yes, we need more redheads. that's it for this edition of "media buzz." i'm howard kurtz. check out our facebook page, you can read my daily column. back here next sunday morning, 11:00 and 5:00 eastern with the latest buzz. we begin with fox news alert. president obama getting set to roll out his strategy to defeat isis terrorists, announcing plans to meet with congressional leaders this week followed by a speech to the american people on wednesday. hello everyone. i'm arthel neville. >> i'm eric shawn. as we follow these vital developments from the white house, we're also watching now a somber and meaningful event right here in new york city occurring on manhattan's upper east side where dozens of celebrities, fans and family are gathering for the private funeral celebrating the life and brilliant career of legendary

comedian joan rivers. the temple emanuel is where the service is on going n. a few moments. we will also remember her later in this hour. in washington, the sunday shows bringing back a familiar political rivalry has both president obama and mitt romney hit the airwaves giving duelling interviewing, tackling hot button issues from the growing isis threat to ukraine as well as immigration reform. leeland vitt terse is live with more. >> we saw a slightly more reflective president obama and certainly the president's tone has changed a little bit about isis from when he called them the jv team a couple months ago. still he stopped short of sounding the alarm bells too loudly. >> i want everybody to understand that we have not seen any immediate intelligence about

threats to the homeland from isil. >> i think the president is really out of touch with reality when it comes to what's happening in the world. i don't know why that is. perhaps it's political philosophy, foreign policy views. >> remember it was two years ago that president obama mocked, then candidate mitt romney's foreign policy views by saying the 1980s called and wanted them back. romney appeared to feel vindicated especially when it came to the rise of russia and isis. romney also hit the president again on the issue of playing golf on the president's vacation shortly after giving a speech about the be heading of american journalist james foley, something president obama seemed to regret. >> there's no question in my mind that i think i would have been a better president than barack obama has been. no question in my mind about that, and there are other good people who i'm sure will be able to lead the country in the future. i wish it were me. >> after the statement that i

made, that i should have anticipated the optics. that's part of the job. >> in the end, one has to note the optics of the interviews themselves. president obama, after all, was in the white house. romney joined chris wallace from salt lake city. when questioned about a recent poll that showed him leading the republican pack in iowa for a 2016 run, he did everything but sign a pledge saying he was out of the game. arthel? >> leland vitt tert, thank you. u.s. air strikes have hit ice sis just this morning, this time trying to stop the terrorists from capturing another key dam that could cause unimaginable destruction if they blow it up. it's aimed at the isis militants trying to control the haditha dam where they say a breach could unleash deadly floodwaters in the direction of bagdad. this as the president will lay out his new strategy to try to defeat and destroy terrorists in

a speech on wednesday. joining us is john baldwin, a fox news contributor and senior fellow at the american enterprise institute. amback bass door, what do you want to hear specifically from the president three days from now? >> i would like to hear an unequivocal statement that the president thinks that isis or isil has to be completely destroyed. remember on wednesday we'll simply be judging the president's rhetoric, not his actions which turn out frequently to be two very different things, but judging the rhetoric. right up until this morning he's still very cautious about what he says, saying things like ultimately we will destroy isis. nobody thinks they can be destroyed by next week, so some caution is warranted. but i still think that deep inside the president is urgently looking for ways not to get involved militarily beyond where we are now. so if the president is not

prepared to say -- because part of this is leading the american people, explaining what the costs and benefits of his policy is going to be. if he's not prepared to say we need to destroy isis and we will do what it takes to do that, then i think we're in for more ambiguity and a less-than-effective military and political strategy. >> the administration has said that the intent is to destroy the terrorist group. ambassador, how do they do that if they're just relying on air strikes? they say they won't have any ground troops, u.s. troops, nato troops. they want to rely on the kurds, the iraqi army and the free syrian army. will that be enough? >> we don't know because we don't know how effective, for instance, the iraqi army is going to be. their collapse around mosul is one of the reasons we're in such difficulty now. we don't know how effective the free syrian army or what's left of it will be either. if you believe that isis is a terrorist threat that poses risks for the united states, for

our allies in europe, israel, our arab allies in the middle east. you need to as sem nl a coalition whose objective is very clear, victory. this is a word president obama does not like. i think victory means obliterating any isis military formation. it means eliminating their political command and control structure. it means leaving them with no territory, whatever they control and dismantling whatever network they've established. i don't think this is going to happen very soon. i don't want to read too much into the president's caveats. when you say ultimately defeat, that's not the language of franklin roosevelt after pearl harbor. it's not the language of saying we're going to do what it takes, we're determined to win, we will win through to victory. that's the language we need. i doubt we'll hear it. >> the president says they want to retake the territory that isis has captured. talk about the coalition. let's take a look at it for a moment.

you've gotten nations including us nato nations and australia that is not a nato nation. it includes, britain, france, germany, canada, turkey that has supported islamic factions in the past, italy, poland, denmark and australia. what about the arab nations, egypt? jordan could be threatened and saudi arabia. when will they step up as the president said in his interview with chuck todd said he wants them to do? >> that's what secretary of state john kerry was supposed to be doing on his trip this week to the middle east. president h.w. bush i think established an excellent pattern for not only assembling a coalition after iraq's invasion of kuwait in 1990, but forgetting to pay for the military effort. so on that the united states didn't pay anything. i just note on the nato membership, turkey is a nato member. it is threatened by isis. so the fact that all nato

members are not on board, that it's only a total of ten, i actually find that pretty disturbing. i'm glad australia is there. we ought to bring japan on for a lost reasons. a lot of work to be done. perhaps the president will lay that out. the start so far is pretty inadequate given the way this began with the destruction of iraqi military formations near mowsal, the be heading of two americans and the brutal execution of religious and ethnic minorities by isis in the territory they control. >> that is an astounding point, ten, about a third of the 28 members of nato. ambassador john boldon, always good to see you. >> arthel? >> we have a fox news alert right now. shelling beingu-

the reaction is harsh. here is what one of the head of the country's top advocate groups for immigration reform saying, quote, we are bitterly disappointed in the president. the president and senate democrats have chosen politics over people. have they? elizabeth pratt is live in washington with more. >> you're right, critics such as immigration report advocates argue the president is abandoning his pledge to overhaul the immigration system. conservatives argue the president's delay is proof he has succumbed to political pressures. >> it's politically calculated. he's made this determination that if he gets out in front on this issue, it will hurt seven

to eight senate races, and he can potentially lose the senate. i think it's nothing more than raw politics. the idea of amnesty by executive action i think to house republicans does not sit well. >> the situation, however, is welcome news for democratic senators who are working to win re-elections ink conservative states. republicans need to win a net total of six seats to take control of the senate. during an interview on nbc, the president says a delay is not meant to protect democratic candidates. he does admit politics play a role in his decision. he said the flood of children crossing the border clouded poem's perception of the issue because emotions were running high and constituents wanted lawmakers to act. >> the truth of the matter is that the politics did shift mid summer because of that problem. i want to spend some time even as we're getting all of our ducks in a row for the executive action, i want to make sure the public understands why we're doing this and why it's the right thing for the american

people and the right thing for the american economy. >> the administration says waiting until after the election will allow a more thorough over hall of the immigration system. some say changes which could allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay in america on work permits. arthel, back to you. >> i'll take it back here, thank you very much, elizabeth prann. joan rivers is being remembered right now here in new york city. that's a live look at the temple emanuel, the preeminent temple in new york city, on fifth avenue right next to central park. the stars and the celebrities and their friends and the faithful and her family have been out to pay tribute to this comedic giant. she's apparently getting the red carpet treatment one last time. it's what she wanted. we'll take a look at the services and the life of the legendary comic next. >> only jewish kid in a catholic neighborhood? you know what that is like? you were all doing hail marys.

i was doing hail murrays. musical chairs. fun, right?

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comedy legend being remembered in new york city. family, friends, celebrities and other notable guests turning out today to pay their respects to the late joan her private funeral taking place at a temple on manhattan's upper east side where brian yoenis is joining us. she wrote in a book she wanted a funeral with lights, cameras, action, paparazzi, hollywood. it appears she got her wish today. >> reporter: that's right, she said she wanted, quote, a huge showbiz affair in her 2012 book. if you look behind me, the services today on fifth avenue in central park began after 11:00 a.m. people are beginning to exit the temple. she really did say she wanted a showbiz affair. the fans and stars have showed up today. "a list" celebrities like diane sawyer, carolina herrera, they have come in.

kathy griffin as well as fans are taking photos and so are paparazzi. we don't know what's going on inside yet. in the "new york post" her good friend and columnist cindy thomas said the ceremony would begin with the gay man's choir show tunes. a rabbi's opening prayer followed by speeches by debra nor ville, actress hu jackman and her only daughter melissa. yesterday melissa and joan's grandson cooper gave their final emotional good-bye at the funeral home. she was taken to a new jersey crematorium. she shared an incredible bond with her mother. she called her her best friend. they both starred in two shows, fashion police and joan and melissa, joan knows best together. melissa was by her mother's side every day, even sleeping in the hospital bed over the last week every night. there's a clip going around right now that captures that bond that they shared, from

their reality show. this happened moments before joan went in for plastic surgery in 2012. take a listen. >> if i died this morning, nobody would say so young. you're a terrific person, cooper is fine. you're all fine. i've had an amazing life. if it ended right now, amazing life, and you've been wonderful. we've had a great ride together. >> reporter: joan died three days ago at mt. sinai hospital. the state health department is investigating where she had that operation. [ inaudible ]. >> i apologize for some of the audio problems there. brian, thanks so much. that clip incredibly touching. arthel? >> it was. joan rivers was a trail blazer who left an indelible mark on the world of showbiz.

joining us to discuss her legacy, michael tamaro, the fox of "in the fox life." we were tearing up to see that clip. this is a lady who was just so honest and so right there in the moment and just took a ride of her life and a ride that no one can ever imagine that she had. michael, i want to start -- you wrote a collection of adjectives describing joan. comedian, actress, entrepreneur, crusader. >> how do you capture who she was as a person? the fact that we were all shocked and stunned at the passing of an 81-year-old speaks to who she was and the fact that she was so relevant for over 50 years in the business that's hard to be relevant for 50 seconds. she was relevant across generations. she just signed with caa. they did a study of her -- we're

so obsessed with demos. her average dep mow was 22.7 years old. >> how is it that she was able to conquer the biggest challenge in showbiz, staying relevant. how did she accomplish that? >> she was a fighter, the ultimate comeback, the queen of reinvention and doing it far better than madonna. her motto was when you have a setback in life, turn the page and move forward. the time we sat down, she was giving me a ton of advice, i went home and wrote it all down afterwards. one of the things she said to me was, what are you afraid of? sometimes i'm afraid i'll have to choose one hat over the other. she said don't be stupid. give up nothing in this business. grab and take, grab and take. >> she definitely left a mark and will continue to leave a mark. joan rivers, the spirit of joan rivers, and i mean a great spirit is going to waft in the air forever and ever.

our thoughts are with melissa and cooper and the rest of the family. michael, i'm glad you were here. i know you had a chance to sit down with joan for almost an hour. i'm sure that's an hour you will never forget. >> for that little 10-year-old kid who used to sneak out of bed to watch this hilarious character on "the tonight show," 45 minutes i'll share risch for the rest of my life for sure. >> indeed. michael, i'm so glad you're here. one of the things that joan said to her son cooper in a message was success comes through work. >> her work ethic was unrivalled in this business and an i understand length, something that's so lacking in the up-and-coming stars. she was well read, well versed. went to the theater constantly. one of the things she said to me, as long as her career was, she thought she was at the top of her game as recently as last year. she said, look, i've been bankrupt, i have been fired. what else can they do to me now. >> we'll leave it there. thank you very much. we will be right back.

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we'll give you $150. comcast business built for business. tonight fox news uncovers a new smoking gun on benghazi. for the first time, a look at what happened from three men part of the cia and security team. >> i ended up on top of the command center, building c was rolling at this point. >> more cars come by. what happens then? >> we don't know what they're doing. we didn't know if the guys were lost or still trying to probe us. >> there was a guy with a cell phone. >> he just walked up and walked back. maybe he was getting gps coordinates with his phone. it's just another thing in benghazi, it's erie. i want to shoot him. is he just some guy taking a walk. weird things are still happening that night. >> a mother of one of the

victims reacting last night with judge janine piro. >> who else am i supposed to believe? the people who didn't tell me anything like the state department? i kept begging them to tell me what happened. they wouldn't tell me. now i get the information i waited for, i needed, i have to finish processing this so i can go on with my life. right now my son is dead and three other guys are dead, and i just think of them as my sons. my sons are all dead now and they were abandoned and left to die there. i love my country. i do not like the politicians, and i want them out! they killed my kid and they killed the other three guys and they're going to keep on doing it as long as we keep them in there! >> this stunning journal is ticks expose "13 hours" hosted by bread bare is night at.

a woman infected with the ebola virus is showing signs of improvement. the other two doctors, brantley and writebol. stick around. the other doctors are in. we'll have more medical news. man: i know the name of eight princesses. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way.

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i'm eric shawn, time for sunday house call. joining us is dr. david samadi from lenox hill hospital and chief of robotic surgery. >> dr. marc siegel, professor at medicine at nyu's hangg head cal center. doctors, always great to see you. >> good to see you. >> september is an important month for men, prostate cancer awareness