fans as they picked up trash. the sports ideal is to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. the fans of the japanese world cup team are the greatest manifestation of that in a long, long while. that is the best briefing in the world. right now on "first look." help. iraq asks the u.s. to launch air strikes against aggressive militants as president obama plans his next move. and that leads to major gas pains with prices at six-year highs and members of congress considering jacking costs another 12 cents a gallon. 25 million americans are at risk as widespread, severe storms cover large parts of the country. plus, a no-hitter for dodgers' clayton hershaw. the world cup frenzy grows inside and outside the stadiums. and where are these sexiest people in the world from? that will keep you watching, won't it? good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us.

i'm betty nguyen. well, he is prepared to go it alone. president obama told congressional leaders wednesday he doesn't need support from lawmakers in deciding how to deal with the iraq crisis. iraq has asked the u.s. to begin air strikes to drive back the islamic militants. the crisis has triggered heated debate over president obama's strategy. >> the policies of the last six years have left america diminished and weakened. >> this is not primarily a military challenge. iraq needs help to break the momentum of extremist groups and bolster the capabilities of iraq's security forces, but there is no military solution that will sustainably solve iraq's problems. >> all right, so, meanwhile, control over iraq's key oil supplies is front and center in this escalating conflict. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more now from iraq. >> reporter: kurdish fighters battling isis militants just 00 miles from baghdad. the militants attacked the country's biggest oil refinery.

the iraqi government claims it still controls the plant, but videos from the militants, unverified by nbc news, appear to show them setting parts of it on fire. iraqi security officials tell nbc news the militants may try to shut down baghdad's airport. iraqis remember all too well the vicious civil war that tore this country apart just a few years ago. it was the american troop surge that kept it from spiraling completely out of control. this time, the u.s. is keeping its distance. >> they will lose. >> reporter: general martin dempsey once ran the program to train iraqi troops. now he's chairman of the joint chiefs and is bitterly disappointed. he said today that two full iraqi army divisions ran from the fight. >> in the absence of leaders of a military formation, the soldiers are not going to stick around and wait to see what happens. >> reporter: this video obtained by nbc's british partner, itv

news, shows iraqi troops in mosul before their retreat. 30,000 strong, well armed, in control. 72 hours later, they abandoned iraq's second biggest city. an act of treason, iraq's prime minister said today, promising his generals would be punished for cowardess and failing the country in the face of just a few hundred extremists. >> well, it's not just the iraqi government that has its sights set on defeating islamic militants, the group isis. there is reportedly a mole revealing their secrets in the hopes of bringing down this terror group. a serious twitter account was created about six months ago with #wikibaghdadi. now, some of the salacious details revealed was the real identity of isis's elusive leader, and just days ago there were tweets about their plan of attack. no one knows who is behind this twitter account, but some analysts say it has offered some very credible information.

and you may soon be paying more at the pump, but if you think it's because of the conflict in iraq, think again. two senators from connecticut and tennessee want to raise the federal gasoline and diesel taxes by 12 cents a gallon, the first hike in more than two decades. under the plan, the price increase would help fund highway and transportation programs, but the bipartisan proposal could be a risky move ahead of the midterm elections with tax hikes likely to prove unpopular among voters. following the stunning defeat of house majority leader eric cantor, house republicans are set today to vote on two top leadership positions. the key question now for republicans is how conservative they want to be in politics and policy. nbc's tracie potts joins me now live from washington with more on this. tracie, so, where do you see things headed? >> reporter: well, it looks like this may not wrap up very quickly. there are two different positions that we expect will be voted on today. majority leader, that's to

replace cantor. the number one person up for that is kevin mccarthy, currently the number three in the republican party, looking to move up to that second in command. and while he's the favorite, he's not uncontested. a tea party republican, raul labrador of idaho, is also vying for that spot. so, they'll make nominations, they'll give speeches, speeches in support, and then the voting, by paper ballot, by the way, will begin. now, because mccarthy is already the number three, the majority whip, if he wins, then his position has to be filled, and there are three republicans vying for that. if neither gets 117 votes, then there will be a runoff. and so, this could actually take a while. it's set to start at 2:00 eastern this afternoon. >> sounds like a lot of musical chairs. okay, tracie, thank you. well, since 2008, the world has become a less peaceful place. that's according to the institute for economics and peace. the institute has released its 2014 global peace index, which identifies the most and least

peaceful countries around the world. the top three most peaceful countries are iceland, denmark and austria. now, the least peaceful are south sudan, afghanistan and syria. the united states ranked as number 101 out of 162 countries. part of america's low score was attributed to the impact of the boston marathon bombings. rankings for each country are based on terrorist activities, the number of conflicts fought and number of refugees. all right, we're going to shift gears now and go to sports with our inhouse athletic supporter, my friend, richard lui. >> no. >> you have a different title every day. i love it. >> i need all the support i can get. >> well, you have my support. >> thank you so much, betty nguyen. let's talk about -- well, we'll get to soccer in a bit. i want to talk baseball. clayton kershaw pitching a no-hitter against colorado, his first of the season and second for the time. the two-time cy young winner threw 107 pitches and struck out the first 15 batters in an 8-0 gem! something to celebrate there.

all right, soccer. sold-out world cup game creates a security nightmare. chile fans storming americana stadium entrance. a few injuries resulting, glass doors shattered. >> wow. >> a temporary wall knocked over. security saying about 85 people were detained, most with no tickets. >> but of course. >> and those spain fans with tickets? >> yeah? >> maybe wish they didn't have them. >> and a chance here for vargas, who has put chile ahead! >> there goes my bracket, my friend, chile. >> big upset, wow! >> shutting out top-ranked spain with two goals. first time, my friend, a reigning champ is knocked out in the world cup after just two matches. dios mio. the netherlands barely beats australia. the aussies' 2-1 lead did not last long. the dutch sinking two more goals for the win, clinching a spot in the knockout stage. and a one-sided game in cameroon and croatia. an early red card for a cameroon

player for throwing an elbow down on another player's back. >> ooh, bad sportsmanship. >> naughty, naughty. they play a man down. it was a seattle feud. cornerback richard sherman and receiver phil bates coming to blows. it was a small scuffle that resulted among the defending super bowl champs after a play. >> come on, guys. >> this is just preseason, come on. six-time olympic gold medalist amy van dyken is headed to rehab after a freak atv accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. she spent days in a hospital after severing her spinal cord, but you can see from the pictures there, betty, she's in good spirits, smiling, and she said "i'm so thankful to be alive." >> that's incredible, the spirit. speaking of spirit, an 11-year-old here qualifying for the u.s. women's open. the youngest player ever to do this. lucy li is a sixth grader, all of 5'1", weighs less than 100 pounds. >> aww, i love this!

>> and the pigtails. that's where she gets the power from. >> yes! that's the best part. >> she can hit the driver 230 yards. she tees off at 7:07 a.m. eastern, two hours from now. >> she's fierce, wow! >> did you ever have pigtails? >> i did, but i didn't have a golf swing like that. >> 230 yards, yeah. >> not even close. thank you, richard. members of the national guard and red cross are helping out a small town in south dakota that was struck by a powerful tornado. look at this. the national weather service says wessington springs took a direct hit from the twister that you see right here. so far, no injuries or fatalities have been reported. all right, let's get the latest look at weather with my good friend, bill karins. >> a rough three days. >> have we seen enough tornadoes already? >> in the last three days, over 100 reports of at least tornadoes, and the severe weather continued last night through areas of the ohio valley, right through the mid-atlantic with some strong storms. all those blue dots show you the wind damage reports. there were a lot of them, especially around the pittsburgh area. the red triangles show you where we had the tornadoes, mostly out there in areas of south dakota,

minnesota and a few there near nebraska. so, that line of storms did weaken, finally, overnight, brought a little light rain the last hour or two to new york city. that is now moving out. just light rain and much cooler conditions for you there in southern new england. most of the bad storms are over with in ohio. also just a soaking rain heading for the pittsburgh area. also right around marian and south of ft. wayne, indiana, a pretty good thunderstorm complex. but the real problems this morning are with flash flooding from minneapolis southwards down to rochester, into the quad cities. torrential rain continues at this hour. and then our friends are still dealing with more strong storms this morning through nebraska, so sioux city, sioux falls, more heavy rain today, and you have a real big flooding problem under way over the next couple of days. as far as today goes, 25 million people at risk of severe storms, including the washington, d.c.,/baltimore area. >> it is not over yet. >> not done. >> okay, thank you, bill. the washington redskins are hit where it hurts the most. plus, where do these sexiest people in the world come from? >> in this studio.

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all right, it is time to get down to business. retail gasoline prices are at a six-year high on the heels of the unrest in iraq. aaa says they're expected to remain high as long as tensions continue to escalate. all right, so, for $5,000, match.com will help you find a mate that looks just like your ex. that's right. using facial recognition, the dating site will help you find that familiar face. not sure if you'd want to, though. where can you find the sexiest men and women around the world? according to a survey by the travel dating website misstravel, the sexiest women are brazilian, russian, colombi colombian, british and philippina. what? no u.s. on that top ten list? and the sexiest men are australian, italian, british, scottish and spanish.

u.s. men came in sixth, mind you. all right, some stories making news this morning. mounting pressure. the u.s. patent and trademark office cancels its protection of the washington redskins team name. they called it disparaging of native americans in a 2-1 decision. it is a huge blow in the lucrative business of nfl merchandise. they'll keep the trademark during an almost certain appeal process. the team faced similar circumstances in the past and prevailed in keeping the name. joe camel all over again? e-cigarette companies under fire on capitol hill. reps from the tobacco industry disputing claims that e-cigs are marketed to kids, despite flavors like cherry crush, chocolate tree, peachy keen and ice berry. senator jay rockefeller. >> simply stated, children and teens should not be guinea pigs as we await more conclusive research. elsewhere on the hill, the annual congressional women's

softball game. nbc's own andrea mitchell doing some play-by-play, but perhaps the best part of the game came before it even started. former congresswoman gabby giffords threw out the first pitch. she had fighting words, though, for rapper 50 cent, whose abysmal first pitch made headlines last month. her tweet "bet my first pitch will be better than yours was," and indeed it was. also, here's what not to do the next time you're a mexican drug lord, book world cup tickets with your real name! brazilian police arrested him in rio on his way to watch the match. yeah. uh-oh. well, republicans may have a lot of worry about to come november. and brett favre comes to thad cochran's rescue. we'll talk about that in "scrambled politics." the second his room is ready. so he knows exactly when he can check in and power up before his big meeting. and when alan gets all powered up, ya know what happens? i think the numbers speak for themselves.

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make it matter. my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners...

...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. all right, here's your "first look" at this morning's "dish of "scrambled politics." according to 538, republicans have a lot to worry about this coming november, even though president obama's low approval ratings may be hurting some democrats. the republicans who control congress are even more disliked by the american public. texas governor rick perry is overseeing a major surge of law enforcement operations on its southern border. state leaders say residents want to combat the major influx of illegal immigration into the state. immigration advocates, though, say texas should work with those entering the country, not against them. and the mississippi

republican runoff for u.s. senate incumbent thad cochran and tea party-backed chris daniels are neck and neck in the polls. now, former nfl great brett favre is getting in on the game. >> i've learned through football that strong leadership can be the difference between winning and losing. and when it comes to our state's future, trust me, mississippi can win, and win big with thad cochran as our strong voice in washington. >> favre strongly backs senator cochran in the new ad from the u.s. chamber of congress. the primary runoff between cochran and mcdaniel will take place next week. and on last night's "rachel maddow," pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author of "the angler: the cheney vice presidency" talks to rachel about cheney's "wall street journal" op ed and his views on iraq. >> he had a 13% approval rating because the american people didn't understand what it takes to protect them. he's convinced of his rightness.

he thinks the public's fickle and not well informed, and therefore he uses a sort of blunt hammer in trying to form public opinion. >> and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." i am joined now by syndicated columnist bob franken. always good to see you, bob. good morning. >> good morning, although i'm following quite the act with bart gelman, a friend of mine and one of the most distinguished reporters there is. he's the one, by the way, who's exposed much of the ed snowden material in the "washington post." >> that was a great interview on "rachel maddow" last night. >> it was. >> the president told leaders on capitol hill he will keep them in the loop on the situation in iraq, but will he act with congress -- he didn't ask for syria -- will he use military might for iraq? >> the consensus after the meeting was that he would probably not go to congress to seek congressional approval, but what he is suggesting is is that he will keep the leadership, at least, in the loop, as you just said, and they would then have the obligation to report to their members.

but apparently, he is not going to be hamstrung by any political fight over this. >> does the u.s., though, bob, run the risk of looking weak if the president doesn't act? >> well, the united states always runs the risk of looking either weak or too heavy-handed. it's sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of circumstance, certainly in the international arena. the president is under some pressure to act, but what the united states government's position is thus far is that it's up to the iraqi government, particularly one that hasn't been at all inclusive of including the various factions in a country to try and cut the reasons out for all the violence. >> you know, you talk about pressure. will the american public ever get behind additional involvement in iraq? >> well, certainly, the american people would probably absolutely be in an uproar if there were troops on the ground, and the president has gone to great pains to say that there are no combat troops on the ground. however, as we're seeing, there are more and more advisers, and those people who oppose any sort

of iraq involvement say that that can become a real slippery slope. >> absolutely. all right. bob, as always, thanks for joining us. >> thank you, betty. coming up, bill and richard are back for our "first buzz," including one of the coolest 3d paintings we have ever seen. that's next. (mother vo) when i was pregnant... i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. ♪

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it's that time. we are talking "first buzz," and i am joined by richard and bill this morning. do you guys like those optical illusions? >> i do. >> pretty freaky. >> if they're good. >> pretty cool. >> if they're good. >> check this out. it's a good one. it could be the world's largest 3d painting, and the longest. look at that.

those two people, they're not real! it's part of this optical -- >> those two people are not real? >> the one you saw in the beginning -- >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> the lady with the umbrella, she was real. this is in china. it is twice the size of an nba basketball court. it is longer than it is wide, stretching 1,200 by 24 feet. it took the team two weeks to finish. to me -- >> i like the sidewalk stuff, like the sidewalk pieces are great. >> right, exactly. >> you look like you're going to walk into a hole or a puddle. >> and it's one of those pieces you can look at for hours because there's so much in there. speaking of things you want to look at, you have something very cute for us today. >> this is cute. this one's hard to pass up. in the san diego zoo, a baby cheetah was rejected by the mommy, so it needed a friend, so it got a rhodesian ridgeback. this is ruxa and rania and they will be paired together until the cheetah gets too big. they'll be best friends for a while at the san diego zoo. they've done it before

successfully and these two make pretty good playmates together. >> that is so cute. >> sit back and watch the video. i have to follow that? >> good luck, richard. >> mine's got the last buzz compared to that one. okay, this is crazy. a felon gets on the golf course in fargo. they're chasing him through the 18 holes -- >> four! >> running around in his pickup. they had to bring in a helicopter to cordon the guy. because i mean -- >> just tearing up the golf course. >> i was going to say, he could go on and on, the golf course. >> hit the 11th hole, 12th hole, 13th hole. go on and on. >> was anyone on the course at the time? >> that's who was building it, one of the golfers -- >> imagine if it's in your backyard. >> it's funny because you never see that -- >> it's always very stayed, very controlled. >> all the golfers -- >> until you have to go -- >> no golfers were harmed. >> -- and fix the grass, the greens, if you will. that's got to be a lot of work! >> a lot of damage for the maintenance crew. they're not happy at all with that chase. >> well, someone has job security because of that, for sure. >> at least.

>> yeah, exactly. all right, well, thank for joining us today for "first look" right here on msnbc. we appreciate it. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. ♪ the policies of the last six years have left america diminished and weakened. our enemies no longer fear us. our allies no longer trust us. empty threats, meaningless red lines, leading from behind and engagement with rogue regimes have put america on a path of decline. >> former vice president dick cheney and his daughter, liz, blasting president obama's foreign policy in the wake of the crisis in iraq, both on video and in print, but are they really in a position to offer advice on this issue? we'll have reaction. plus, the latest from iraq, where officials say the country's largest oil refinery is under siege and could fall under extremist control. and a big win for those

fighting to get the redskins to change its mascot. which native americans and many others consider a racial slur. this is "way too early." good morning. i'm mika brzezkinski. welcome to "way too early," which for me is about 30 minutes too early from "way too early." thomas is off this morning. president obama is expected to lay out his plan for iraq by the end of the week as militants there battle for the country's largest oil refinery. u.s. officials acknowledge the plant could fall to isis, the breakaway al qaeda group that's fighting the government on several fronts. seizing the refinery would not only give the sunni insurgency another source of potential income, but also further destabilize the shiite-led leadership by causing price hikes in baghdad, and that may be exactly what the extremists are