe." i'm willie geist and kasie hunt is here. joe and mika have the morning off. joe barnacle and former aide to the george w. bush white house and elise jordan president of the council of foreign relations and richard haass and press secretary to president obama and nbc news political analyst and suffering kansas city royals fan josh earnest. we were just saying, you knew it was coming. >> when it's spring training and you know it's going to be a long year. >> you can enjoy the summer. take the summer off. >> we'll start rooting for the chiefs. >> start early. some other big stories we're following today. the president tamps down speculation and he'll fire the special council as his allies are ratcheting up the allies on bob mueller's boss at the justice department. bob costas joins us with his new reporting. plus, we already heard from stormy daniels and now a former playboy

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