happy labor day right now on "first look." syria in waiting. confirmation of sarin gas and senator john mccain heads to the white house on how to handle syria. deadly drug overdoses believed to be caused by molly. plus, important in the u.s. a new study on which states spend the most time looking at pornography. a wicked whack to the face from a girlfriend of a rival driver at the finish line. and a flush of another kind in las vegas. very good morning to you.

nice to see you this morning. lawmakers are gearing up for the biggest foreign policy vote since the iraq war. secretary of state john kerry making the case for military intervention in syria, appearing on a series of sunday morning shows. he said syria used sarin gas on its own people. but some members of congress are expressing sharply divided opinions on a draft resolution on whether to give the president the go ahead. >> i think we now have to be careful, you don't want to tie the president's hands. >> i know because the clarity of where all of this goes. that is still unclear to me. >> there are a lot of risks here. the downsides. >> it's important for america and important for the world. and the process we're going to go through is going to help strengthen our response. >> tracey potts has the details from washington.

any indication that congress will be returning early from their vacation. >> reporter: some have already have. some law mayesers were part of a weekend briefing. more than a hundred came back early to hear the administration's point of view on why they think we should move forward on that strike. john mccain and perhaps senator lindsay graham as well, two key republicans are going to be at the white house this afternoon to talk about this. the white house really making an all-out push this week to try to get key members of congress onboard with authorizing military action. the president decided over the weekend he didn't want to go it alone he wanted to wait as 780% in our nbc news poll and get the congressional approval first, that has brought some heat to president obama, both here and aboard, for first announcing the red line and then saying there was convincing evidence and we heard more of that from secretary of state kerry over the weekend and finally, saying

that he wanted to g ed ted to w congressional approval. apparently it was the british vote that convinced president obama that he would better off showing a united front, as kerry put it over the weekend, with representatives of the american people onboard. >> tracie, we appreciate it. syria is reportedly taking precautions against the possible military action and germany is joining a list of nations opts out. chancellor angela merkel and her challenger in the upcoming election said they won't participate. ayman, what is the latest where you are at? >> reporter: good morning, veroni veronica. this is a victory for the country a strategic victory. because, as a result of their defiance, they have been able to

force the united states to a historic retreat. it's also being projected that way by some of syria's closest allies. now, has withdrawn his desire or his plans to carry out a military strike because he felt the uncertainty of a military action was too great a risk. however others have come out with a statement and resolution calling on the international community to keep its pressure on the syrian regime. it wants accountability by the international community and the letters of their resolution means for that international community. more details are emerging

about falsified statements in the navy sexual assault case. it says that three men lied about the night of the alleged attack. all three men said they saw the woman at the party. they're charged with falsifying official statements. the hearing will determine if the three men will face a court-martial. today's the final day of a music festival was canceled after two people died of susp t suspected drug overdose. the electric zoo festival has been held on labor day weekend since 2009. police say overdoses of the drug mdma, known as molly, be the cause. there were also three suspected drug overdoses at a concert in boston over the weekend. firefighters gained a

foothold over the two-week-old rim fire in yosemite fire this weekend. it may have become the fourth largest in california history. but officials believe the tide may be turning. with containment at 40% many are looking at the cause. okay, so a bizarre arrest in egypt to tell you about. authorities obtained a migratory bird on saturday. suspected of working for french security ageneralsy. an electronic device attached to the bird raised suspicious of a spy. there's still no word on this poor bird has been released. some states are a bit more x-rated than others.

a new study shows just how much time people spend looking at online pornography. on average people in the u.s. spend on average 11 minutes per visit looking at pornography. the state with the longest watch time, the state with the longest name, mississippi, almost 12 minutes. the state with the least, rhode island, with about on 10 minutes on average. here's your first, republican senator rand paul of kentucky said congress will likely support president obama in the likely attack against syria, but suggested house vote could be close and block such attack. >> absolutely. i think it's at least 50/50 whether the house will vote down involvement in the syrian war. ted cruz of texas had some positive words for president obama saying that he made the right decision on having congress take a vote.

>> and i'm very, very glad that the president listened to bipartisan calls to come before congress and come before the american people and make the case. a new nbc poll found in the last month president's approval rating dropped to 44%. on foreign policy issues, 41%. the number of suicides in the u.s. military is rising despite efforts to prevent them. the veterans administration said last year, found about 8,000 veterans died by suicide each week. a spokesman for former george h.w. bush has apologized for what he called a very stupid mistake. when nelson mandela was released from the hospital, the spokesman accidentally released a statement mourning the passing of the leader.

david frost passed away. best known for interviewing richard nixon during the watergate. for the first time a supreme court justice officiated at a same-sex wedding. ruth bader ginsburg did the honors. cheney versus cheney. mary cheney says her sister liz is quote dead wrong on the issue of gay marriage. lynn cheney said that she opposes gay marriage. last year mary cheney married her longtime same-sex partner and russian president vladimir putin visited some animals on saturday. he got to shake hands with a very large wall russ. that does it for your morning dish of scrambled politics. heavy rains in taiwan

triggered a dramatic landslide. you can see the earth pour over this white car push it across the road as a huge boulder comes to the rest. the torrential rains caused by the tropical rains are expected to continue over the next few days. back here in the states, flash flooding over the holiday weekend forcing dozens out of their homes in las vegas. many roads still closed. thankfully there have be no injuries. but many homes and vehicles were badly damaged in that storm. nbc's dylan dreyer is here for the labor day weekend. happy labor day. >> for most areas, it looks okay. some issues of rains at your

barbecues. but it's not going to be a downpour. we are watching a cold front approaching the chicago area, it's 57 degrees finally in minneapolis. 14 degrees colder than it was this time yesterday. kansas city is 11 degrees colder than yesterday. we're seeing some improvements we're looking at this cold front to trigger some more showers and storms. we're going to see the possibility of some heavier downpours, you can see they're scattered across the northeast, stretching down into the mid-atlantic. when it's raining, the rain has the potential of coming down heavily. we could see the potential of minor flooding. we'll see pockets of heavier rain across new england. an update on the tropics, there's an area of interest near like yucatan peninsula in mexico and we're watching well to the southeast of lesser antilles,

40% of that developing into a tropical system. digital detox to tell you about. treatment for internet addiction and a major automobile recall as well. and check out this boat crash in the potomac involving a police boat. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. and didn't know where to start. a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare

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woman: 'i can't.' hero : that's what expedia asked me. host: book the flight but you have to go right now. hero: (laughs) and i just go? this is for real right? this is for real? i always said one day i'd go to china, just never thought it'd be today. anncr: we're giving away a trip every day. download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. expedia, find yours. good morning. welcome back. here's some stories in the news on this lay bar day holiday. united nations is asking for an investigation into an iraqi refugee camp. a boat sank into washington, d.c.'s potomac river saturday. after a police patrol boat couldn't maneuver a sharp turn. all the bistanders could do was

watch as the unmanned boat went down. >> looking down on the boat i could see that the port side of to boat was actually cracked in half almost and it was sinking fast. >> the police boat was reportedly responding to a distress call on another part of the river. hillary clinton's gifts more lavishes than the president. the former secretary of state turned over to the government. and in the daily mail, taking the office stairs and getting off the bus early, the fast-track weight loss tricks scientists claim are more effective than long gym sessions. one extra minute of brisk activity can help burn those unwanted pounds. business news now. stock markets are closed on this labor day holiday. ford recalling almost 400,000 cars due to potential steering issues. there have not been any

incidents or injuries reported. sharing his multimillion-dollar bonus the ceo of lenovo taking his $3.25 million bonus and sharing it with his employees for the second straight year, about 10,000 employees will get a check this month for helping exceed sales. $4.71 billion was shelled out at movies. about 10% more than last summer. this include revenue for north america, from the first weekend of may through labor day. vodafone may sell its stake in verizon to verizon. internet addiction. it is real. and one psychiatric hospital in pennsylvania has created a $14,000 program, it begins with a digital detox of 72 internet-free hours when

patients are evaluated. so far, health insurance does not cover this treatment. it's a time now to look ahead and look back. millions of americans head home after the weekend. more than 34 million americans traveled for the labor day holiday and many will be on the road today. on this day in 1945 japan surrender in tokyo bay. japan signed the document that ended world war ii. happy birthday to actress salma hayek who's 47. terry bradshaw is 65. happy birthday. straight ahead -- it was a great weekend in sports. and we've got your highlights next. plus, which labor day blockbuster took first place at the movies? we'll tell you when "first look" returns. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [ female announcer ] only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results.

happy labor day. some interesting facts to tell you about labor day. according to the u.s. department of labor, it was first celebrated in new york city in 1882 by the central labor union to honor the contributions of workers and then, june 28th, 1894, congress made labor day a federal holiday. but by then, 30 states were already officially celebrating it. and it's always held on the first monday of september with many americans seeing it as the symbolic end of the summer. the beginning of football season labor day. two of the events that bring to mind one of america's greatest

foods, the wing, the national wing festival in buffalo, new york, brings together thousands of wing lovers. to taste hundreds of different flavors of wings. this year's event even included a vegetarian alternative of the favorite football appetizer. speakering of football, let's move on to sports now. more from the first weekend of college football. ohio and louisville. all eyes on louisville quarterback teddy bridgewater, the touchdown to damian copeland. bridgewater continued to impress, racking up five touchdown passes. and 355 yards. the cardinals dominate ohio, 49-7. to georgia football. a celebration takes a nasty turn after todd gurley's incredible touchdown run. the junior wide receiver malcolm mitchell jumps in to celebrate with his teammates and tore his acl. he'll miss the rest of the bulldogs season. over the u.s. open, serena williams managed to fight back against the sloane stephens.

williams takes it. 6-4, 6-1. andy murray and florian mayer settled their first set in a tiebreaker. murray wins overall. baseball now. mr. rocky gets his 2500th hit. todd helton, the second player in major league baseball history with 2500 hits. 5 # 50 doubles. not to mention a batting average over .130. pretty incredible. over to the pga, sergio garcia sitting pretty before the final round. he ended with a 65. thanks to this tap-in birdie. meanwhile, rory mcilroy shot his best round of the year, 64. but it's still 11 shots behind garcia. now, track and field. usain bolt, a time of 9.90,

american justin gatlin round out the top three with 9.96. so close. drama to tell you in the final lap in the canada truck series. dillon gets bumped out of the lead by chase elliott. elliott goes on to be the youngest winner. both crews had to be separated by officials. that didn't stop dillion from giving elliott a piece of his mind before his victory lane. and more drama. right here, max papis and matt scene collide during the final lap. they exchanged words during the cooldown lap. check this out. after a post-race interview, papis was slapped in the face by his girlfriend. she dislocated his jar. ouch. entertainment news now. the box office's race on summer's last holiday weekend. one direction's "this is us" is

currently in the lead. katherine jackson revealed the deep struggles of michael jackson's children after his death. kurt russell's past performance in death proof could make him the perfect fit for the sixth fast and furious sequel. he currently in talks to join the action film franchise. check this out. diane keaton is posting images of heartthrob actors who have made their hot list. and there's no need to turn back time, not for cher, at the age of 67, cher is still turning heads with her new album cover. it was a ten-year class reunion party like no other when jack black reunited with the cast of "school of rock."

kanye west was reportedly paid $3 million to perform at the reception for the kazahnstan president's grandson. ♪ and finally, jennifer aniston and the cast of "we're the millers" had a good laugh at her expense when they surprised with the tune of a family mouse show. >> i watch more seinfeld reruns. all right, dylan, what about the holiday forecast? >> well, the holiday forecast is going to be much more comfortable, especially in parts of minnesota, where it's back down into the 50s. it will drop out in the 70s in minneapolis and chicago today. 77 in boston.

up and down the east coast, we'll see scattered showers and storms. tuesday, more unsettled weather. tomorrow, it should be mostly in the morning. eventually it will start to clear out in the afternoon. it will move back into the plains states and then back into the upper midwest. >> all right, and some rain, i guess, just a little, right? >> just a little. thank you very much, dylan dreyer. happy labor day. this is "first look" on msnbc. is really made of cheese? [ crisp crunches ] whoo-hoo-hoo! guess it was. [ male announcer ] pringles, bursting with more flavor.

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so get allstate home insurance with claim rate guard... [ whispering ] goodnight. there are so many people in our bedroom. [ dennis ] talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] ...and let the good life in. breaking news this morning -- secretary of state john kerry joins me to explain president obama's political gamble. why he decided to seek congressional authority for military action against syria. >> this attack is an assault on human dignity. it also presents a serious danger to our national security. >> with the debate now shifting to congress, we'll have reaction from kentucky republican senator rand paul, a member of the foreign relations committee, plus our roundtable on president obama's leadership. has he presented a convincing case to a skeptical american public? will the abrupt delay of military action be interpreted by the world as weakness or careful deliberation? and the terrible human toll. our own ann curry joins me with her firs