seeing if there are challenges. >> yeah, looks like we'll be looking at paper ballots. 39.4%. new york city race. we're going to be on this for a while. hunter walker, thank you very good wednesday morning. right now on "first look," on this, the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, tensions run high around the world as president obama lays out his plan for syria in cooperation with russia. signs of 2016, hillary clinton with jeb bush and both keenly focused on iowa and new hampshire. outrageous. did the florida attorney general delay a death row inmate's execution because of a political fund-raiser? plus, oprah winfry on why balloons frighten the heck out of her. the steamy video heating up the internet. and a one-way ticket to mars. thousands have applied. good morning, i'm mara

schivavocampo. we learned the president will work with russia, china and american allies to force syria to hand over chemical weapons it allegedly used on its own people. tracie potts is live in washington. tracie, good morning. just how much traction does this possible solution have in washington? >> reporter: well, right now washington is on hold and there are a lot of questions about how this is going to play out, brand-new this morning, a united nations human rights report not the report on the chemical weapons attack, an earlier one, but this one talks about the government and crimes against humanity. it is one of the reasons why the u.s. is concerned about whether this political solution will work. president obama says he may still send missiles to destroy syria's chemical weapons capability if russia's plan to get rid of them doesn't work.

>> sometimes resolutions and statements of condemnation are simply not enough. >> reporter: russia is blocking a united nations resolution that leaves open the possibility of a military strike. >> the russians and the syrians don't have a great track record with following through. >> we need to really make it happen. >> reporter: the president argues military force affects our own security because chemical weapons not destroyed could be used on our allies and even u.s. troops. >> other tyrant also have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them. >> reporter: republicans criticize the u.s. response as haphazard and embarrassing. >> we fail to see a national security interest in a war between a leader who gases his own citizens. >> reporter: he and others say they'll vote no if the president push force air strikes. >> the support is just not there and that means we have to find other options. >> reporter: so now we await the polls to see if the president's

speech, his argue. had any impact on a skeptical public. almost 60% of americans did not want to see that military strike. >> all right, tracie potts live in washington. thanks, tracie. with that possible chemical weapons handover deal on the table, secretary of state john kerry will travel to geneva tomorrow to meet with russia's foreign minister. nbc's kur seir simmons is there. how much hinges on it. >> reporter: pretty much all of it. whatever you think of russia's motives or guess what russia's motives may be, the detail in this is absolutely crucial and that's what the secretary of state and russia's foreign minister will try to hammer out and behind closed doors here in moscow, they will be working hard on that right now and it isn't easy, of course, because, remember, with a civil war in syria, just the single question of how the international

community can put syria's chemical weapons under international control is a difficult one in and of itself so we wait to see what exactly the plan is and there are clearly still substantial hurdles because russia said it wants the u.s. to take the threat of military force off the table. it appears based on president obama's address to the nation yesterday that that is not something that the u.s. is prepared to do. >> all right. kechlt keir, thanks for that. scrambled politics. surprise, surprise, new york city will not be led by anthony weiner, at least not this time around. instead bill de blasio garnered the most votes among the democratic candidates for mayor but this morning it's still unclear if it will be enough to avoid a runoff. >> progress that knows we must be a city of opportunity for all. a city that hears the voices of everyone, whether they're black, white, latino, asian, gay or

straight, young or old. from brooklyn or the bronx or staten island or manhattan or queens. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: he will face joe lhoda. they cruised to victory with a 12-point lead over his nearest competitor. a drattic fall for the candidate vying to become new york's first female mayor christine quinn. she finished a distant third. and two politicians looking for redemption after a pair of sex scandals. well, they didn't get it. a disgruntled anthony weiner finished last among the major candidates and former governor eliot spitzer lost his bid forty comptroller by four points. in colorado votes to strengthen gun laws cost two lawmakers their jobs. senators john morris and angela

gerren were recalled five months after their spore for new gun legislation. florida's attorney general is putting capital before capital punishment. pam bondi has delayed an execution so she could hold a fund-raiser for her re-election effort. she since said it was a mistake. you think? but the execution is still on hold and the fund raise ser moving forward. former massachusetts senator scott brown is joining global digital solutions as a consultant. the company describes itself as a lied are in providing small arms manufacturing. and it wasn't all business last night for jeb bush and hillary clinton. bush was on hand at an event honoring the former secretary of state with the 2013 liberty medal. >> jeb and i are not just renewing an american tradition of bipartisanship, we're keeping up a family tradition, as well. >> hillary and i come from different political parties and we disagree about a few things,

but we do agree on the wisdom of the american people. especially those in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina. [ laughter ] >> and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. turning now to weather, floodwaters in arizona have some residents maneuvering through treacherous floodwaters with their canoes. residents are dealing with flash flood warnings and more storms are predicted throughout the day today and now for a look at our national weather forecast i'm joined by nbc's bill karins. >> lemonade, front porch fan, suck it up and enjoy it tao. >> the last day. >> not the last day but there's not many left. it's humid out there and good morning, everyone. across the country warm conditions if not record-breaking heat continues. yesterday record high of 96 in cleveland. as i mentioned yesterday some schools did let out early across areas of the midwest and ohio valley because if they don't have ac, don't want to be in a

school 96 degrees with no ac. when you get dew points in the 70s that's almost oppressive from d.c. to philly to new york to the southeast it doesn't feel comfortable out there. you're going to sweat if you're a sweater out there today. there is relief on the way. hot weather dominates the lower 48 but as we head towards the upcoming weekend all of that hot air is replaced by cool canadian air for everyone from the great lakes, ohio valley and northeast but not so much on the west coast so today a forecast. any travel trouble may be thunderstorm chicago this morning, detroit this afternoon and also just watching my computer just updated from the national hurricane center. our first hurricane of the season. it's far out in the atlantic. it's humberto. the one we thought would be a hurricane. just a footnote. it took till today to get our first hurricane. >> it's been really good. really quiet season. >> no one on any coast is complaining? >> thanks so much. bill. police are trying to recover video footage from an ipad george zimmerman's wife used to record a confrontation.

that was smashed into multiple pieces but officials say they're confident the video footage will tell them exactly what happened between the couple. we'll be right back. check it out.

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well, it's a somber anniversary. today marks 12 years since the september 11th attacks. in shanksville, pennsylvania, there was a groundbreaking sear upon for a permanent visitors center at the flight 93 memorial. ceremonies planned in new york. where we find danielle leigh live in lower manhattan at the world trade center site. good morning, danielle. >> reporter: mara, good morning. family and friends returning to the site of the world trade center to remember and grieve tell me that as they come back in many ways it feels like time hasn't even passed. even as they're surrounded by signs that in many other ways life for others is moving on. take, for example, the new world trade center site where the tallest of four new towers is nearly complete and it's below

this skyscraper where they'll gather on the plaza to remember not just the victims this those towers but the more than 300 first responders who rushed to the seen to try to rescue individuals after the attack and remember the victims in the taxes on the pentagon and flight 93 that crashed in shanksville, pennsylvania and be reading the names of the victims and pausing to mark those times that each plane attacked and as they do it will be a moment of healing for these victims. there will be no politicians speaking, the main focus to be on the victims and their families. mara, back to you. > thanks so much for that. now to some other stories making news this morning. the two prison guard who is are on duty when ariel castro was found hanged have been placed on paid leave. castro was initially on suicide watch he was checked every 30 minutes but had recently been taken off that status. shocking police dash cam

video has been released showing a trooper crash right into a motorcycle at a dangerously high speed. the couple on the motorcycle did survive the collision but they are reportedly not doing well with one of them still suffering from a concussion. and a black bear in tennessee was just a little bit lost over the weekend and one couple caught it all on camera. you can see the bear running down the street. even using the crosswalk because he would hate to get a jaywalking ticket and disappears down an alley. oprah fangs are in for a surprise when they learn what terrifies the mogul coming out in "o" magazine. >> i really don't like balloons. i don't like balloons. >> oprah hates balloons. well, winfrey goes on to say that she doesn't like them because they remind her of gunfire. all right, it's understandable. turning now to your "first look" at business and kayla

tausche has that. good morning. >> good morning, mara. futures are lower after stocks rallied again on tuesday. the dow posting its best two-day gain in three months. the markets will observe moments of silence this morning to mark the 12th anniversary of 9/11. a federal appeals court has ruled google must face allegations it violated wiretapping laws. google admitted in 2010 it inadvertently collected people's personal data when it used their wi-fi connections for its mapping software. investors aren't responding to the new iphone. apple's stock fell 2%. they typically lags the broader market after a product lane. those products not always living up to the hype, mara. >> thanks coach, kayla. richard lui is here with your sports highlights coming up next. ♪

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[ bell dings ] here we go! [ female announcer ] dawn platinum power clean's micro-scrubbing enzymes give you the power of an overnight soak in 3 minutes, and 3 times more everyday grease cleaning ingredients. for all your dishes. so if you like dawn, you'll love platinum. [ sponge ] the champion! [ female announcer ] dawn platinum does even more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. leading the news on slate.com, want to live and die on mars? well, these it00,000 people do. the mars one project says 6 to 10 teams of four people will get a one-way ticket to the planet in 2023 to be space pioneers on a settlement. i think that's something that sounds a whole lot cooler than it would actually be. now the time for sports. >> i was trying to see how much space was in those capsules. good morning to you. >> not a good look. >> exactly. let's talk about some soccer. the tenth time could be a charm here. team usa is headed to the world cup in brazil.

eddie johnson scoring on a header against mexico. 30 minutes later landon donovan kicking in this goal. they were short two key players. it was a $100,000 play. ndamukong suh. he plans to appeal that he was fined for the same offense last year after he kicked houston's qb in the groin. >> maybe he should stop doing those things. did driver clint bowyer intend to spin out? his team, michael waltrip racing, getting fined for that. officials say that changed saturday's sprint race outcome. boy boyer says it was not intentional. jonny gomez singling in a run as mike napoli came in to score right here. that allowed the yankees to gain ground. soriano hit two home runs.

they are now within two games of the rays. that gave the yankees some guy. soriano -- you like him? >> he's my boy. "sports illustrated" says individual oklahoma players allegedly received $25,000 or more annually from state boosters and others. though span over ten years involving sex, drugs and academic misconduct. the school has launched an investigation and notified the ncaa. there are four more parts to the investigation. johnny manziel mike feel like a pinata. one bar in alabama thinks so. that is a pinata close by they've got a sharpie and a wad of cash. >> i wonder what it's filled with. >> money maybe. >> watch the trainer in white shirt and black pants. there he is he steps into the goal. he wants to win so much he

blocks two shots. that would have beaten his team. he runs off -- the other team running after him. look at him then he goes into the locker room. even throws -- he's n he's gone. >> out of respect, the guy's commitment is totally against the rules but he's down for his team. >> i hope the world cup is not like that. all right. thanks so much, richard. a much more serious tonic. time to dig deeper into the case for military action in syria and joining me is boris epstein, a conservative analyst and contributor for the daily collar. in terms of the president's speech last night, the headline in politico, obama's zig versus zag. one minute he's focusing on military intervention then congressional approval. did he make a clear case for anything. >> a huge waste of time for him and americans. he should not have gone out

there with that speech. he was absolutely unclear what he wants to do. does he want to attack? does he want congressional approval? does he want to work with putin and get the diment done? there's no rhyme or reason to it. th this is one of the worst moments of his presidency. we have no policy as to syria right now and what he should do is take a step back, take a few day, figure out what he wants to do. he's the leader of the free world. he's the one that should be dictating policy. not being dictated too. >> russia is one of your areas of expertise and familiar with the relations there and know russia is assad's strongest ally and now we're counting on them to broker and execute this diplomatic deal. can we really count on them to do that? >> there is no love lost right now between putin and obama. you saw that at the g-20 last week, so for obama to all of a sudden start counting on putin is for the yankees to start discounting on the red sox.

i cannot believe this is happening. you know, i firmly believe international relations is a kind of a billiard ball game. there is the reality perspective. each country behaves in its own best interest. and one ball to depend on another doesn't make sense. >> the white house said assad has to go. now as one reporter put it he can stay as long as he gives up chemical weapons. are they likely to lead to regime change. >> no and does anybody believe assad is willing to one day say have my chemical weapons? he will definitely hold at least some back and say they're something else. "a," that's not going to happen, and, "b," even if he gives up some he will keep others. he's the big winner. no regime change anywhere in site in syria. >> military intervention is still not off the table but -- >> is it on the table? it's unclear. >> see what the message is. thanks so much, boris.

bill karins and richard lui will be back for "first buzz" all the stories buzzing this morning. stay with us. 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.

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it's time for "first buzz" all the stories we're talking about. richard lui and bill karins is here. you have great video. >> it's not great if you're the one getting hit in the helmet. watch the player right there. he -- the player in white there is the quarterback on the other team. he's also the safety. the guy that gets up right there was just hit in the head twice with the helmet. once, twice. that was with his own helmet and they're thinking about criminal charges. from a hamburg, pennsylvania, high school senior quarterback

safety, joey kaminsky. >> i hope the kid is okay. >> the kid gets up. looks like he's okay but he should be charged. >> that's terrible behavior. speaking of maybe not the most stellar behavior, miley cyrus' new video is out. if you thought -- >> hide your teenagers, parents. >> this is -- >> hide your eyes. >> her new video for "wrecking ball," the tamer part because she rides it completely stark naked. >> of course. >> but she is getting attention if that's what she wants. 19 million views on vivo, the most views in 24 hours for any video so people are going in to see it. show broke a record. >> she is smart when it comes to publicity, some might say. >> the music award, people were like it's kind of creepy, eerie. this is more sexy if that's what she was going for. >> it depends on your vantage point. take us out. >> to alabama football. this is a termite league, not a pee-wee legal. john david taylor --

>> oh. >> the quarterback, that's his first tackle. he jukes right here, straight arms there, bam, 43 yards. he makes the touchdown. >> go, little man. >> this man makes it 43 yard. >> we got to go. "early" -- "way too early" starts right now. >> i'd ask every member of congress and those of you watching at home tonight to view those videos of the attack and then ask what kind of world will we live in if the united states of america sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas and choose to look the other way. >> the president of the united states makes his case to the american people. at the same time he also opens the door foy a diplomatic solution to syria and chemical weapons. we will discuss whether obama got the job done last night. talking about getting the job done, neither of the comeback kids in new york completed a comeback. weiner and spitzer sounds like a

future law firm both lose their races in new york. and the iphone gets cheaper, gets more colorful but it means you'll actually -- who doesn't already have one? that's another question. this is "way too early." good morning, everything. brian shactman here. it is wednesday, september 11th, 2013. the 12th anniversary of the attacks on the twin towers as we all take a moment to think about certain things. for me i always go back to where i was and what i was doing at the time and want you to look at this image from david dusek from "golf" magazine. he took it from seat 12f on a plane over new york city last night. of course, those lights representing the twin towers. we will have coverage of obviously all day on this including ahead on "morning joe" and ta