vinny. hide your picnic baskets. this is "way too early." hey, everybody, good morning, i'm thomas roberts, welcome to "way too early," the show that barely believed in upright walking bears, but we have been converted and so will you. you will also be bothered with the amount of bear puns i'm going to stick into 30 minutes of "way too early" programming. but we want to start off with what we know coming out of iraq. american planes are back over that country. some packed with food and water, others armed with weapons of war. it's part of a new u.s. mission there to provide aid to refugees and to strike terrorist targets should american lives come under threat. president obama authorized this operation following new advances by islamic militants. and they're poised to attack one of the biggest cities in the north, home to an american consulate and hundreds of u.s.

citizens and military advisers. the potential air strikes coincide with a humanitarian push to help thousands of iraqi civilians hiding on a mountain top from the sunni gunmen below. they fled the approaching fighters who executed the men, forced the women into marriages and left the children dying of thirst in the desert heat. president obama said it's a genocide waiting to happen. >> therefore authorized targeted air strikes if necessary to help forces in iraq as they fight to break the siege and protect the civilians trapped there. already american aircraft have begun conducting humanitarian drops to help these men and women survive. one iraqi cried to the world, there's no one coming to help. >> the terrorist group is now in control of iraq's largest dam and they could use it to finance their attacks or unleash a torrent of flood water as a weapon of destruction.

it presents no easy options for the president who focused his early agenda on removing america from that war zone. >> over the last several years, we have brought the vast majority of our troops home from iraq and afghanistan. and i've been careful to resist calls to our military. because america has other tools in the arsenal than the military. we can lead with the power of our diplomacy, our economy and our ideals. i ran for this office in part to end our war in iraq and welcome our troops home, and that's what we've done. as commander in chief, i will not allow the united states to be dragged into fighting another war in iraq. even as we support the iraqis, american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq. because there is no american military solution to the larger crisis in iraq. >> now, to the breaking news overnight in the middle east where a three-day cease-fire between israel and hamas has

expired. attacks have resumed and peace talks appear to be faltering. sirens rang out in israel has the country says militants fired at least ten rockets from gaza. the iron dome intercepting two of those strikes. at least one person is dead. israel said it was willing to extend the truce to the four-week war, which left nearly 1,900 palestinians dead. however, hamas said any extension should involve reopening gaza's border. they are willing to continue to take part in the egyptian will have led talks, but some israeli officials want to end the negotiations if a cease-fire is not in lasting place. the one-two punch of strong storms headed straight toward the hawaiian islands. iselle has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. still packed 70-mile-per-hour winds and bringing rain and rough waves crashing on to the

big island. now, just behind it, hurricane julio. that's a cat 3 storm slated to pass just north of the islands on sunday. nbc is live in honolulu this morning. bring us up on the latest. this is somewhat of an easing of tensions with the downgrade of iselle. >> absolutely, it is. it has not made landfall. about 50 miles away. slowed considerably, thomas, that's great news. the other news is about julio and the prescription is it will retain its hurricane status. but it's going to cut to the north. it's not expected to be a direct hit to the island as iselle is expected to be in just the next few hours. so there will be a lot of rain associated with this. and possibly some very unpredictable conditions. because as iselle comes into the big island, it's going to interact with the mountains

there, the volcanos, they don't know what that's going to do. so the next few hours, the next few days should be interesting, thomas. >> just from the airline standpoint of view for tourists that have been coming in or trying to get out early, how have they been handling the flow and capacity of different crowds and their opinions of how they want to handle this safely? >> you know, there have been some flight cancellations. and the best advice has been to check your flight before you go the airport. but they are still taking tourists. this is the highway seas and a lot of people are still coming in to the other islands from maui. people coming in today, very excited to be here because it was a beautiful day on ioahu. there are growing questions this morning about how much power the tea party still has in the republican party party after it failed to defeat a single republican senator this year in

a primary. senator lamar alexander of tennessee completed the clean sweep for establishment candidates, the first time since 2008 where no gop incumbent senators lost a primary. senator alexander receiving 49% of the vote against joe carr and six other candidates. carr did win senator alexander's home county. the two-term senator celebrated with the republican governor who also won his primary. senator alexander says the results show that tennessee voters send a clear message. >> in a large primary, in one of the most conservative states in the country, on the voters nominated a get it done republican governor and a get it done republican senator. and we want to change obamacare. we're going to have to pass something. if we want to fix the debt, we'll have to pass something. and to do that, we're going to have to work with other people to get it done. i want to take tennessee's get it done kind of leadership, put

it in the united states senate and move our country. >> it's a stark contrast to 2010 and 2012 primaries. in 2010, marco rubio won a primary against charlie crist. and mike lee beat robert bennett. then in 2012, richard murdoch beat duke lugar in indiana but lost the general. the tea party set its sights on seven sitting incumbents. but liz cheney dropped her challenge to mike enze of wyoming back in december. now, a bright spot for the tea party came in june when dave brat upset eric cantor. that was a tectonic shift for sure. well, news this morning out of montana where democratic senator john walsh has dropped out of his race for reelection weeks after a "new york times" report accused him of plagiarizing a research paper he

wrote while studying at the u.s. army war college. the "times" came out with how he needed to fill out his masters degree and failed to attribute the paper he used. one page lifted from a harvard paper and more passages came from the endowment of international peace. he recently backed away from his initial claims that post combat stress may have been a factor. in a statement, walsh telling supporters the paper had, quote, become a distraction from the debate. now, he's going to serve the remainder of his term which expires in january. his party will choose a new candidate to run against steve danes. and before the news, roll call named walsh to the top ten most vulnerable senators up for vote this fall. the only republican on that list, mitch mcconnell of kentucky. we shift our attention to focus on business. and markets slip after the

ongoing crisis in ukraine and middle east. dow fell to lowest level since april. the nasdaq and s&p also posting double digit declines. jeff joins us now live with more from london. how do we expect this trading week to end? >> well, i think it's going to end in a similar fashion to be honest with you. the early calls on the u.s. market open are that we have the dow, the s&p, and the nasdaq all off as we start the trading session. and it's going to need some pretty big news, i think, to change that momentum. because even as we had a good claims number yesterday, the market sold on that. and it also got very worried about the air strike proposal that president obama is putting on the table for iraq at this stage. so geopolitical concerns are rattling the traders. here's another interesting story that i think it's worth just bringing to your attention. do you want air ticket prices

personalized for you? this is what you're going to get based on the department of transportation now signing off on a new language to be used by the ticketing systems. this allows airlines now to gather a bit more information about you as you look at prices and perhaps suggest, well, you could get this ticket a little cheaper if you flew on certain days or maybe if you are a member of certain airline schemes, you might get free baggage, for example. the europeans, some agencies that deal with travel have said this may breach some privacy concerns. they're not so happy about it. but it looks like it's coming through anyway with some p provisos. >> interesting to see if passengers want to give up part of their privacy to save more, especially the way the airlines have been nickelling and diming passengers.

good debate. thank you, sir. have a wonderful weekend. the world health organization is calling the spread of ebola an international health energy. a move that would clear the way for its use in patients infected with the virus. the announcement came as cdc director testified at an emergency hearing on the hill yesterday telling congress that the government is trying to test new experimental treatments, but doesn't want to give false hope. >> right now, we don't know if they work, and we can't, as far as we know, have them in significant numbers. we hope that might change. but these medicines used in the experimental cases as far as i understand it are not easy to use. >> three lawmakers attended that hearing. chris smith, chairman of the house foreign affairs subcommittee on africa, karen bass and frank wolf. a minnesota restaurant coming under fire for the way it

is protesting the state's new 75 cent minimum wage increase. oasis cafe in stillwater slapped a 35-cent minimum wage fee on all customer tabs. yo can see it on the bill there. it's in response to the new $8 minimum wage which took effect last week. one person wrote on facebook, quote, shame on your protest over a small increase of pay required by law. hopefully customers will not continue to patronize your cheapskate establishment. i heard the food isn't that good anyway. i read another comment, $8 for a bacon cheeseburger, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. a manager at the cafe told the star tribune it's appalled at the response for protecting its employees. is the minimum wage fee a way to protect employees or does this go too far? a way for the restaurant to pad

itself from the profits it's already making. the best ones coming up later in the show. still ahead on "way too early." ron artest could be known as the player formally known as metta world peace. wait until you hear the new name. kevin spacey and julia loui loui louis-dryfus. we're back after this. i shall resign the presidency effective noon tomorrow. vice president ford will be sworn in as president at that hour in this office.

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welcome back, everybody. it is time for sports. and it was not the best kept secret in the nba. but according to yahoo sports a deal in principle has been reached to send kevin love to the cavaliers. with love joining lebron james and irving, the cavs are in a clear favorite spot in the east. nate silver crunched those numbers and predicts the cavaliers will win 65 games with lebron and love on the roster. here we go, metta world peace is looking to change his name again. this time wants to be known as the panda's friend. the news comes after the announcement of his one-year deal to play for the chinese basketball association. metta first changed his name from ron artest in 2011 saying he wanted to inspire and bring youth together around the world. the panda friend. okay. and also, i can't -- well, i can't do the orioles thing, but they won. magic. okay. let's get a check on your

weather. jeanette, sorry, i had to steal some of your weather time. >> no problem, thomas. thomas still keeping a close eye on iselle and julio. closing in on hawaii. already reports o structural damage, heavy rainfall, high surf and damaging winds in the big island of hawaii. and that's where iselle is set to make landfall at any time now. looks like the cell will continue the westward track perhaps bringing tropical storm conditions across the smaller islands throughout the day today. and if that's not all, we have julio, which will impact sections by the weekend. meanwhile, it is a beautiful day in the northeast, high pressure in control, plenty of sunshine, not too hot, and the humidity staying on the low side across the rest of the nation, it's pretty tranquil. may see a pop-up thunderstorm or two, especially in the afternoon, chicago looking at high temperatures in the upper 70s. a steamy 101 today in dallas. still pretty nice across the

northeast, but more pop-up thunderstorms across the intermountain west. >> do you have a favorite baseball team? >> the phillies. >> did you know that mike barnicle's favorite team is the red sox? >> i didn't know that. >> ask him where they are in the a.l. east. >> now you do. >> ask him where the red sox are in the a.l. east. >> where? >> well, they're in the middle of the pack at the bottom. >> hey, the phillies aren't doing that good, either. >> no kidding. >> the orioles are your a.l. east leaders, ahead of toronto by five games right now and the yankees, mike. mike, barnicle, what do you think about that? >> the yankees are older than i am. they're having a nice run. they're not going to be there in october. >> mike, thanks. coming up at the top of the hour, "morning joe." president obama authorized two new operations including air strikes, our top talker this morning. and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water

cooler with an update on a story that has everybody freaking out. video of a bear walking upright like a human. this is vinny the jersey bear. the best explanation ever. we're back after this. nineteen years ago, we thought, "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our snapfix app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ hey! i found my true love, livin' in a sweet dream. singin' my favorite song and it all starts with you.

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welcome back, everybody. at the top of the show, we

talked about tennessee senator lamar alexander's victory. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends senator alexander has been a fixture since his 1978 campaign for governor. walked more than 1,000 miles in his signature red and black flannel shirt staying with supporters along that journey. let's talk about walking and huddle around the water cooler. i was an unbearable nag to get this story on. hey, lewis. >> the moment you've been waiting for all morning. the bear that's become a youtube sensation. black bear hanging around new jersey. walking as if he were a human. >> he is. >> incredible. is that big foot or a bear? now -- >> or your neighbor dressed up in a bear costume. >> some people were considering whether the bear was real or someone in a costume. the bear is most likely injured on the two front paws, makes me sad. but the bear appears to be making a recovery and will be

coming to a picnic basket near you. >> he can't bear weight on his front paws. it's heard to bear the weight. >> i guarantee it. : now, we're all big fans of madmen here. and christina hendricks reprises her role. >> you have a phone on your desk. >> where? >> that's a phone. >> that's a phone? >> that is a phone. >> well, most of us just use our own. >> i read a book once -- >> you're acting like you don't know how a modern office works. >> well, in the u.s., women make 23% less than their male counterparts.

did you know almost 70% of the minimum wage workforce is female, but only 15% of our fortune 500 ceos are? >> well, that's depressing. >> i figure if we're going to run our businesses like it's the 1960s, i'm going to act like it. >> good stuff. making a point. making a point. >> thomas, it doesn't get any better than kevin spacey as frank underwood of house of cards and julia louis-dryfus. i think you'll see them in the entertainment weekly featuring the best 25 tv characters. kevin spacey plays the role and julia plays the role of frank underwood. that's right, the two big actors going drag for an epic role reversal. and i think they play it off. >> kevin spacey with the smirk. >> he's too good. i can't bear witness to any more of your bear jokes. >> unbearable. i want to get to your responses.

we asked you if you thought the story out of minnesota where they added a surcharge to actually offset the minimum wage hike is a good or bad thing. our producer has one of the best responses. >> the restaurant should've built the cost into menu items and not made it political. >> yeah. should've of hidden it better. and the hike protest seems to be costing more than the hike itself. >> people will have to bear with that price hike. next on "way too early," a look at stories we'll be talking about in the day ahead. "morning joe" is abearently moments away.

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so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. welcome back, everybody. let's get a check on the day ahead before we toss it over to "morning joe." back in court today as he faces a 20-count indictment for fraud. the staten island republican is accused of evading taxes and concealing over $1 million while running a small restaurant before entering congress. and new veterans affair secretary robert mcdonnell will make his first trip to a v.a. medical center today. he's expected to meet with staff and veterans in phoenix. that's going to do it for a friday edition of "way too

early." great week. check your bank accounts, it's payday friday and "morning joe" starts right now. i ran for this office in part to end our war in iraq and welcome our troops home and that's what we've done. as commander in chief i will not allow the united states to be dragged into fighting another war in iraq, and so even as we support iraqis as they take the fight to these terrorists, american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq. because there is no american military solution to the larger crisis in iraq. good morning. it is friday, august the 8th. katherine's 11th birthday. happy birthday, kate, with us on set to set brat. you always want weird uncle john around for the birthdays