the latest chapter in the mike tyson saga. the former boxer coming clean about an addiction he says is on the verge of killing him. this is "way too early." watching the vmas for me is quite an experience. good morning, i'm brian shactman, monday august 26th. we'll update you the latest on syria. president assad using pretty loaded metaphor as it warns the united states. in sports, tiger woods playing hurt. he just went down. we'll fill you in on what happened with the rest of the tournament he was playing in new jersey. we start out west where it's been a summer of absolutely brutal fires across several states. the latest bearing down on one of the country's most cherished landmarks, yosemite national park. fueled by high winds, the

california rim fire has burned an area the size of chicago, destroyed 11 homes but threatens 4,500 more. as of this morning it is only 7% contained. hot shot fire crews are vowing to protect yosemite no matter what it takes. >> a lot of smoke, a lot of smoke, like gagging smoke. but the guys are doing a good job. >> we're getting really swirling, terrible fire conditions which makes it very difficult for us to get in close and do a direct attack. >> also threatened in yosemite, well-known groves of giant sequoia trees. bill karins will have more on the conditions coming up. now to syria where the government has agreed to allow u.n. inspectors to survey the scene of an alleged chemical attack. u.s. officials call the move, quote, too late to be credible. this morning there are reports

that at least two mortars fell near the hotel of the u.n. representatives. there's doubt about what inspectors will find at the scene where 355 people were believed to have been killed in large part because of continued heavy shelling in that area as seen by the two shells that hit the u.n. hotel. on saturday president obama reviewed a range of options and possible targets with his national security team. the u.s. has four destroyers near in the mediterranean sea. members of congress are calling the situation to kosovo calling for surgical strikes using cruise missiles. >> i think we have to respond and i think we have to respond in conjunction with our nato allies, we have to respond much as i think was done in libya with the nato allies. i think we cannot afford to sit back and wait. >> syria ratcheting up the rhetoric. that man president assad says this morning, quote, failure awaits the united states if it

attacks. he compared the conflict or possible conflict with syria to vietnam. a new reuters poll is showing tepid support for action here at home. if president as said did indeed use chemical weapons, only 25% of americans would want the u.s. to intercede. ha is actually down five points from two weeks ago before that incident happened. a tragic story out of mexico to share with you. a cargo train carrying u.s.-bound migrant workers derailed in a remote area of southeastern mexico. at least six people are dead and at least 35 injured. the red cross said dozens of soldiers, marines and civilian emergency workers were trying to get access to the area which ambulances could not even reach. the train is known as the beast. it frequently is used by hundreds of central american migrants who pay smugglers a clans at riding for a chance to

the united states. according to reports in a german magazine, the nsa has been spying on more than 80 embassies stlu out the world. the government agency has also seek readily monitored the united nation's new york headquarters by hacking into the video conferencing system. according to the magazine this is part of an initiative called special clerks service. now members of congress are speaking out. senator bob corker says even congress is being left in the dark about these programs. >> the american people want to know that those of us who are elected, eliot and i, understand fully what's happening here. i don't think we do. i would imagine there are even members of the intelligence committee themselves that don't fully understand the gamut of things taking place. nsa officials have maintained all surveillance programs have operated within the confines of the law. of course this weekend marked the 50th anniversary of

martin luther king, junior's march on washington. tens of thousands from across the country gathered at the national mall on saturday. yesterday former secretary of state colin powell appeared on cbs's "face the nation." the issue of race was a mane them. when asked about the fallout from the trayvon martin verdict, his message was loud and clear. >> i think it will be seen as a questionable judgment on the part of the judicial system down there. but i don't know if it will have staying power. these cases come along and they blaze across the midnight sky. after a period of time they're forgotten. secretary powell, the first african-american of the joint chiefs of staff was also asked if he would like president obama to be more passionate about race questions. >> i'd like to see him more passionate about race questions. in my lifetime over a long

career in public life, i have been refused access to restaurants where i couldn't eat even though i just came back from vietnam, we can't give you a hamburger, come back some other time. and i did, right after the civil rights act in 19 '64 was passed. i went right back to that same place and got my hamburger, more than happy to serve me now. >> with all the intensity of this case, it's no surprise this tmz photo of george zimmerman visiting a gun factory. it's the same company that made the gun that zimmerman used the night trayvon martin was killed. senator ted cruz, one of the leading voices against the president's health care law now says it will take the will of the american people to defund the bill. >> now is the single best time to stop obama care because there's bipartisan agreement

that it's not working, the wheels are coming off and because defunding it, if it doesn't happen now, it's likely never to happen. this fight is likely too heat up in the month of september. that's going to be when the battle is engaged. and i'm convinced there's a new paradigm in politics that actually has washington very uncomfortable. i believe if we see a grassroots tsunami, that is going to cause republicans and democrats to listen to the people. >> but it's going to take a tsunami. >> it's going to take a tsunami. i'm going to do everything i can to encourage that tsunami. >> that was four tsunami references in one 30-second dooit. i'm going to go from ted cruz to donald trump. the real estate mogul and celebrity apprentice star sued by the attorney general of new york for $40 million. trump is accused in engaging in

illegal business practices tied to trump university which promised to make its students rich. attorney general eric schneiderman says the so-called university deceived customers through costly programs and caused real financial harm. trump has accused snyderman of trying to extort campaign contributions from him saying the law sued is political motivated. he was once the greatest boxer in the world, now mike tyson opening up about the darker sides of his struggles with substance abuse and aa. >> i'm negative. i'm dark and i want to do bad stuff. i want to hang out in this neighborhood alone. that's dangerous to hang out here alone. wants to kill everything, wants to kill me, too. i want to change my life. i want to live a different life now. i want to live mie sober life. i'm on the verge of dieing because i'm a vicious alcoholic. i've been -- this is some interesting stuff.

i haven't drank or took drugs in six days. for me that's a miracle. i've been lying to everybody else thinking i was sober but i'm not. this smi sixth day. i'm never going to use again. >> he is just a compelling figure. i grew up watching him fight. now we've watched him have four or five different lifetimes within one. tyson also said he wanted to make piece with everyone including his former trainer teddy atlas. that is not teddy atlas. they had a fallout in 1982 and spoke on friday. now the business, wall street begins the week off a solid day of trading. back above the 15,000 level in the dow. all three indices were positive. microsoft will get a new ceo. facebook also giving the markets a boost. steve sedgwick live for us in london. >> very good day. a bank holiday in london. the rest of europe is working, including myself, just for you

guys on msnbc. one story you haven't looked at for a long while is greece. they couldn't get another load, $10 to $11 billion. this is not near as much as the previous bailouts. despite the fact that markets are ignoring europe, the fact is they are still suffering under enormous amounts of debt. total government debt in the region of $321 billion euros. you mentioned mr. ballmer stepping down from microsoft. what are the challenges the next ceo is going to have to face? there are concerns that the structure of microsoft is such, new ideas aren't getting to market. they aren't producing the ipods, ipads and kindles that make them essential in the 21st century. a new ceo needs to concentrate on mobile devices and internet services, so says some of the copy i'm looking at, massive challenges to mike microsoft

essential there. >> amazing, a software company that tried a lot. people poo-pooed the ex-box. it's their best item in terms of profitability. people leave college and most hope they won't have to take a test again. but that may not be true. >> it's the employers once again are moaning and saying grade point averages aren't giving a good gauge of what a student is worth to that company, where they're going to go to next. we've got a new system called the collegiate learning assessment based on s.a.t.s. it measures things that employers think will be important, assessing critical thinking, analytical reasoning, document literacy. >> how about measuring the width on that spread collar? look at that -- >> it's quite wide, quite wide. >> steve, thank you very much. steve sedgwick live in london. a spanish tradition being picked up in the united states,

not talking tapas, but the bulls. about 4,000 people took part in a running of the bulls this weekend in virginia. it all happened at a quarter mile dirt track in petersburg. that is in the united states. organizers say it was the first of a ten-city bull running. you can tell it's the u.s., people don't have the red outfits. looks more like a nascar event. thousand-pound animals running through this place. unlike the ceremony in pamplona, they did not have their horns sharpened. what other foreign traditions should we pick up here in the united states. the hash tag is waytooearly. if you follow mine on twitter, you'll know what mine is. i think it should be adopted in united states tomorrow. still ahead on "way too early," tiger woods fights through an injury with a chance to force a play-off on his final putt. highlights from the barclays

next. later in the cooler, the vmas, from f bombs to, shall i say, interesting dance moves. we'll check on weather when we come right back. chars lindbergh died in his vacation home in the hawaiian islands after a losing fight against cancer of the lymph glands. he was 72 years old.

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too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. time for sports. baseball highlights, sox and dodgers, two of the best teams in baseball. jake peavy, what a pickup, stellar complete game. sox win 8-16789 they took two of three from the dodgers. why is that significant? the dodgers haven't lost a series in 2 1/2 months.

boston in sole possession of first place in the a.l. east. white sox bench coach mark parent, this is before the game with the lineup cards. he's in there and gets tossed before the game even starts. allegedly he had been making comments about the umpire crew during the previous two games and those throwback uniforms not enough for the ump to keep him in. he was out of there. golf in the final round of the barclays. tiger woods literally -- a lot of people, again, using my older age demographic, know that feeling. it went in the drink and he went down. that's the 13th hole. he got back up and finished the round and finished the round close enough to maybe even get in a play-off. he has a putt on the 18th and if he gets this in, he forces a play-off. let's see. he can't leave it short, tiger. oh, my gosh. that would have gone in, but did not. adam scott ends up winning.

scott not out of the wounds with that one. gary woodland had another chance to force a play-off but doesn't make it. adam scott, the masters winner didn't have a bogey, shot a 66. we have to show preseason football because the new york jets seem like a train wreck already. against the giants on saturday night, rookie quarterback geno smith gets the start, picked off not once, but three times and gets a safety to boot. that's not pretty. but then even worse mark sanchez comes in the game, late in the game, the fourth quarter, hurts his shoulder, had to leave the game. rex ryan now has a quarterback problem. he's visibly annoyed afterward. >> from day one i said we will make the announcement of a starting quarterback when we think it's the appropriate time, not when you, not when this person, this person, this person, not that person. >> you even say a chance -- >> i can say what i want. i can answer it a hundred times.

>> at the appropriate time we'll make the announcement when i think it's the appropriate time. >> rex -- >> a lot of pressure on him. we had him on "morning joe." he's a really good guy. >> he's losing it. >> he's having some trouble over there. >> simply losing it. the good news for the jets is they're cutting the fourth and fifth string quarterbacks from the other team that will be better than the jets quarterback. >> said like a giants fan. >> i'm a jets fan. >> are you really? >> yes. let's talk about the fire in california getting the headlines. it's in a very rural area. the firefighters can't get up on it. mostly going to do air drops and fire retardant. san francisco and sacramento about a two or three-hour drive. to the right is the fire and the smoke plume is huge going through nevada. a big mess out there, a lot of bad air quality. the big story in the middle of the country was the heat. this summer heat wave is here to

stay all week long. the northeast is going to get bouts of rain. a little showers heading through this morning, buffalo is going to get wet during the day today. carry the umbrella with you. on-and-off rain. 98 in minneapolis, near record highs for this time of year. >> head up north to brainard and enjoy the lakes a little bit. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," senator ted cruz continues his fight of obama care. we'll huddle around the cooler, justin timberlake goes back to his boy band roots. "way too early" comes right back. ♪ ho ho ho

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at the top of the show we talked about the rim fire in california which is ravaging parts of yosemite national park. if you want to sound smart today, you can tell your friends the worst forest fire in california's history was the cedar fire in 2003. it burned 750,000 acres and caused $2 billion in property damage, started by a lost hiker who lit a fire to alert rescuers of his whereabouts. after that they certainly knew

where he was. over the cooler, mr. lewis, how are you? >> doing great. a big night in brooklyn t. video music awards took over the barclays center. justin timberlake took over the video of the year for "mirrors." the biggest news had little to do with the awards themselves. the show opened with lady gaga standing into a camera in an outfit reminiscent of a nun's habit, ending in a revealing clam shelby kinney. the most controversial performance of the evening came from former teen star miley cyrus who emerged from the stij as a giant steady bear, shared the stage with more than a dozen stuffed bear fansers. when robin thicke joined her, things took a different turn

thanks to one particular dance move. ♪ >> that's called twerking and i don't think that's fit for tv. that performance apparently drew this reaction from hip-hop star and actor will smith and his family. they are shocked. now, pop star taylor swift is known for letting her relationship seep into the music. last night swift seemed to be on edge over one direction member henry styles. swift appeared to mouth the word sthut bleep up. she seemed to dedicate to styles. >> i want to thank the person who inspired that song who knows exactly who he is, because now i got one of these. thank you so much. she loves break-up songs. the most anticipated act of the

night came from justin timberlake who won the michael jackson vanguard award and performed hits like "cries me a river." the big crowd blisser, the n sink reunion, the worst kept psych rhett of the night. mika, how do you feel about miley cyrus, knowing that you have two teenage daughters? >> actually i feel real sorry for her. i think she's a complete mess. what does he do watching that, all these teens? oh, right. thank you, lewis, coming up on "morning joe," u.n. inspectors on their way to the site of the alleged chemical attacks in syria. could this be the tipping point that forces president obama's hand. richard haass joins us onset straight ahead. justice ruth bader ginsburg calls this the most activist supreme court in recent memory,

vowing to stay on the bench as the leading liberal voice. we'll talk to "the new york times" writer who landed the interview. senator ted cruz continues to live in his own reality by himself saying he believes president obama will voluntarily defund his own health care bill. and he wants to run for president i think. that's good stuff. all those stories plus sam stein, chuck todd, andrea mitchell all straight ahead on "morning joe." >> willy is back. >> willie is here. good gracious. >> we're all back together. >> little miley talk. this thursday "morning joe" and "way too early" will be live in detroit for the special report from motown. still ahead on "way too early," your best and most creative tweets on how to ruin a foreign tradition in america. [ whispering ] uh! i had a nightmare!

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for healthy radiant skin. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results. so hanging out looking at our twitter responses for what foreign traditions we should bring back to the u.s. after they ran with the bulls. >> chris says, warm beer for breakfast. it's my favorite european tradition especially on monday.