launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against north korea if they think a nuclear test sis imminent. china is warning of storm clouds gathering. and with so much news this week on the foreign policy front, you might have missed some things. from new information on the russia investigation to president trump undoing a rule that protected planned parenthood funding. we'll break all that down. plus one week after the u.s. spent tomahawk missiles into syria, an extraordinary new documentary on how the world got here. it is called hell on earth. the renowned film make letters join me later this hour. i have seen this film. you do not want to see this. we again with what leon panetta just called a tinder box. my colleague kelly o'donnell has the latest from west palm beach,

florida. and p.j. crowley, and state department spokesma and also brian bender, the national security writer and editor for politico and finally last but not least, a former ambassador to a number of countries including syria, iraq and afghanistan. and i'm sorry, finally, john finer, form he chief of staff for secretary of state john kerry. we have a lot of great minds with us today and i appreciate you all being with us. let me start with kelly. how is the u.s. preparing to respond to north korea? i mention that had we got this reporting about a possible preemptive move. what are you hearing? >> with, the latest as the day progress it'ses here from white house sources is that there is a calm at this point. they are clearly aware of the importance of the anniversary to the north korean government and saying to us that it is unsurprising that they would pews anniversary for a show of

military might. they've done it so many times before. at the same time the president wants to show a willingness to extend to the south korean government. we know that vice president mike pence is head there'd on a previously planned represent the to asia but he'll have a meeting in seoul and he'll be able to convey the white house' view that the u.s. will stand with south korea, with the damage of north korea. its provocation, its aggression, knowing that south korea is the most vulnerable. the white house is not talking publicly about this idea of a preemptive strike. these kinds of plans are always in place. so this is not the kind of they know white house wants to talk about in a formal way in a public way. we know the president has some aides with him but not the most senior aides and advisers that we've seen trav for many other trips. this easter weekend he has some staff in florida but a number of his, the kind of figures would

you expect to see. his national security adviser, chief of staff. they remain back in washington. does that have any connection to whether or not the u.s. is prepared to take any action? is that a clue of any kind? when we saw the syria strike, there was a full complement of staff. is that something to draw any conclusions? i don't know. the president certainly has the ability to engage in policy from anywhere in the world. he is in florida this weekend. at this point it is caution about the provocation of north korea. but the expectation that this is know surprising. what's a white house official says. the expectation. with grave concern about how it affects other nations and some encouragement that other global partners are reaching a point of wanting to say enough to north korea. >> had thank you. let me go to you, p.j.

if u.s. officials are saying they may take some preemptive action, if north korea is launching a test of a nuclear weapon. there have been five tests before and we haven't done that. what do you make of that strategy? >> i think it is a dangerous combination. you have an escalation of action on the north korean side as they attempt to perfect their nuclear and missile capability and escalation of rhetoric on the american side. where the risk is that the president backs himself into a corner where he fees he has to satisfy some sort of action to maintain the credibility of american power. obviously the vice president's trip will be vitally important. should there be any and challenge of fire, the most vulnerable are south korea, first and foremost and any shots fired from the north to the south puts tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of

people immediately at risk. and obviously across the sea of japan you have the japanese and they've had miss tests directed their way. and they've come close enough so far, they don't want to see them come closer. >> a show of hands if i can with all of knew boxes. does known think this tal of a preemptive strike a good idea? >> no. >> just curious about that. breanna, let me go to you. yesterday we saw the u.s. drop that large bomb, the biggest we have short of a nuclear weapon, on isis in eastern afghanistan. ier today myevening, my colleague andrea mitchell. >> when i was secretary of defense we were working on developing that weapon. very frankly, the women was initially targeted at the potential of going after underground enrichment facilities in iran.

that was our concern. and it is a very effective weapon. i've seen it tested. it can penetrate deeply into the ground. >> ghaichb leon panetta said, is it possible that's linked to north korea? they wanted to send a mention to north korea with the use of the moab? >> my sense is that there isn't a direct link. there could certainly be an endirect link. the commander on the ground, general nicholson raised the option of dropping that weapon because it seemed to fit bill to target it. clearly, north korea watches the news. they monitor the u.s. mit. seeing that massive explosion and what that weapon can do reminds them that the u.s. has

weapons pleek, they can use on north koreans which a fatherly vast tunnel network where they keep weapons and personnel. clearly the north koreans are watching. it is a remind per the u.s. could use something like that. >> how big a role does clean play in all of this? we know they've sent some of their top nuclear negotiators to pyongyang to show the gravity of the situation to the north. are you confident we have an ally there? >> we most certainly do not have an ally there. we can work the china either on some things. on other things we're in an adversarial relationship. it is true that clean counts hugely in anything 22to do with north korea. to visit the chinese president to the u.s., the meeting with our president, very timely. we'll see what happens next. >> we know about vice president mike pence is on his way to the

region. i think he leaves tomorrow. a ten-day trip. he'll be in south korea. earlier today, i want to may that sound. >> i think the overall opponent is to express, we have an eastern clad commitment to defend our allies should that need arise. >> how significant will this trip be? >> well, i think it is quite an important represent the. particularly with the back drop of escalating tension with north korea. in addition to that reinsurance mention the vice president will be breg, i think the most important part is u.s. policy. also, in a sense, publicly. for a number of years we've been talking about how difficult it is to interpret what it is the north korean government wants. they ten to test nuclear weapons and missiles without giving any

indication of a desire to negotiate other, than a nuclear program. on the u.s. side we have always parallel escalation. escalation in afghanistan, in syria with the dropping of ordnance for the first time, and leaks about what their intentions mean to nbc. so vice president should try to clear this up. >> in that interview with leon panetta, andrea mitchell, he said there's a reason why the u.s. has never taken action against north korea. democrat, republican, have not pulled the trigger in that region. if we were to do something preemptive, there's what? 20 million people in seoul that

are within reach of north korean weaponry? >> and lots of artillery from north korea would be poised to fire off weapons as a last ditch nor effort. >> has the genuine policy dilemma for the united states. in a sense, we've been trying bargain with north korea for 20 years. we've offered a normal relationship with the world, a normal relationship with the united states, in return for denuclearization. i think that kim jong-un is trying to rewrite that bargain. he's seen what happened to saddam hussein, to moammar gadhafi. he sees a nuclear capability as an insurance policy. what he's aiming for, i want to keep my nuclear weapons and i want a better relationship with the rest of world and the united states. that's not something that we're

necessarily prepared to negotiate, to object taken. the obama administration largely ignored kim jong-un for the last several years because there was nothing to talk about. it there might be some value in pressing the chinese. let's get to a situation where they at least freeze their program for a year and then we'll see if negotiations make sense. kim jong-un is increasingly making clear, he wants to be a nuclear power, he wants the rest of the world to recognize that. >> we're coming up on a big day tomorrow for north korea. april 15th. it want to break that down to tell people what it is. april 15 is the day of the sun which, in a birthday of kim il-sung. usually bharkd parades and displays of military power. haflt year they had a failed

launch. this year military that's the think they might conduct another nuclear test to celebrate the day. talk about the range of possibility ies of what happens tomorrow. >> anything is possible, my best guess, i would underscore that east asia is not my specialty. it is the middle east where anything can also happen. i would anticipate something pretty much along the lines of last year. i think he the north koreans have to be a little nervous. the dispatching of a battle group is no small thing. when i was in kuwait and we called a aircraft carrier up, i referred to it as 100,000 tons of diplomacy. lots of moving parts. it would surprise me if the north koreans at this juncture did something really dramatic. >> we have moved, the u.s. has moved that carrier group into

the area. the carl vinson strike group. i know we've been told by intelligence that's the have told nbc news, they've positioned two destroyers capable of shooting tomahawk missiles into that region. can you set the scene? if the u.s. wanted to take preemptive action, what would it look like? what could it look like? >> i think there are two approach that's most people envision in the event the u.s. did strike preemptively. one would be like the one on syria. cruise missile strikes from the destroyers at sea striking either some nuclear facilities or perhaps missile facilities, launch pads. the other would be a much more comprehensive attack, using fighter aircraft, off the carrier and he is where in the reasoning. i think that's very unlikely.

i think we're at a cross roads and i think everybody says that about north korea. we have a new leader who does not seem to be as deterrable as his father or his grandfather. a lead here doesn't seem to have, doesn't seem the listen as much to the chinese, north korea's patron, the way his predecessor did. and you have a missile program and they have a nuclear bomb. if they can put the bomb a long range missile with some confidence it could work, that changes the game. it threatens not only there but also the united states. it is trying to send a clear message with this battle group to the north koreans that something has to give. >> it will be an interesting weekend. our panel today. thank you to all of you. appreciate it.

up next, disturbing new video showing police beating an unarmed man during a routine traffic stop. what's next for those police officers coming up? and a little later, hell on earth. with syria surging back into the global conversation this week, a remarkable new documentary brings you into the back story. >> the truth is that all violence and misery eventually affect the entire world. you had a long, stressful day, and now you need a little help falling asleep. time for unisom sleepminis. the little capsules work fast

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. two georgia police officers have been fired after disturbing video emerged showing them beating an unarmed man after a routine traffic stop. video shows them punching and kicking the defenseless man. gabe gutierrez is down in georgia with an exclusive video with the victim. good afternoon, gabe. >> reporter: good afternoon. first some new information we got a short time ago. the solicitor general has just announce that had 89 cases involving these two officers, whether they were investigators or witnesses, they have been dismissed because the solicitor general says their actions have made them not credible witnesses. as for potential charges, the district attorney said they wouldn't comment until least next week. police now need to speak to the 21-year-old driver at the center of all this. they have not yet done so but we did exclusively. and he told us that the police sergeant, this was not his first

run-in with the police sergeant who punked him in the face. >> two officers are out of a job after one was caught on camera punching a suspect with his hands up during a traffic stop. the other kicking him after he was handcuffed. in an exclusive interview, the 21-year-old college student demetrius hollins told us he had a previous run-in with one of the officers during another stop last week. he tried reach for his cell phone camera to record this enthe counter but he never got the chance. >> he had me to step out of car. when i stepped out, my hands were up. when my hands were up, that's when he puhit me. >> the eyewitness shot the first cell phone individual. >> he doesn't deserve. that you don't picture yourself seeing that. seeing a police officer do that live and in person.

that prompted the police chief to fire officer robert mcdonald. just hours later this second video emerged causing the sheriff to fire this officer. >> if there were no cameras, he would have gotten away with it. >> the initial report saider he did not have a license plate and that he was tasered and handcuffed after he refused to get out of the car. >> the incident on that video was not mentioned or described in those reports. there's literally no excuse for behavior like this. >> it is just the latest incident involving an officer caught on camera using questionable tactics. just this week after officer in sacramento, video showed an officer. home run today home run they're still in shock. >> i wish this would have never happened to anybody. i wish this never happened to me. >> you hear about it with other people and then it happens to

you. and you see that happens to your own child. it breaks my heart. >> again, the officers could now face criminal charges. the police chief says that the officer mcdonald accepted responsibility for his actions wichbs confronted with the video. but the police sergeant had a slightly different reaction. ed he said, quote, it is different out there on the streets. kate? >> right. on the streets of gwynnette county. you're looking at a protest in little rock, arkansas. this is a breast executions. that's johnny depp, the actor. arkansas planning to execute seven prisoners over the course of ten days. the reason behind that quick pace and the legal battle that it is creating after a quick break. to truly feel healthy on the outside you have to feel healthy... ...at your core. trubiotics a probiotic from one a day

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looking at the top stories we're following this half-hour, the wisconsin man at the center of that nationwide manhunt has been captured. he went on the run april 4 after police say he stole weapons from

a gun store and then mailed an anti-gov manifesto to donald trump. he was arrested early this morning in western wisconsin. a new report details allegations of rampant sexual abuse going back 50 years at an elite boarding school in connecticut. the report of the result of a three-year investigation after two alumni alerted authorities. and protests expected across the country tomorrow on tax day. aimed at pressuring president trump to release his tax returns. organizers say the tax day marches are expected to be the biggest political mass mobilization since january's women's march. a legal battle is brewing over the scheduling of multiple executions in arkansas. the state plans on executing sevin mates in a period of ten days. it is because of one of the drugs used in the lethal injection procedure that is set to expire at the end of april. some of the enmates sued, trying on stop the fast pace.

jacob joins us from little rock with the latest where there have been protests of. >> reporter: so the executions start on monday. we have in 11 days, seven of them scheduled. and it is because the drug, one of them that they use in the execution expires at the end of the month. when asked about this, the governor says it's my duty to make sure that as a jury of their peers decide that had these seven men would be sentenced to did he do, that that happens. so he didn't want to tell the victims of the families who have been waiting for this that this wasn't going to happen. but he is taking a lot of criticism including as you can see here, several hundred people who have showed up. one of them was death on row. he just took the stand. he was in prison for 18 years and he was then released. he knows the men and he says

mentally ill. i want to bring in one person who is here. we just brought him in. paul, why do you feel it was important to show up? >> i just feel so badly for the victims of these terrible crimes. but i don't believe and a lot of people here the don't believe that killing will stop killing. these people are not innocent. they're guilty of these horrible crimes. but it won't stop the killing of innocent people. >> thank you very much for your time. just by saying that right now, a federal judge is deciding whether or not to halt these executions based on this drug. if she decides to halt them targs it will almost certainly be appealed and we should get a final decision on monday. >> thank you for that. it will be a little bit harder now to find out who is visiting the white house. the white house correspondent kristin welker joins us from

washington. this is about them an obama era practice. at least partially challenge it. where they used the voluntarily release the list of visitors. >> that's right. they will no longer voluntarily release the list. the argument is that it is a matter of national security. let me read you the statement from the white house and then get you this on the other side. this is according to the spokesperson who says by instituting historic restrictions on lobbying to close the revofing door, expanding and elevating ethics within the white house counsel's office, the trump administration has broken new ground in ensuringing on you are government is both ethical and accessible to the american people. give the grey national security risks and privacy concerns, it is a position the obama white house successfully defend in the federal court.

one senior official telling me, even after president obama, there were some exceptions. which is true. the obama white house, for example, wouldn't release logs of people visiting the first family in some instances, wouldn't release logs when it was highly sensitivity information, or meetings like supreme court justice. but they're already getting blowback for not being trans parent enough. take a listen to what the aclu had to say. elected officials work for the people and we deserve to see government business conducted many transparent daylight. trump has bullied the press when they report on him. he has reported fake and outright information. he has put gags there on federal employees in the earliest days of his administration. incredibly strong reaction

there. one administration official saying they were bracing for this reaction. they're ready to take hit. they think it is a matter of national security and they're going to stand by this. >> can i voice what cynics would say? is that it they're afraid some people don't want to come to the white house to meet with a controversial president? so it is easier if they don't release the list so people will come? >> well, they say the other side of that argument. they don't want to dissuade people from coming give sensitive information to this president. or some of his top officials. they know their names will be revealed to the public. so they're ready with the counter arguments. but there's no doubt there will be no short an of criticism of this announcement. it is coming on good friday when president trump is at mar-a-lago. we know he's been out golfing today. it is a little bit of a document douch what will undoubtedly be a controversial decision. >> the famous friday news dump

on a holiday weekend is where traditionally the administration there's release things. >> we know it well. just ahead, the news that you missed in the middle of what is happening in syria and north korea. : ask the presenter to "go back a slide." well played. you just tossed a mind grenade into into your colleagues' dulled senses. look at them, "what did i miss?" he one-upped me once again. step two: choose la quinta. and your la quinta reward points can be redeemed for everyday purchases on the go so you can win at business. learn more at lq.com today. a heart attack doesn't or how healthy you look. no matter who you are, a heart attack can happen without warning. a bayer aspirin regimen can help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. bayer aspirin.

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investigation. we leaed the fbi got a fisa warrant against carter page, that one time policy adviser. the "washington post" reported the fbi successfully argued probable cause that page was acting as an agent of ruvl page denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged of any crime. meanwhile, paul manafort, it was revealed that he may register as a foreign agent for his past political work connected to ukraine. inside the white house, we learned about shifting alliances. long time trump adviser told chuck todd on "meet the press" that steve bannon is alone in the white house. >> i think steve made an error by not spending any of his capital to bring nonglobalists into the white house circles. now he's alone and surrounded. >> and then one more thing. the president signed a bill on funding for family planning.

the bill reverses an obama rule that had prevented states from withholding money from planned parenthood. you might remember vice president pence with that. the foerp pennsylvania governor and msnbc contributor ed rendell is with us along with the florida former congressman. nice to see you on a friday afternoon. as we say, we want to focus on the things we missed this week. let me start with the palace intrigue. had jonathan swan said he is getting cause from people inside the white house from people asking him who is leaking. and expecting me to tell them? what's going on on the inside. >> that's what jonathan swan is being paid to figure out. last weekend he reported that trump brought his leaders together and said you guys beat ice. play friendly. and then he called steve bannon

just a guy who works for me. so it was thrown up again in intrigue. i think what was said yesterday, steve bannon is somewhat alone. what he told swan, what he told associates, that he is ready for a gun fight. we have no sense that sort of trump's admonition to his staff has come the fruition. >> does bannon, among you, does bannon need to go or does the president need him too badly? >> i'll never be a bannon apologist. we see the world very differently. here's what i think will happen. we have an historically unpopular president with a credibility problem who trusts the advisers within his own family. this will get worse before it gets better. as it gets worse, i think we'll see a trump family and a president who is trying protect his dynasty and his brand

against history. and i think you will quickly begin to see between jared and ivanka that donald trump only trusts his own family and that will be a tough space for the nation to confront. >> is there hope among democrats that all this intrigue, that maybe eventually the administration goes a little more the central? a little less right wing conservative? >> well, i think even ivanka and jared have sway. i think there's a chance of that. it would get indications of that. if there is an infrastructure bill. the only way i think an infrastructure bill comes close to spending $1 trillion will pass is with almost a unanimous democratic support. there are more than 30 or 40 republicans in the congress who would vote for that type of spending. so to get things done, they would have to swim toward the

middle. certainly ivanka's instincts on issues like planned parenthood. she must have lost that fight temporarily but i think her instincts are good and much more towa the center. >> sense you mentioned planned parenthood, the president signed that, not getting a lot of attention yesterday. that's another victory for conservatives, no? >> no question. and many things donald trump said best became a candidate, even one time when he slid back during his candidacy. look. donald trump knows that planned parenthood prevents a lot more abortions during than abortions carried out. and engtss that i important to women's health. and he made all those statements about how much he would do for women's health. that's why you didn't hear any announcement. that's why it was something he had to do pay for the base and be for the congress. >> does it reassure that you some of these he conservative principles are playing out

quietly behind the scenes while we're talking about other things? >> understand, i'm not a trump supporter. this has been a very successful 100 days for many conservative principles. i was with a member of the house yesterday. the house leadership. and he was lamenting all the losses from the travel ban. i said tell us what you have won on. and the truth is, simply by rolling back many of obama's regulations, there have been a number of victories to the employer, to the environment, to clean power. whether you agree or not, despite the distraction of the travel ban and the health care failure and russia, they are chocking up wents right now that frankly a year from now we'll look back and say, oh, yeah. they did this. >> let me ask you about the other unseen things this week.

manafort, carter page, bringing the whole russia investigation into the spotlight. it is still going on. >> right. this is a story that's not going away. manart registering as foreign agent, answering questions about the russians, and then heming and hawing. a number of people asking questions about this. a number of reporters digging into it. i don't think it will go away any time soon. >> an interesting discussion. thank you. >> after the break, a hard and honest look at the crisis in syria. how did we get here? my conversation with the directors behind a powerful new documentary. tie!

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when a society collapses into violence, civilians take matters into their own hands. >> that's just a small snippet of a new documentary called hell on earth. it is a look into the ongoing civil war of the refugee crisis in syria and iraq. joining me, the directors and producers of the film. it debuts later this month. thank you so much for being here. we were talking during the commercial. i would tell the audience, it is a must-see. we constantly are reporting on this for six years now. we've been reporting about syria. too often we lose sight of how to connect the dots.

that's what i feel like you've done. you've gone back. >> thank you. >> sometimes i find that americans look at civil wars overseas and they think, those people just like the fight. they're fighting because they fight. and there is a mechanism, a process that unfolds. and pits mechanism that we wanted to plane is. >> you were there for at least some of it. you were in and out of syria. >> not in syria but all the other countries around syria. >> it is dangerous to go i syria. one of the peopl we interviewed said syria is like a bar fight. it starts with one person throwing a chair or punk ask then everybody is in. is that a good analogy? >> that's my analogy. everyone has, there are so many agendas and it just, exacerbates it. as the stakes become higher and higher and higher and there's very little way to resolve it.

especially when there are outside forces involved in the civil war. >> the other thing that comes through, you say this explicitly. a lot of syrians see isis as see isis as an occupies force in their country. they're charging them taxes. it's incredibly complex how isis gets embedded into syria. >> yeah, i mean, if you want to take over a country as a radical ideology, there's a way to do it. there's a game plan. isis definitely followed it. northern iraq, they showed up as the protecters of the sunni population that were under the thumb of the shia government, then they eventually migrated into syria. they're really harsh, they're terrifying and basically scare beam into obedience and that works extremely well. i mean, oppressive regimes, dictatorships, something we supported do that all the time. it works. >> we're showing clips right now, this is a family. can you explain for people who didn't see the film, maybe we can show more of them, you follow this family. we saw the father in the

beginning clip that we showed and as a parent, it's just so difficult, right? they really want out of syria. they eventually do get out and get to turkey but they don't get very far. >> yeah, tell them about the family. >> the family were from aleppo and we caught end with them in man beach, the northern countryside of aleppo, and we managed to arrange to -- for them to film their life in man beach under the islamic state and then they escaped after multiple attempts, it took them close to ten attempts to cross the border. they made it to turkey. made it to turkey. in the winter, it was too dangerous to cross the sea in the winter because the water -- even the mediterranean is cold at that point. so they made -- they attempted to cross the sea and they were turned back on the day of the turkey eu accord. the first day after that accord, they were basically the first group of families and they were put in a detention center.

they spent a week in the detention center and now they're thriving as best they can in turkey. >> sean spicer, white house spokesman the other day, said the greatest thing the u.s. can do to support the syrian people is deescalating the conflict and that will help the refugee situation. do you agree? >> all the wars that i covered starting in bosnia in the early '90s, the worse they get, more violent they get, the more people spill across the border trying to save their lives and their children. if you can bring peace to a region, of course, people want to live in their homes. they'll go back. sean spicer's right. aisle not sure they're going about it right. certainly the legislation against refugeeses in this country i don't think is particularly humane. in a general sense, yeah, it's right about that. >> what about what happened last week and the chemical weapons attack that we saw early last week then the u.s. response? how do you -- given all the time you've spent on this project, how do you judge that? >> i mean, i think the response

is warranted, but what does that leave you with? one attack is slapping a dictator's wrist. sthat goi is that going to change his attitude toward his own population? >> he continues to use chemical we weapons. >> i don't know what he's doing to go last week. >> the film is worth the watch called "hell on earth: the fall of syria and the rise of isis." debuts at theilm festival and goes on to the national geographic channel, right? before i let you go, what is the one thing you want people to take away? >> i think it's very important that the country as powerful as america understand that when people try to reach the shores, they're almost always good people, they're almost always absolutely desperate, and that our country has been founded on having simply for these people. these kinds of groups. and we should really continue to. >> sebastian younger, nicholas

quested, appreciate your time today. thanks so much. and we'll be right back. it takes to replace it. what what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

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hey, before we wish you a happy weekend, just one more quick thing. the very first trailer for the next "star wars" movie debuted this afternoon. it was just a sneak peek, but it left us wanting more. here's a quick clip. ♪ ♪

>> i only know one truth. it's time for the jeti jedi to end. ♪ >> what? what does that mean? with that, it is time for our show to end. and you can always find me on snapchat, twitter, instagram, facebook, @stevekatesnow. steve kornacki picks up it from here. >> kate, thanks for that. good afternoon, everybody, i'm steve kornacki live in new york. day 85 of the first 100 days. topping our agenda right now, the day of the sun. >> the time for action is now. by that, we need to look at ways to put increased pressure on

thoo north korea. >> a major national holiday in north korea putting the u.s. on high alert with the threat of a possible nuclear bomb test. also on our agenda, what is next in syria? >> there is no way we can resolve the situation in syria and maintain assad in power. assad has got to step down. >> not just people outside the trump administration questioning the white house's syria policy. also we are learning of new divisions within the administration. who is pushing for ground troops and what does the president have to say about that? we'll get into that. also a wisconsin fugitive who mailed an anti-government manifesto to president trump captured today. making his first appearance in court this hour. we are tracking developments on that front. all that, much more, still to come. but we do begin with our top story. this one has the whole world

watching. escalating tension on the other side of the globe. this the most important holiday of the north korean calendar. it is set to begin just hours from now. the backdrop for this, fears of a nuclear test from that country's volatile leader, kim jong-un. a military parade is likely to be held there. it is among the festivities for what is known as the day of the sun. this is a commemoration in north korea for the birth of the late kim il-sung. he's the founder of north korea. military officials here, though, say they are on high alert for a nuclear missile test from kim jong-un on this occasion in north korea. nbc news reporting that the united states is prepared to launch a preemptive strike against north korea if it detects that a test is imminent. now, the scope of such an attack closely guarded potentially but south korea's top diplomat says they are confident the u.s. would consult them before any preemptive strike in the