more to go. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow night. thank you for joining us. good wednesday morning. world leaders are gathering with their closest advisers to decide what military retaliation will be taken against syria for using chemical weapons. a bird's-eye view, california's out of control wildfire and the massive air and ground assault to put it out. 50 years ago today, dr. martin luther king jr. delivered one of the world's most memorable messages. good morning, everybody, i'm betty nguyen. senior u.s. officials tell nbc news a u.s.-led military strike against syria could be launched as early as tomorrow. momentum for action against the alleged chemical attacks appears to be building globally. british prime minister david

cameron called his parliament back to debate a response. an emergency vote will be held thursday. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will respond with force if syria does anything to harm israel. the arab league is blaming the syrian government, demanding international trials. but venezuela president nicolas madura, a close ally of president assad, says military action could essentially be the beginning of a great international firestorm. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle has the story. >> reporter: washington says this is not about regime change, that the united states doesn't want to get involved in syria's civil war. they said this will simply be a punitive action so that the use of chemical weapons does not go unnoticed and unchallenged. >> there is no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in syria.

the syrian regime. >> reporter: the leader of the free syrian army tells us that he hopes three days of military strikes will just be enough to topple the regime, that it could weaken bashar al assad's grip on power just enough that the syrian rebels will be able to finish the mission and drive him from power. in order to do that, the leader of the free syrian army told us that in conjunction with a western military action that the rebels will launch their own offensive. they've already begun the stockpile ammunition. some new ammunition has been arriving. they have been confirmed to us. the question now is what will that leave the united states and what will it leave syria if the bashar al assad is toppled? there are many different rebel factions operating in syria. only a few of them are friendly to the united states. richard engle, nbc news, southern turkey. now moving west, we are getting a new vantage point of that massive wildfire near yosemite and it has grown

overnight. nbc's miguel almaguer is near the fire line. he spent much of the time with crews fighting the flames through the air. >> reporter: we can see brush fires. there's no doubt the fire is growing and certainly quickly on the move. you can see from the fuel load down here there are hundreds of thousands of acres that can still burn. >> we're going to make our way down to the south side for better visibility. >> reporter: this fire has been burning for a week and a half. there's no doubt this can burn for weeks longer. crews may not be able to access so much of the terrain. it is very rugged, it is very rocky below. from the air here you get that unique perspective. you can understand why they can't drop firefighters into the burn zone. they've put crews down on the

ground. there is nowhere to run. there are no owe scape routes. on this leg of the fire they simply have to attack it from the air. the dc-10 is one of the biggest assets crews have on the ground. this plane can drop nearly 12,000 gallons of fire retardant. it can stop flames dead in its tracks. you can see how hot the fire is burning. behind all of the smoke and ash in the air you can see there are hot spots. there are flames towering hundreds of feet into the air. the blaze here is still very active, still burning very quickly and of course very, very dangerous. >> only 20% contained. that was nbc's miguel almaguer reporting. 50 years ago today, dr. martin luther king jr. delivered his iconic "i have a dream" speech. today, president obama plans to

honor the man and his legacy. this is what president obama had to say. >> when it comes to the economy, when it comes to the challenges that inner cities experience, he would say that we have not made as much progress as the civil and social process and it's not enough to have a black president. >> on the mall, the birmingham alabama church was bombed in 1963 and four young black girls were killed. today also marks another significant date in civil rights history. it was the day the body of emmitt till was found in mississippi. an act of honesty caught on tape in northern new jersey. buddy's small lot was closed when a surveillance video shows four teens entering the store. instead of making off with

batteries and ear phones, they leave carbon the counter, including sales tax. >> i think it's terrific that there are still people out there that have moral character not to do the wrong thing and they easily could. >> it seems a malfunctioning door lock is to blame after employees had gone home. the owners went looking for the young men to give them gift certificates, and they found them. four college football players who thank their parents. >> everything pays off. like good parenthoods and being around and showing me the ups and downs of things. you know, they showed me the right way to go. >> great group of guys there. we do have some new photos of the man hunt of alleged boston bomber, dzhokhar tsarnaev. the photos show the sheer amount of manpower called in to find the suspect. the most gripping photos are from the standoff between police and tsarnaev showing him emerge from the boat bloodied and

defeated. we want to get a look at your morning dish of scrambled politics. california governor jerry brown says he has a solution for a court-ordered reduction in prison overcrowding, spending 315 million bucks to rent cells in private prisons and jails. outgoing homeland security secretary janet napolitano said farewell on tuesday neat that go in her 4 1/2 years the u.s. has made great progress in reducing illegal immigration. >> our borders are better staffed and better protected and illegal crossings have dropped to 40 year lows. >> the historic washington parking garage where deep throat helped break the story of the watergate coverup. that's going to be torn down and in place offices and apartments. president obama told radio host tomorrow joiner he got emotional watching "the butler."

that's the film of the white hauser vantd who worked for several presidents. >> i did see "the butler" and i teared up. he teared up just thinking about the but the letters who worked here in the white house but, you know, an entire generation of people who were talented, skilled but because of jim crow, because of discrimination there was only so far they could go. and have you to check this out. tv evangelist pat robinson made comments about gays and aids on tuesday's 700 club that were so bizarre, they were edited out of the clip and posted later online. >> san francisco, some of the gay community, they want to get people so if they've got the stuff, they'll have a ring and shake hands and the ring has a little thing where you cut your finger. >> really? >> yeah, really. i mean, it's that kind of vicious stuff which would be the equivalent of murder.

that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. now for a look at the weather outside we turn to nbc meteorologist, dylan dreyer. a heat wave that won't stop. >> it wouldn't. it's getting better. it's cooling off by a degree or two. >> you're not going to feel that. >> the worst is over in the midwest. it will remain hot and humid. we have heat watches and advisories. it's 80 degrees in chicago but even in the northeast it's very foggy and very muggy. in new york city, it's 75 degrees. back across parts of south dakota into southern minnesota and iowa we have excessive heat warnings and advisories because it will feel like it is well above 100 degrees. minneapolis, you will see some improvement. instead of upper 90s it's lower 90s. tomorrow will be 89 degrees. it is going to stay fairly warm until the end of the day. sunday should drop down to 80 degrees. we don't have much going on.

it feels dry out west where they need rain. we have a lot of rain falling across ohio, eerie pennsylvania. that area could end up with 2 to 3 inches of rainfall. it looks like we will see a couple of spotty thunderstorms and showers in the washington, d.c., area. those should hold off. most of the day is dry but there is still some rain in the forecast. >> let's hope it holds off because there's a lot planned. thank you, dylan. if you are competing for a job with an equally qualified candidate, we are going to tell you that one quality hiring managers say makes all the difference. that one thing is next. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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some stories making news this morning. a fort hood gunman nadal hasan rested his case without calling a single witness during the penalties at this phase. the jury of 13 army officers will start deliberating hasan's case which could lead to the death penalty. a high school teacher who

pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl who later killed herself has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. yes, just 30 days. the judge claimed the student was as much in control of the situation as a teacher. in a new interview lieutenant general johnson, the first woman to lead the air force academy, said she faced resistance and sexual harassment as she rose through the ranks. this comes as that is under increased scrutiny by congress. a california man yent wund the first of three operations to remove a 200 pound tumor from his abdomen. the tumor had been growing since 1999 but it wasn't until recently that the man found a doctor that would perform the surgery. good for him. for your first look at business we turn to cnbc's seem a mody.

>> people have trouble accessing "the new york times" and twitter. the syrian army is claiming responsibility. the times quickly set up alternate sites to publish stories and twitter never appeared to lose service. groupon may be moving in on amazon's turf. they have a network of warehouses to ship items from a physical goods area. nissan wants you to sit back and relax. the japanese automaker plans to begin selling self-driving cars by 2020 for what it says are realistic prices. back to you. i am still in awe of the fact that we are entering the era of self-driving cars. that seems like the cartoons "jetsons". according to society general, oil prices could spike to $150 a barrel if military

action is taken against syria and supply disruptions occur. burger king will begin offering a french fry burger. oh, yeah, for a buck. just $1 starting september 1st. bk employees will only have to add four french fries on top of the beef patty and will bring the burger in at 360 calories with 19 grams of fat. eat up. job seekers, you better listen up because career builder did a survey of hiring managers and they were asked who they would hire if they found two equally qualified candidates. the one who got the job was the one with a better sense of humor. work on those jokes. being whitey does pay off. straight ahead, the longest homer of the year, plus some wicked cool base jumping. and sports highlights with richard lui. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief.

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jiem time to get the latest in sports from my cleej, richard lieu i. it's tuesday -- wednesday. >> it is wednesday, wetty. hump day, my friend. how about roger federer as an underdog. >> no way. >> that didn't stop him on day two. he wins 6-3, 6-2 -- >> don't call him an underdog. >> victoria duval.

16 years old. unseeded. samantha stosur. duval won, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. >> that sauls always listen to momma. >> let's talk splitsville. 6-2, 7-5. also, no splits with golfer boy fwrend roar ri mcilroy. he's cheering by her side. anyway, we'll move on. >> he wasn't smiling. >> let's talk yankees blue jays. new york's robinson canoe hit in the hand. that 90-mile-per-hour fastball gives fans a scare. x-rays -- >> i heard that you could actually hear it. >> yeah, that was not a good sound. later alfonso soriano joins the 400 club. new york beats toronto, 4-1. san francisco's hunter pence with a hulking home run.

how far? 476 feet. i think it hit the brick wall. it's the league's longest this season. it didn't make it into mccovey cove though. the rockies beat the giants, 6-1. the air force team, they have nothing else better to do than jump off of hotels and buildings. in denver, jumped off a hotel roof to a parking lot. to a tasty competition. >> that does not look tasty at all. >> what is that? >> that's gravy and those are supposed wrestlers. >> is that a biscuit? >> yorkshire pudding, my friend. they're all supposed to wear costumes. over 3,000 gallons of gravy. 2 minutes per bout. i heard they got hosed off by the fire department. >> you need a really good bath after that. thank you, richard. time now to dig a little bit

deeper into a possible strike on syria. joining me is boris epstyn. thanks for being with me. >> thank you for having me. >> we are looking at the u.s. striking as early as tomorrow. can the president do this without congress's backing? >> yes, he can. presidents are able to do this. the last time congress did declare that was world war ii. he can do it. should he do it? >> that's the bigger question, right? >> he has really drawn himself into a corner here because he talked about the red line and now there's so much force to go on. as you saw with libya, if you have to go on and break it, you have to know what's coming after. the things that we do know is al qaeda coming in. >> here's something that we do know, back in 2007 then senator biden said this to chris matthews saying that he would

impeach president bush if he launched an attack on iran without presidential approval. now that he's vice president would he do the same against president obama? >> this is his best chance to have to become president. he's going to have to eat his words. >> it is tough on all sides. russia is putting out a warning saying that there will be catastrophic consequences if the president goes in and strikes syria, does not get u.n. security council resolutions. that breaks international law. is russia right here? >> well, if you look at iraq when president bush went into iraq in 2003, there was resolution 1441 that authorized that. without having a resolution president obama does walk a thin line on international law. there's a question whether international law exists, periods. 89% of americans approve of the action and we have no idea what

will come up after assad. >> we still don't have results of the u.n. inspectors. >> right. >> thank you, boris. coming up, dylan dreyer and richard lui will be here with first buzz. u can take me higher♪ ♪ take me to the mountains, start a revolution ♪ ♪ hold my hand, we can make, we can make a contribution ♪ ♪ brand-new season, keep it in motion ♪ ♪ 'cause the rhyme is the reason ♪ ♪ break through, man, it doesn't matter who you're talking to ♪ [ male announcer ] completely redesigned for whatever you love to do. the all-new nissan versa note. your door to more. ♪ an arm wrestling match that mr. clean realized the way to handle bigger, tougher messes was better leverage. that's why he created his new magic eraser handy grip. it has a handle that firmly attaches to the eraser so you get better leverage and more oomph with less effort. it's the perfect magic eraser

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welcome back, everybody. it's time for "first buzz" where we talk about what caught our eye. i'm here with dylan dreyer and richard lui. dylan, you have an interesting one about a volcano. >> possible volcano. >> maybe. we're still investigating. >> a small hole that opened up in the ground near rome airport. there is an active volcano 20 miles southeast of rome, but,

you know, there's the possibility that this could be a vent from an active volcano that's not that far away or it could be a broken steam pipe under the ground. they have to do some research. i think calling it a volcano is a lot cooler. >> a mini volcano. >> looks like maybe there was a dog underneath there kicking up the dirt. >> are you big pick etippers? >> i'm an ex-waiter. >> what about a $5,000 tip on a $200 tab. >> no. >> this was in ogden, utah. we don't know who this 34myster man is. he gave a $1,000 at this point on a $49 bill. the waiter at that time said, sir, are you sure? he said, oh, yeah. >> i'm writing down that credit card number. that's what i'm doing. >> you have a great story. >> this is a heartwarming story. it's a photo of a veteran as well as his wife.

here it is right here. that's jesse coddle and it's a picture of him. he does not have his legs. he was a staff sergeant. he swept ied mine areas. >> love it. well, "way too early" starts right now. i have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. i have a dream. >> it was today 50 years ago that martin luther king jr. made one of the most famous speeches in this country's history. a closer look at the speech, the time it was given and the man who said it. cory booker's rival in the new jersey senate race setting off some bad political alarm bells with some weird words about booker's sexuality.

we'll explain or at least let the words speak for themselves. it may not be a sign of the apocalypse. twerking makes it into the oxford englishdictionary. history, please be kind to us. this is "way too early." a low barred for the oed. maybe they're trying to be a little more hip. good morning, everybody. i'm brian schactman. wednesday, august 28th. a new name with a major upset. and in the cooler, two separate stories both involving world leaders and paintings. all i have to say is putin and bush. it'll become clear a little bit later in the cooler. we really need to begin with syria. senior u.s. officials say airstrikes against the assad regime could begin as soon as tomorrow. ad