them out, to get close to. and good morning. i'm richard lui. another night in ferguson, missouri, once again looking like a war zone. tear gas, stun grenades. the ninth night since the shooting death of 18-year-old michael brown. just two hours ago a different to tone as a press conference began with a prayer. captain ron johnson saying bottles like the ones you've seen here were thrown by police by a, quote, tiny minority of law breakers and distinguished them from actual protesters. >> anyone who has been at these posts understands that there is a dangerous dynamic in the ni t

night. it allows a small number of violent agitators hide in the crowd and attempt to create chaos. the catalysts can be bottles thrown, molotov cocktails and, of course, shots fired. protesters are peaceful and respectful. protesters don't clash with police. they don't throw molotov cocktails. >> captain johnson also confirmed that two people were shot and a s.w.a.t. truck was used to get one of those victims to safety. he said police did not fire any shots despite being attacked by protesters. he added there were 31 arrests and two fires. last night was the first night that a state-imposed curfew was lift the since it was put in place on saturday. it was also the first night that the national guard was on scene to restore order. our team in ferguson said they were trapped by police barricades while trying to leave the area. the driver of this pickup truck was trying to help protesters get away when they were

approached by police. police a picked up what appeared to be a bottle with a piece of cloth sticking out of it before placing the passengers under arrest. here is a group of police raising their guns at a group of journalists with their hands up. rachel maddow was on the scene last night at 11:00 central time. >> it looked like flash grenades. there's smoke rising up from right outside where the quick trip is. we see protesters hurling things. i can't tell what they are. they're popping in the sky. looks like fireworks. they could be flash grenades. they could be about to get tear gassed here, frankly. there's smoke now rising up into the sky just now -- we have now entered the -- what now seems the inevitable. now everyone -- everyone is -- everyone is booking. >> down can field. >> reporter: everyone is booking down canfield and there's --

people are also lobbing -- i'm not sure what the heck they were lobbing back. that was -- no, i think that was someone throwing a tear gas canister back. we have the loud crowd noises. complete, complete chaos here as the crowd disperses in the midst of this smoke that's billowing up. i can start to feel a little bit on the eyes. >> nbc's jay gray is in ferguson. jay, we were listening there to craig about what happened last night. tell us what your long night was like out there last night. >> reporter: good morning to you, richard. it seems like police changed their strategy and tactics every evening here. that was the case again as the national guard moved in. to this point they have not been able to stop the violence. the streets in ferguson exploded with violence again overnight. smoke and tear gas filling the air as police and protesters

clashed. the situation was at its worst around midnight. >> there were numerous reports of shots fired. we had two fires, one at a business and one at an unoccupied residence. in the area of west mark and canfield, our officers came under heavy gunfire. our officers confiscated two guns during a car stop during the media staging area. these are not acts of protesters but acts of violent criminals. >> reporter: rocks and bottles were among several things apparently thrown at officers along the front lines. 31 people were arrested during this chaos including people in this pickup where they found what appeared to be a possible molotov cocktail. the violence continues despite another change in strategy and response by the police that

included the guard troops to secure the center. this allows people for the first time on grounds and on rooftops. police are confident they can restore order in ferguson. >> i'm going to tell you, if we do this, we are going to have to do it together. i will not allow them to define the neighborhood. >> reporter: a neighborhood that continues to be on edge. now captain johnson suggested early this morning that protesters make their voices heard during the daylight hours here so that what he calls the criminal element can't hide behind their mess same and the latest here in ferguson, missouri. richard, back to you. >> jay, thank you for that. as eric holder prepares to meet with justice department officials, they're weighing in on this.

52% of whites have a quote, great deal or fair amount of confidence in the investigation while only 18% of blacks feel the very same. meanwhile, the mother of slain trayvon martin wrote a letter to the parents of michael brown. sabrina fulton says in part, quote, if they refuse to hear us, they will see us. feeling us means imagining our plight as parents of slain children. i would hate to think that our lawmakers would need to lose a child before making the necessary changes now. end quote. we'll have more on that story later. been a busy start to the week for president obama. taking a break from his vacation for two reasons. first, the situation in ferguson as we were just talking about. the president is calling for unity and understanding following the death of michael brown. second, the crisis in iraq. he's calling the strikes a major step forward. brian moore joins us from the

nation's capitol. brian, good morning to you. what can we expect to see today? >> reporter: we can expect president obama to resume his vacation which was to have two problems, no american war for iraq. >> good afternoon, everybody. >> reporter: taking a break, he addressed two crises. >> let me call for us to seek some understanding rather than simply holler at each other. >> reporter: he called for help in the investigation of michael brown. >> the attorney general himself will be traveling on wednesday to meet with the fbi agents and d.o.j. officials. >> on iraq to retake a key dam,

but he pledged, this is iraqi's war. >> critics say they have little choice. >> my friends, these people are planning to attack the united states of america. >> we're going to be engaged. if we try to pretend we won't, i think we'll pay a big price. >> reporter: one president, two unfolding challenges. >> nbc's brian mooar. in eastern ukraine a that you take from russian rebels. it happened in luhansk. dozens were killed including children. in the middle east, fragile but holding. this one until tuesday at 5:00 p.m. eastern. this one what's on the table is

arms. it's intent on hamas giving up all of its weapons. when it comes to isis, the pope says it has to stop. pope francis endorsed the use of stores. isis is accused of slaughtering groups inside of iraq, including christians. let's take a turn and look at your weather on this tuesday. >> good morning. >> good morning to you, bill karins. consistent i guess with this summer, cool stuff, right, in the east? >> it feels it, in the noast. probably the only spot in the country that won't see a warmup. the deepout will get very toasty including atlanta all the way to st. louis. problem spots this morning, we have some thunderstorms to track. racing through milwaukee, racine. just north of chicago probably will get a few showers. so as far as the forecast goes there, we are going to watch

strong storms in the ohio valle. st. louis and ferguson looks to avoid the strongest of the storms. more east. central illinois, indianapolis, fort wayne and detroit. it will get hot, too, in areas of the deep south today. 100 degrees is possible. many areas of oklahoma down through texas and also the deep south. notice those 90s extend northwards for kansas if i. of course, this heat. this is probably one of the hottest weeks into the upcoming weekends that we've seen in areas like indianapolis and cooling of the st. louis areas. temperatures in the mid 90s. the heat index when you add the humidity will feel like 105. >> the protesters will feel it. >> if it's hot like that, i wouldn't doubt if more activities take place later in the day where it's cooler or night unfortunately. >> yeah. which is what captain does not

want. bill karins, thank you for that. >> nbc mourning the loss of one of its own this morning. >> often imitated. never replicated. his rumbling baritone was iconic. don pardo joined the network in 1944. famous for more decades of snl introductions. he was here on stage for his 90th birthday. he worked on the macy's thanksgiving day parade, the price is right, and this. >> these three people were compete today on jeopardy. >> his voice extended beyond entertainment into news. he was one of the first people to announce a major u.s. event. >> from nbc news, president kennedy and governor john conley of texas have been cut down by

bullets. >> jimmy fallon saying, quote, nothing is like the moment when don pardo says your name. the voice of an icon, don pardo, was 96. up next, it would have been huge. a school plot that left even police shaking. you know what i love america? fine barbecue, good times and zero heartburn. ♪ and that's why i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc.

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the dangers, folks, tonight, i want the good people to come out and protest tomorrow during the daytime hours. make your voices heard when you can be seen and when you're not the cover for violent agitators. i want to address the role of the media at what is going on here. tonight media repeatedly had to be asked to return to the fire wall and get out of the streets when clashes were going on in the streets. if these situations going on, we need to have that area clear. this is a matter of your safety

and the safety of others. please don't interfere with officers and let's give attention to the peaceful, not to those determined to disrupt and call attention to themselves. let's not glamorize the acts of criminals. >> leading police efforts there in ferguson. that's highway patrol ron johnson. captain, just two hours ago with a warning to protesters as well as journalists who have also clashed with police in ferguson. some other fstories we're following. in california, a school murder plot stopped. they did not have weapons but were trying to get them. in paris a saudi prince is robbed. a gang of bmw-driving thieves were behind that. they hijacked the prince's convoy as it was headed to the airport. over $300,000 was taken along with some sensitive documents. start saving. 1/3 of all-americans have not saved any money for retirement. that's the word from bankrate.com. the bright spot though, those

that are saving are starting a little bit earlier. have you ever triepd your address into google to see what your address looks like on street view? well, look at this photo. it's gone viral. it's an alleged drug deal in camden, new jersey, caught on camera. a person on read it saw this. this is known for drug exchanges. he says he's not surprised at his neighborhood. browns rookie qb might have forgotten the camera was still rolling when he flips the bird. here he goes right there. that was not the money sign. that immature little move is expected to come with an $11,000 fine. this is the nfl, my friend. and in alabama, one big gator. hunters nabbing this 15 foot long one. the largest ever to be killed in alabama. it tops the scale at about 1,000 pounds. look at those claws. all right. stick around. we've got scrambled politics. that's up next. were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is.

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that's right. rick perry was indicted for coercion and official oppression by a public servant, but those aren't the only charges he's facing. he's still fighting the charge of excessive corn doggery. that's -- hey. ho! you don't want to go to prison with a photo like that floating around. >> no. all right. now your tuesday morning's dish of scrambled politics. texas governor rick perry catching a break.

it's over that indictment but nbc news heard the first hearing is wednesday. he doesn't have to attend that. his bond will be set at $25,000 but he's expected to be free on personal recognizance. he's claimed his innocence saying the allegations he tried to force a district attorney to resign has been politically motivated. it's been more than six months since hillary clinton set foot in iowa. the annual steak fry hosted by tim hark kin. she was in iowa right before the caucuses. democratic senator mary landrieu is under scrutiny for improperly billed trips billed to her senate office rather than her campaign. review reveals the two trips in question took place in 2012 and involved campaign-related events. according to politico landrieu

has ordered her staff to review it. with the 2014 mid-term election season in full swing, gallup finds that only 19% of americans feel most members of congress should be re-elected. it's on track to be the lowest sentiment since gallup began asking the question since 1992. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. all right. i'm joined by news day columnist, ellis henniquin. let's talk about what's happened in the last 12 hours. in ferguson, missouri, what's going to happen in the coming days. one of the things that we're watching is president obama, he's asking again for eric holder to go to ferguson and bring along two missouri senators, one democrat, one republican. this really striking a chord for this president. >> well, it's a start. you've got to understand how low they began out there. clearly there's great need to have some kind of federal confidence on the ground there.

i think the president pushed that forward yesterday. there's still some distance to go. >> there's a lot of people looking for confidence, looking for structure, looking for answers. one individual who has certainly taken up that mantle many would say on both sides of this. >> i know who you're going to say. >> captain ron johnson. >> right. >> he was out there just two hours ago very emotional. started this briefing with a prayer. >> listen, tone is so important at a time like this, right? it isn't even the words you say. listening to him. last night, earlier in that church talking about his own son and, you know, he's got the raggedy pants. that's my baby, that's my baby. that is so crucial right now, richard. >> on the flip side, although he is certainly exhibiting the empathy that those who are out there protesting want to see, on the flip side he's saying, hold on a second. there is a good number of

criminals out there. >> yes. >> and you press, you need to get out of the way because sometimes, you no he, we might have trouble identifying whether you're press or not. and that's the big question for those who are watching this sort of question of first amendment. >> you're absolutely right. he has another constituency, too, which is the police officers. they have an important job to do. they're under a tremendous amount of stress. we're expecting them to walk delicate lines. richard, i remember general honore in katrina who seemed to get it, got the tone right. thankfully. >> but is he getting it right with the issues of the press? he's also saying the press is glamorizing the criminals. those are his words. >> yeah, i think we're open to some criticism on that. there are bad people on the street. listen, this is not an easy equation. smart people represent that there are a lot of shades of gray. >> ellis, thank you so much. very good tuesday to you. just ahead, good news for the folicly challenged and why

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leading the news in the ""l.a. times"" how a promising new drug can help. they've completely reversed hair loss in three people by giving them a drug normally used to treat bone marrow disorders. from cbs news, nutella prices could soar. crop killing hail storms and frost hit the world's biggest hazelnut producer. turkey. and as memorials continue to honor robin williams, fans are

still eager to do more. over 100,000 signatures have been collected to have a new character be introduced in the next legends of zelda game. williams named his daughter after the lead character. i'm richard lui. this is first look. way too ea "way too early" with starts right now. i'm telling you we're going to make this neighborhood whole. we're going to make this community whole, and we're going to do it together, and i am not going to let the criminals that have come out here from across this country or live in this community define this neighborhood and define what we're going to do to make it right. >> you've reput yourself. captain johnson is on a mission to restore his hometown of ferguson in order. for the captain and the law abiding citizens, that seems out of reach following a night of gunfire, molotov cocktails, tear gas and 31 arrests. the cement seems to be drying on hillary clinton's

unannounced foundation for 2016 presidential run. the former secretary of state's future travel plans that will have all the pundants wagging their tongues. what do you get when a tiger, a rory and a jimmy walk into a studio. some of the best late night duffing ever on tv. did tiger actually take a swing? this is "way too early." break out your billy baru mp good morning. i'm thomas roberts. this is tuesday, august 19th. the show where duffer is a dirty word. we know that for all our golfing fans out there. okay. so let's get right down to it because we've got some serious news to begin with from ferguson, missouri, where the presence of the national guard has failed to quell violent protests. police firing several rounds of tear gas at protesters after the latest round of heated