hallie? >> mariana, thank you. >>> let's head a little further north to houston, texas, at a polling place where vaughn is talking to people on the ground. give us a sense of what you're hearing. >> reporter: the question coming out of that rally yesterday with t ted cruz and donald trump is what types of voters are going to turn out. we talked to countless individuals outside of that rally yesterday who said it was the first donald trump event they had ever been to. they said immigration was at the forefront of their minds and encouraging them to get out and vote in this mid-term election. but there's other voters though that could be turned off by that rhetoric. 00 i want to introduce you to one of those, cody. he voted early on the second day of voting in houston. he comes from a conservative family. he voted for donald trump in 2016, but just cast his vote for the democrat, beto o'rourke. this is part of the reason. >> even like last night the president talking about how that caravan comi

coming up, hallie jackson. >> i am hallie jackson. thank you, steph. the fbi on the case of three more suspicious packages this morning, two in delaware, both addressed to former vice president joe biden, the other in the tribecca neighborhood at the office of actor robert de niro. ten devices since monday have been found at these locations from coast to coast, l.a., washingt washington, florida all sent to critics of president trump's. one of those critics now responding, john brennan saying he will not be silenced, blaping president trump for what he c l calcal calcal calls inflammatory rhetoric. asked whether he regrets any of his statements. >> the president condemns all kinds of violence but certainly feels everyone has a role to play. >> i want to start now with nbc's pete williams, who is in washington with the latest on the package, pete, that's been sent to former vice president joe biden and the broader investigation, too. what do we know? >> two packages to biden. one found at a postal facility in new castle, delaware, this morning, and the

coming up with more is hallie jackson. >> i am hallie jackson in washington one woke out from the mid-terms the president's closing act is a juggling act, heading to pittsburgh today with questions about his effectiveness as consoler in chief, even as he leans into a role he knows he can play effectively combatant in chief. playing up the fight in immigration to energize supporters, floating a plan pitting him against the constitution. we have the president's claim he can end birth right citizenship. plus the team of road warriors out in force as we look at raises across the country in including florida with the president diving deep into that fiery race. >> here is a guy in my opinion is a stone cold thief. >> the president needs to grow up, do his job. he needs to lead. this country could use leadership at this moment. >> so the president's optimistic he can make a difference in florida. but what about other states he carried in 2016? and is his stamp of approval a golden ticket these day sns morgan radmannford and steve foerngy are here with why retired states struggle. we have a team st

. >>> coming up more news with hallie jackson. >> thank you so much. i'm hallie jackson. the court is in session with a new face on the bench. with election day now exactly four weeks away, the president clearly hoping for a brett bounce as he hits the campaign trail today with the republicans repeating one phrase, mob tactics to fire up their base against democrats, but that party is already fired up. >>> plus, polling just out shows more female voters not so hot on the gop. >>> and our lester holt in the lone star state with the two stars in a key race there. this star, ted cruz, and the congressman trying to unseat him, beta o'rourke. >>> we have a more conservative court than we've seen in decades, a win that the president has taken on the road with him. let's start with my colleague jeff bennett over at the white house. president trump is getting ready to take his extended victory lap today. our peter alexander will be covering him. and the president is tweeting already, trying to keep his base fired up for this brett bounce. >> you're right about that, hallie. yeah,

i am hallie jackson. on capitol hill you have all 51 republicans potentially getting their first chance to get a look at that fbi report. fbi's finding, who agents talk to and who was shut out. somebody who knows judge kavanaugh joins us live. >>> as the senate barrels toward a vote four lawmakers hold the keys. we're live to show you what those four are saying. all of it, leading to what could be an october surprise. after two years of liberal s seething on the sidelines, has kavanaugh flipped the midterm enthusiasm factor to the republicans? every angle covered right now, democrats and republicans who have access to or are getting briefed on this new fbi supplemental background check on premium court nominee brett kavanaugh. capitol hill is where the action is this morning. garret, let's start with you. you are stationed in a hallway. i know you can't get too close to this secure facility where senators and staff have the opportunity to look at this report. tell me who you've seen in and out so far and

hallie jackson. >>> steph, thank you so much. i'm hallie jackson in washington. we're looking at president trump's midterm spaghetti strategy. throw it against the wall and see what sticks. on this day, halloween, plenty to scare both him and democrats, which is why donald trump is hoping to boost gop chances with a final push to election day. starting today, his focus on immigration, and why his critics say it seems more like a trick than a treat. >>> plus democrats hoping to gain ground in states donald trump carried. we're live in four of them with our team of road warriors everywhere, check out that map. >>> plus a bizarre scheme to try to smear the special counsel, an attempt to target robert mueller. how a pro trump conspiracy theorist is linked to all this. we'll talk to a woman contacted in the plot. we have a ton to get to. our team is ready to go across the country, covering all of it. i want to start with donald trump and his last big push starting today, trying to tap into some hot button issues he hopes will keep republicans in power in a lot of inst

time. >>> i'm hallie jackson. there is no conflict between the president and his party. compare that smiling photo op between the secretary of state and the saudi crown prince and republicans who say the saudis flat out ordered the murder of a "washington post" columnist. plus new word from sources about what happened in the consulate overnight. >>> plus, one legal storm for the president clears up but more loom on the horizon. the latest from stormy and what her lawyer plans to do now. he joins the show, coming up. >>> plus a trio of tweets this morning pits the president against a possible 2020 opponent. yes, he's talking about elizabeth warren as she talks about that controversial dna test and democrats talk quietly about what's after the midterms. the presidential election with pieces already in place for some of those big names. we go inside these shadow campaigns in a bit. >>> we've got our teams set up and ready to go on this tuesday morning. we start with nbc's bill neely in istanbul. bill, the secretary o

i'm ayman mohyeldin alongside hallie jackson. president trump rallied in tennessee last night and accused democrats of trying to sink brett kavanagh's nomination. >> this election is a choice between a republican party that is building our future and a democrat party that is trying to burn our future down. the democrats only know how to obstruct, demolish and destroy, as we've seen in recent weeks. democrats are willing to do anything and to hurt anyone to get their way, like they're doing with judge kavanagh. they've been trying to destroy him since the very first second he was announced, because they know that judge kavanagh will follow the constitution as written. and he's a good man, great student, great intellect, never had a problem. all of a sudden, oh, let's go back to high school. and then they want to take a lot longer with the fbi. no, the fbi they should take -- by the way, if we took ten years, they'd want more time. but they want to take a lot longer. but diane feinstein, she had this -- she had this letter for mont

>> reporter: good morning, hallie. those close to this process are telling us and specifically peter alexander that anything to deal with inconsistencies in dr. ford's testimony is fair game. so if there are a gaps and inconsistencies, that would be appropriate in the eyes of the white house to raise publicly. and that's what the president did. but he did it in a way that was wrapped in the rally environment with a tone that was very different than his uncharacteristic restraint that we saw for so manes days. and even a couple of days ago when i was at his rally in west virginia, he spoke in favor of judge kavanaugh but did not denigrate dr. ford in anyway. so a shift here. does that mean the president himself thinks the tipping balance might have changed a little bit he might need to do more to exert support for those who have stood behind him through all kinds of high and lows of his administration? was that it? or was it just the moment taking over? here's another excerpt of the president talking about this issue. >

hallie? >> hans while i have you posted up there on the west lawn, let's talk about the departure of don mcgahn officially. this has not unexpected. it was in the works for months. he is officially out. we know who is coming in, right? sflr y >> reporter: yes. it's pat cipollone. his job depends on whether democrats take over the house. if they do it's essentially a defensive role. they'll have to produce documents and deal with investigations. first two years of the trump presidency it was on offensive. they were trying to get conservative juryiists, and reay what matters is whether the democrats take over the house and the senate, that man you see up there will be doing a lot of document production. hallie? >> that sounds like a lot of fun. betsy woodruff, politics reporter at the daily beast. national political reporter at bloomberg politics. we're talking about the department of justice, the white house counsel's office. you have a new interview with rod rosenstein, right? >> right. >> th

>> i'm ayman mohyeldin along hallie jackson and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> there any senator in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the yays are 98, the nays are 1, the motion is agreed to. >> i will soon sign into law, the largest legislative effort in history to address the opioid crisis. rob and so many others helped. very little democrat support. >> okay. earlier this month the senate passed a sweeping bipartisan bill to fight the opioid epidemic. it was opposed by just one member, a republican, yet according to donald trump the 98-1 vote translates to, quote,

>> hallie jackson tonight, thanks. o >>> we turn indonesia, where we're learning how hundreds of violent cminals escaped following last week's earthquake and tsunami. the death toll is rising to more than 1600. we're finding out that parts of the country may never berebuilt. bill neely is there and has this report. >> reporter: it's a street of death. 14 bodies removed from its rubble in minutes today. entire families. two brothers found huggi hugging. >> the deep mud holds ct hundreds of s, rescuers will stop digging soon. and turn this into a mass grave. >> this mosque doesn't belong here. it was moved several hundred yards, the school beside it too, luily classes have finished for the day. and that's the only lucky thing that happened her >> roads end suddenly, ships sit on city streets. there's a sea of mudar nd the town. and so many want to escape. some do. the injured, the old, carried to a military planst ill suffering. they can leave their city, but not their trauma behind. 600 prisoners left their jaiind escap

hallie? >> hans, it's kasie, thank you. >> my mistake. >> thanks to steve patterson, as well. i want to stay in montana and get a closer look as to what's motivating midterm voters. as we said earlier, the name of the game right now is turnout. joining me now is mike dennison, the chief political reporter for the montana television network. mike, one major campaign issue, immigration. i'm not sure that a lot of our viewers necessarily associate with montana. but it sounds like your reporting is telling us that it's really become a flashpoint. >> it certainly is. i mean, republicans running for office here, both for coke and for senate, when you ask them what the big issues are, the first thing they say, they talk about the tax cut, and the second thing they talk about is immigration. even though we're quite a ways from the border, the southern border, this is an issue that resonates with a lot of the republican base in the state. we talk about it as a safety issue, we talk about drugs coming into the state from mexico. and you know, whether it's motivating someone outside that

hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. >> reporter: i'm kristin welker in washington. while president trump has signaled his midterm strategy, democrats are pinning hopes for a blue wave on one issue, health care like vulnerable red state democrat claire mccaskill in this new ad invoking her own battle with breast cancer. >> those who face cancer and illnesses have a pre-existing condition when it comes to health coverage. >> reporter: tonight polls suggesting that health care is the most important issue in the midterms while some republicans once railed against all speak s of obamaca in support of defunding obamacare until i am no longer able to stand. >> reporter: many are now talking about keeping key portions like coverage for pre-existing conditions. >> i want to repeal obamacare, reduce premiums, protect pre-existing conditions, and expand access. >> reporter: even this personal appeal from republican governor scott walker in a tight re-election race in wisconsin. >> my wife is a type 1 diabetic. my mother is a survivor of breast cancer, and my brother has a hear

. >>> this is hallie jackson at the white house. to prevent another pittsburgh, president trump is floating an up idea he brough before, more guns in the hands of good guys to stop a bad guy. >> if there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him, maybe there would be nobody lled except for him, frankly. >> reporter: still, the president says he hates to think of filling places of worship with armed guards. on that, he finds common ground with local faith leaders. >> if we simply arm more of us, if that were the solution misunderstands the responsibiach of us has to lead us in the direction of peaceful co-existence. >> reporter: while the national conversation centers more about toxic political rhetoric than guns, gun control has become an animating issue in some midterm races like in georgia. lucy mcbath talks about the death of her son by a man complaining of loud rap music in his car. now her grief fuels her candidacy. she and others, like running for congress outside philadelphia are making gun c

hallie jackson has the story. >> reporter: tonight, the president is pulling a page from his 2016 pook threatening to triple the numbers troops he's sending to the boarderd>>. ill go to 15,000 military personnel on top of border patrol and i.c.e. nobody is coming in. reporter: that wo d be more troops than in afghanistan. terms, the president is zeroing in as he fires away at fellow republican paul ryan who is not on the ballot. the president is tweeting the house speaker ould focus on holding the majority rather than giving opinions on birthright citizenship, something he knows nothing t. ab why are you attacking paul ryan? >> birthright citizen citizenship is a very, very important subject. in my opinion, it's much less complex than people thing. >> reporter: that comes after ryan pointed out the president can't over ride the constitution iv with an exec order to prevent babies born in the me u.s. to undocued parents from becoming citizens. >> you obviously cannot do that. you cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. >> reporter: the president is not backing off, be

. >> reporter: this is hallie jackson at the white house. to prevent another pittsburgh, president trump's floating an idea he's brought up before -- more guns in the hands of good guys to stop a bad guy. >> if there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him. maybe there would have been nobody killed, except for him, frankly. >> reporter: still, the president says he hates to think of filling places of worship with armed guards. on that, he finds common ground with local faith leaders. >> if we were to simply arm more of us, if that were the solution, simply misunderstands the responsibility each of us has, and the president in particular to lead us in the direction of peaceful co-existence. >> reporter: while the national conversation centers more around toxic political rhetoric than guns, gun control has become an animating issue in some midterm races, like in georgia. democratic candidate lucy mcbath talks openly about the death of her son, killed by a man complaining about loud rap music in his car. >> w

here's nbc news chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. >> reporter: president trump tonight refusing to shy away from the elephant in the east room, those sexual misconduct allegations against justice brett kavanaugh. >> i want to apologize to brett and the entire kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. >> reporter: an extraordinary moment with kavanaugh sworn in by the justice he's replacing after days of denying the accusations against him. >> you, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent. >> the senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. that process is over. my focus now is to be the best justice i can be. i take this office with gratitude. >> reporter: for the president, kavanaugh's confirmation is a political win, one he now hopes to turn into a victory for his party in november by highlighting his success with kavanaugh. he hopes to keep his base galvanized with four campaign stops in the next five days, with today a trip to florida and a rare special guest on air force one, deputy attorney general

. >> i'm hallie jackson in washington, you've been listening to dianne feinstein as all of this goes down this morning for one of the most controversial supreme court nominees in history. we expert to hear from chuck schumer momentarily and then mitch mcconnell as protests erupt on capitol hill and across d.c. buckle up, our a-list team is here for what is expected to be a jam packed hour of news. we're 30 minutes from that vote. i want to bring in chuck todd who is joining me here. chuck n th chuck, in this moment, we will hear from chuck schumer, mitch mcconnell, and then the vote goes down. what happens? >> the quartet. we're trying to figure it out. lisa murkowski, susan collins, jeff flake, joe manchin. based on my own reporting, i think lisa murkowski feels least likely to vote for judge kavanaugh. if you recall, there's the native alaskan issue. it feels like manchin and collins will go together. the one i have a doubt about is jeff flake. i think he's -- i think -- i'm less -- i'm more convinced he votes yes today, but i wouldn't assume a yes today for him would be a yes tomo

hallie jackson, nbc, near the white house. >>> police near atlanta killed a man suspected of murdering one of their own. gwinnett county police officer fatally shot the 18-year-old suspect when they found him hiding in a shed and wielding a lawn mower blade. he was on the run after shooting and killing an officer on saturday allegedly. a second suspect is also under arrest. >>> a pair of police takedowns in florida and ohio are raising questions about what is appropriate force and what crosses the line. police say there is more to it than what the videos show. nbc's ron allen with the tapes. >> reporter: the viral video shows intense confrontation, a 14-year-old girl under arrest outside a florida shopping mall. >> why are you hitting her? >> i could not believe what i was seeing. it's a 14-year-old child. she is on the ground. you've got two officers on her. >> reporter: in ohio, officers trying to arrest a man they say was a fugitive under the influence of a substance. backup arrives and it all escalates. >> don't beat him like that. >> reporter: the officers defending themselves. ou

here is nbc news chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. >> repor tonight, president trump is hoping to turn his political win. >> i swear in a man who will be a truly great united states supreme court justice. i >> reporter:nto a victory for his party in november by highlighting justice brett kavanaugh it dethe sexual misconduct allegations agait him. >> a man that did thing wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the democrats. >> reporter: the id prt predicts the court fight will electrify republicans and hopes to keep his base galvanized with four campaign stops in the next five days. a white house officials say he feels optimistic and so does his party. >> republicans will be turning out. they lit a fire under our party and base. >> reporter: it's not clear if that fire ncill burn for 29 more days, traditionally anger drives voters to the polls, not gratitude. and it's democrats who igare plenty angry now. new polling today shows that party has a slight edge in house battle grounds propelling that en support. the president today traveled with rare spe

hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. >>eporter: i'm kristin welker in washington. democrats are pinning hopes for a blue wave on one issue, health care like vulnerable red state democrat claire mccaskill in this ad. >> those who face cancer and illnesses have a preexisting nd coion when it comes to health coverage. >> reporter: tonight polls suggesting that health care is the most important issue in the midterms while some republicans once railed against all aspects of obamacare. >> i intend to speak in support of defunding obamacare til i am no longer able to stand. >> reporter: many are now talking about keeping key portions like coverage for preexisting conditions. >> i want to repeal obamacare, reduce premiums, protect preexistinconditions and expand access. >> reporter: even this personal appeal from republican governor scott walker in a tight reelection race in wisconsin. >> my wife is a type one diabetic. my mother is a iv su of breast cancer and my mother is heart patient. covering preexisting conditions is personal to me. trump tweeting dent overnight, all

i'm hallie jackson on this monday morning alongside ayman mohyeldin, louis burgdorf. let's start with the morning's top stories. president trump is still defending the saudi crown prince over the death of jamal kashoggi. a bunch of top republicans have been out this weekend saying they do believe mohammed bin salman was in fact behind the killing of the journalist. watch. >> i feel certain that the crown prince was involved and that he directed this. that's why i think we can not continue to have relations with him. i think he's going to have to be replaced, frankly. but i think that sanctions don't go far enough. i think we need to look at the arms sale. this is not just about this journalist being killed. it's about the war in yemen where tens of thousands of civilians are being killed. >> we have intercept from the past that point to involvement at a very high level. let's let this play out. but my guess is at the end of the day the united states and the rest of the world will believe fully that he did it. >> can you imagine us having a relationship with the saudi

>> hallie, what are you hearing from the president? >> reporter: the president tonight is dismissing those protests we've seen here in washington. he's dismissing it seems in large part christine blasey ford's sexual assault accusation against brett kavanaugh saying to reporters he is 100% certain that she named the wrong person. remember, it was just about a week ago that he thought -- he said that ford's testimony was compelling and credible. but pull back, make no mistake about it, tonight is a major political win for this president. i'm told he's feeling confident and optimistic about how this plays into the midterms. he's been seeing the polling, the republican enthusiasm kas kasie's talking about. the question is is it a sugar high or can it last till november? lester? >> and at that rally in topeka tonight the president had more to say about kavanaugh's confirmation. we're joined by nbc's jeff bennett, who is with the president. jeff? >> reporter: tonight president trump's supreme court victory lap brings him to a campaign stage

i'm ayman mohyeldin alongside hallie jackson. we're going to get the latest in the kavanaugh investigation in a moment, but first to some breaking news on trade. the u.s. and canada have reached a deal to replace nafta with what's called the united states mexico, canada agreement. break it down for us. >> it's been a fair amount of drama, many months. but minutes, hours really before this midnight deadline, everything kind of came together. 2016 on the campaign trail, then-candidate trump hated nafta. he talked about it at every rally. he said it was the worst deal the u.s. has ever come up with. now there's this deal to salvage nafta. the president says it's nafta no longer. this usmc. but it's basically nafta wrapped up in a different package with different provisions. one of the sticking points had been can cwith canada over the of milk. well, they managed to get an agreement where canada will ease up on some of the ways that u.s. farmers can get into the canadian dairy market. that was what let this whole thing move forward.

ba >> hallie brought up the republicans are maybe a little bit morehe enthusiastic on house. is that energy on the republican side because ofgh the kavan confirmation? >> yeah, i think it is. i think they veryec evely developed this theme around sort of what they call jobs, not mobs. the that the democrats behaved like a mob. and voters need toturnout to prevent te mob froing power. i think that's an effective line they've been able to push. i also think it's worth noting that president trump has been, in my experience, for energized, more optimistic, more self-cfident and in control than maybe i've seen him through the course of his iresidency. th a period and a type of governing and camigning that he loves. i think that people may look back on this period as peak trump. >> but he's still, amid all the khashoggi news that's pouring out day after day, he's takshg a at a reporter, by saying about the guardian reporter, who was assaulted by a congressman -- that forte is in the fight. >> there is no question of the facts. forte pled guilty t ao this apologized to ben jacobs ab

hallie. >> thank you for that report. we're going to stay tuned on that situation. president trump has ordered flags to be flown at half staff to honor the victims of the pittsburgh shooting. you can see it flying at half staff above the white house. governors around the country are doing the same at state buildings. that includes ohio governor john kasich who grew up outside of pittsburgh. thank you for being with us. you are a native son of pittsburgh. can you tell me about your reaction to what happened this weekend. where you are this morning? >> well, i'm in columbus. i received an e-mail from one of my cousins saying this took place within ten miles. that's not the deal. the deal for me is we lowered the flags to half mass here within just a few hours after the incident because it's really an attack on all of us. it's an attack on the jewish faith. it's an attack on all faith. if there's anything we need in this country, we need a revival of people talking about love. i happen to believe that god is love. i happen to believe that we need a bigger and bigger do

hallie jackson, thank you so much. we greatly appreciate you being here. >> john heilemann, first of all, if you are in the position of donald trump or the position of somebody in the white house what do you say? there is no backup plan. >> correct. >> that puts more pressure on susan collins, that puts more measure on murkowski, that puts more pressure on every republican, flake, that's wavering to say here is the deal, with he can have a ser conservative court if you pick kavanaugh, but if you don't pick kavanaugh we will be tied 4-4 until after the 2020 election. that's a very compelling argument. i don't believe it for a second. what about you? >> well, look, it's not clear that there's time at least between now and the midterms for there to be -- there was another possibility right there, they could put another name up, but right now it seems to me in addition to the point that you're making, joe, which is of course you say there is no backup, on top of that i think the white house is starting to recognize that th

>> you know, you could probably see in that clip, that's hallie jackson. >> jimmy: i love hallie jackson. >> a great colleague who you can clearly see in the clip, knows exactly what's happening. i went through -- that went five more minutes on the air. [ laughter ] i had no idea what happened. the segment finishes. i say to her, i shake her hand, "good job, hallie, thank you for coming in." i walk out the door. i'm like, "we had a great segment there." and i turn on my phone and it's on one of those media sites already. "steve kornacki draws picture of --" on air. >> jimmy: yeah. >> i said, "oh, my god. i did?" >> jimmy: yeah, you went viral, buddy. congrats, yeah. >> and it made the "daily show." >> jimmy: yeah. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: well, congrats on this book. >> thank you. >> jimmy: "the red and the blue." describe this book because this is very interesting. the 1990s? is that when that kind of -- you started seeing red states, blue states? >> that's the thing. i think everybody thinks the red states, blue states thing has been with us forever. >> jimmy: yeah. >> and it re

m hallie, what's up? >> reporter: the president may still be talking with reporters on the opposite side of the white house from where i am. our colleague, jgeoff bennett i out there. the u.n. position, the slot that is open. could he put ivanka trump in that position? the president says ivanka would be great, but he would be accused of nepotism were that to be the case. he said haley's done a fantastic job and will be helping to choose her replacement, essentially. the president also talking kanye. he'll be here in two days. >> oh, boy. >> reporter: the president says kanye loves what we're doing, said he's a smart guy, he's been a friend of mine and he gets it. so that sets up that nemeeting that should happen with jared kushner and other white house officials here later on this week. the president also mentioning, of course, kasie, a state you know well, iowa, ethanol, the new e-15 rules and regulations he's put in place. that's what he's going to council bluffs tonight to talk about. i hear the choppe

coming up, more news with my friend, hallie jackson. >> thank you. i am hallie jackson in washington. a capital cliff hanger is putting a confirmation in question. saying do whatever you want in the brett kavanaugh investigation as long as you do it this week. four people have been interviewed, including deborah ramirez. someone the fbi hasn't talked with with is talking with us. julie swetnick on what she saw, heard and cannot forget and the questions surrounding her claims. through it all, mitch mcconnell is signaling, hey, he wants a vote. he is set to speak. he is accusing democrats of moving the goalposts. also this morning, the first lady landing in africa, her first major solo trip abroad. we are with her in ghana. we are set up and ready to go this morning. we are going to start with with new details about the fbi's reopened background check on brett kavanaugh. we know four people have been interviewed so far, at least. two high school friends of kavanaugh's, including mark judge. a friend of christine blasey ford and the second woman who acc

just a hint, it's in hallie jackson's backyard. >> yes. ford autonomous vehicle sess expanding their test and development program to include a few more cities, namely washington, d.c. this will make for the first company to begin testing autonomous vehicles in the capital. the company is keen to say they're not going to rush this process. theirer first priority is safety. so it may be some time before we see these hit the streets, but something to look forward to, for sure. >> this is what we need, lewis. morrow bought cars in washington. >> just to add to everything going on there. >> lewis and juliana, thank you both very much. coming up, a look at this morning's one big thing. later on "morning joe," president trump betts on fears and falsehoods in this final stretch to the midterms. >> and the president paints a picture of an apocalyptic america if republicans lose control of congress. >>> plus, former white house director of communications anthony scaramucci joins the conversation to talk about his new book to detail his memorable and

we will be there to find out more. >> and hallie, we don't know the motivation of whoever is sending these. we do know that most of them have gone to prominent democrats. is there any concern at the white house? any special precautions being taken there against suspicious packages? >> reporter: the secret service has now come out and said there was some conflicting reports earlier in the day that perhaps one of these packages had been delivered to the white house. i was told by a senior administration official, that's not the case, as of about an hour ago. the secret service came out even before that and knocked that report down. so nothing that we know of at the moment that's been intercepted, headed to president trump. i will say the focus from the people i've been talking to in the west wing is figuring out who is behind this. that's why you see the president had a briefing today with the highest top officials in his administration that deal with terrorism, with the secret service and with homeland security, lester. >> hallie jackson, thank you. we will be following developments t

hallie, thank you. chris, i hope you'll come back. thanks as well. >>> are we getting any closer to the truth? nbc news has some new information about the group turkey calls a hit team that traveled to kill that missing saudi journalist. >>> also, the politics of hate, the white supremacist group trying to take over the republican party, it says, one college campus at a time. and all about the base promising early indicator for democrats in a key race in georgia. ce in geo. - i love my grandma. - anncr: as you grow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is great... when i can keep up! - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. - she outsmarts me every single time. - checkmate! you wanna play again? - anncr: prevagen. healthier brain. better life. and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm

hallie jackson joins us live to break dow what's next. >>> you're looking to buy from a raenl company. we'll tell you what you need >>> welcome back. a look back at some of our top stories. >> d.c. police are hoping to talk to more people regarding the murder of 17-year-old. it sheriff's department say fathers group was standing outside a house on wild meadows street las night when another group puld up. there was an argument and gunfire. cole went to thomas stone high school. >>> officers have arrested dustin rogers 11 time before and rape, efore the laigd police are looking for him because he pulled a knife on someone. >> congressional republicans are a step closer to a p raise for workers. she gop struck a deal to give civilian employ a 1.9% increase next year. >> you may remember that president trump decided to freeze pay citing budget concerns. they likely won't vote on it until the mid-terms. >> and proteers remain on capitol hill calling on lawmakers to vote no. the protesters started ely this afternoon. outside the courthouse. they didn't move down constitution avenue. inside,

hallie jackson, thank you for your reporting. as we mentioned, the saudi government confirming for the first time jamal khashoggi was killed inside that consulate, putting forward a theory as to why. we'll stay on the story as warranted. up next, we'll return to our midterms coverage and a bunch of other important story on "the beat" when we come back. . that's right no fees on loans to remodel your bathroom. ♪ no fees on loans to consolidate your credit card debt. see no fees just feels good. ♪ boo yeah. if you've got the drive, you can do a lot with no fees on personal loans. boo yeah. (music throughout) we've hadfor a long time.is in san francisco and half-measures haven't fixed it. homelessness doesn't just hurt homeless people. it hurts all of us. that's why we're all voting "yes" on c. the plan is paid for by corporations that just got a massive tax break. it's time for them to give back by helping all of us to fix our homeless crisis. with more affordable housing... expanded mental-health services... clean restrooms an

i am joined by hallie jackson. mark, we sat that entire news conference. what was your first take? >> well, my first take was that i thought sarah huckabee sanders in her opening statement seemed heart felt about what was going on. it's a human deal. it's nice to see human reaction. but we have to think about this in human terms and what can we do about it? i was struck by that. >> hallie, the president himself is going to try and, i guess, according to the white house, bring the country together. how was he going to do that this week? how are they hoping that he's going to be able to do that after what happened at the synagogue? >> reporter: i think you can look at how precedent. we know based on what the press secretary said the president will travel to pittsburgh and try to push this message of healing and unity. the question is how long it is going to last. and that's a point i think several folks tried to get to at the briefing. there's a message of unity and healing the divisions in this country. in the next breath his actions and his words often portray the opposite when it

with me is hallie jackson. the panel is also back. hallie, let me start with you. the white house today providing quite the photo op for the crown prince by sending the secretary of state and the president serving as spokesperson for the kingdom right now in both ways. is this the intent to try to help saudi arabia clear their name? >> listen, it sure seems that way, chuck, based on what we've seen not just from president trump but from secretary pompeo as well. striking in that photo op, the small talk on the jet lag and the smiles. i've heard some optimism expressed to me that, hey, behind closed doors and officials here are careful to say this is a diplomatic-led effort right now, that's why all the balls are in pompeo's court, but there's optimism behind closed doors pompeo is striking a much tougher tone. fewer smiles, more tough talk when it comes to what happened to jamal khashoggi, but there is the question, listen, it is highly unlikely that pompeo will come back to the united states and tell the president, yep, the saudis admitted to murdering this column

>> you know, you couldbly see in that clip, that's hallie jackson. >> jimmy: i ksve hallie j. >> a great colleague who you can clearly see in the clip, knows exactly what's happening. i went through -- that went five more minutes on the air. [ laughter ] i had no idea what happened. the segment finishes. i say to her, i shake her hand, "good job, hallie, thank you for coming in." i walk out the door. i'm like, e had a great segment there." and i turn on my phone and it's on one of those media sites already. "steve kornacki draws picture of --" on air. >> jimmy: yeah. >> i said, "oh, my god. i jd?" my: yeah, you went viral, buddy. congrats, yeah. >> and it made the "daily show." >> jimmy: yeah. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: well, congrats on this book. >> thank you. >> jimmy: he red and the ue." describe this book because this is very interesting. the 1990s? is that when that kind of -- you started seeing red states, blue states? >> that's the thing. i think everybody thinks the red states, blue states thing has been with us forever. >> jimmy: yeah. >> and it really was -as all of these

hallie jackson has these details. and the president is up and talking about this deal this morning, hallie. what can you tell us? >> he's thrilled about it. talk about down to the wire, right before midnight deadline. the president is calling this an historic transaction. all three great nations, in his words, are closer to competition with the rest of the world. the president has blasted nafta for years. this is a new version. same countries, different name. the united states, mexico, canada agreement. canada will make some concessions on dairy. that was a huge sticking point in these talks. it will be easier for u.s. farmers to get into the dairy market in canada. in return, the united states will dial back the threats of auto tariffs. this agreement will come for review every six years, which the administration is praising as significant leverage to make sure this deal is what it wants. as for next steps, all three leaders have to sign this thing and it goes to congress for approval. >> big story happening overnigh

his nephew, steven hallie told nbc news peter alexander today that he felt it was a stab in the back when donald trump said that the mass murder could have been completely prevented if the tree of life synagogue had just one armed guard somewhere on the premises. >> this is a case where they had an armed guard inside, they might have been able to stop him immediately. >> donald trump should have just said, you know, our hearts and prayers go out for the people of pittsburgh and everybody involved and kept his mouth shut. >> you felt like he was blaming the community? >> that's exactly what it felt like. >> steven hallie said his family refused a condolence visit from the president today. air force one was on the ground for over three hours in pittsburgh today. but the president spent only 13 minutes in the tree of life synagogue where they were welcomed by rabbi jeffrey meyers who didn't invited the president but had always said he would welcome the president to visit the synagogue if the president did decide to come to pittsburgh. thousands of people filled the streets of the squirr

coming up right now, more news with my friend hallie jackson. >> i love that one. starting the monday off right. >>> i am hallie jackson in washington where we're looking at head to head unliners unleashed on the campaign trail with just 15 days until the make or break midterms. president trump gets tough to help a guy he once nicknamed lying ted. but the democrats are hoping to steal the show. barack obama and vice president biden are out in nevada and florida today, what they need to do to make the blue wave materialize. and why new poll numbers show that might be harder. >>> plus right now, that caravan of migrants pushing deeper into mexico with the number growing to more than 7,000 people. and now a new unfounded claim from pre

coming up with more is hallie jackson. >> i am hallie jackson in washington one woke out from the mid-terms the president's closing act is a juggling act, heading to pittsburgh today with questions about his effectiveness as consoler in chief, even as he leans into a role he knows he can play effectively combatant in chief. playing up the fight in immigration to energize supporters, floating a plan pitting him against the constitution. we have the president's claim he can end birth right citizenship. plus the team of road warriors out in force as we look at raises across the country in including florida with the president diving deep into that fiery race. >> here is a guy in my opinion is a stone cold thief. >> the president needs to grow up, do his job. he needs to lead. this country could use

. >>> coming up right now, hallie jackson, i never get tired of seeing those reunions. >> me neither, chris. that was amazing and good news rules for sure. i am hallie jackson in washington where we are exactly two weeks from what could be a game changer and the playbook for the president, fear and falsehoods as "the washington post" puts it, the president trying to push republicans over the finish line. new polling out shows maybe his strategy is helping the gop

i'm hallie jackson in washington. less than three weeks from the mid terms with multiple stories popping on politics and on policy, including the guy who oversees the russia investigation, talking about the russia investigation. those rumors he's ready to quit or that he might get fire d her on set. how to trust what you're

coming up right now, more news with my friend hallie jackson. >> i love that one. starting the monday off right. >>> i am hallie jackson in washington where we're looking at head to head unliners unleashed on the campaign trail with just 15 days until the make or break midterms. president trump gets tough to help a guy he once nicknamed lying ted. but the democrats are hoping to steal the show. barack obama and vice president biden are out in nevada and florida today, what they need to do to make the blue wave materialize. and why new poll numbers show that might be harder. >>> plus right now, that caravan of migrants pushing deeper into mexico with the number growing to more than 7,000 people. and now a new unfounded claim from president trump about those trying to escape poverty and violence. we'll take you live there. >>> plus, a leaked memo shows the trump administration reportedly trying to define transgender out of existence. what the administration is saying now with lindsey grahgbt on fire. we have the best team in the business covering it all and we start

hallie jackson at the white house. our white house correspond ept. >>> after hurricane michael, the residents of the panhandle are bracing for weeks of clean up and recovery. the president getting his first happened look this hour. the damage is being assessed, be we know tens of thousands are without power and there is little doubt that the death toll, now at 19, will rise. joining us where the president just toured, msnbc, marianna? >> reporter: the president surveying the damage here in the panhandle and the gulf for the first time with the first lady. he was also with florida governor, rick scott. cities left utterly devastated. you can see the shape of the chamber of commerce behind me and you have been talking for the past 48 hours on the ground here. the needs are catastrophic. i'm here with mike. we spoke to you yesterday huh no idea the president would be coming. can i get your appreciation of the visit? >> it was amazing. these people lost everything. i lost everything. to see someone that can come down with

i am hallie jackson. on capitol hill you have all 51 republicans potentially getting their first chance to get a look at that fbi report. fbi's finding, who agents talk to and who was shut out. somebody who knows judge kavanaugh joins us live. >>> as the senate barrels toward a vote four lawmakers hold the keys. we're live to show you what those four are saying. all of it, leading to what could be an october surprise. after two years of liberal s seething on the sidelines, has kavanaugh flipped the midterm enthusiasm factor to the republicans? every angle covered right now, democrnd

hallie evidence in the same polls which indicate that at least among labor members those pretty overwhelming support for a people's vote now you know a great labor member who would be quite happy for there to be no deal because their intention in my opinion is to turn britain into a deregulated tax haven that would be you know no foreigner from their perspective because in reality i think their main priority is representing you know the elites in society and you know we already in this country even inside the european union workers in this country were more hours every single week they were more weeks in every single year there were more years of their life before they get a pension compared to the rest of europe and then they get one of the lowest pensions in europe so it hasn't exactly worked brilliantly well for only working people in this country over the last forty years and i think that's one of the main reasons why you know the vote went the way that it did and to balance with you know some people like army corps member around sixty five percent of labor voters supported. remaining in