get a check on the day ahead. primary elections held in alaska and wyoming today. voters will decide who will run against mark begich. paul ryan is more focused on his party's image and we will have a chance to ask him about it when he join the set of "morning joe" tomorrow. that does it for "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> good morning, everyone. it's tuesday, august 19th.

welcome to "morning joe." that is what t.j. does. he's into the glasses. i'm glad someone does. >> i love those glasses. >> you have the situation with the last contact lens that falls and you just can't find them? >> i like them. i'm telling you. >> thank you, willie. >> i do. >> it's different when he says it in a way like he is not panting like t.j. >> oh, yeah. it's different. did he just wink at me and go is that bad? >> no. from the will meister? no. >> "morning joe" contributor john heilemann, what a weird start. he joins us. usually you're the weird one, john. all right. >> today, i'm innocent. >> today, you are innocent and elegant. we also have an msnbc political analyst and columnist for "the washington post" eugene robinson. in washington white house correspondent for "wall street journal" carol lee joins us as

well. we have a lot to get to. don pardo passed away. 38 seasons of "snl." you know the voice? >> of course! >> we all know the voice. it was weird. but i went back on apple tv and i stumbled across "saturday night live." the first season they have up right now. >> 96 years old. >> '75 and '76. >> yeah. >> i went back. it was don pardo. for those who don't know the voice, listen to this. >> it's "saturday night live"! willie, the guy was the voice of nbc for decades. >> as things change, some things are constant. the music on "snl" and his voice. those two things. he had a lifetime contract at nbc. started in 1944 doing radio and

went up until then. 1944 he started. >> that really is unbelievable. almost as unbelievable as that moving montage that t.j. put together of don pardo. >> there is more, right, willie? that was a little abrupt. >> it's spanning the world! >> don pardo will tell us about our first items going up for bid on oil the price is right." >> white mink. >> a.h.! >> i'm proud to present the star of "jeopardy!" art fleming. >> but nobody got hurt! >> tune in next time for spanning the world! if there is a next time. i'm don pardo. >> ah. don pardo passing away at the age of 96. a lot to get to this morning. a lot of political news this morning.

first, we start in ferguson. so far, presence of the national guard isn't stopping the violent protests in ferguson, missouri. police fired several rounds of tear gas at demonstrators overnight ten days after michael brown, an unarmed teenager was killed by police. last night, state highway patrol captain ron johnson says officers came under heavy gunfire but did not fire any shots in return. at least two civilians were wounded. more than 30 people were arrested. captain johnson is urging those looking to protest peacefully to do so during the day so police can focus on those committing crimes after hours. >> anyone who has been at these protests understands that there is a dangerous dynamic in the night. it allow the small number of violent agitators to hide in the crowd and then attempt to create chaos. the catalysts can be bottle strong, molotov cocktails and,

of course, shots fired. protesters are peaceful and respectful. protesters don't clash with police. they don't throw molotov cocktails. >> right now amnesty international has 13 observers an organizers on the ground in ferguson. it is the first time ever the group has sent that type of team to the united states. joining us again this morning from ferguson, missouri, national reporter for msnbc.com trumaine lee. good morning again. >> reporter: good morning. >> tell us about last night. it looks like watching the pictures live last night, it looked like the better part of the evening peaceful protesters on one side and police kind of standing in line. a bit of a standoff but not much violence. then something took a turn. i don't know. i guess around midnight or so and the tear gas started flying. what happened there? >> once again, the peace here in ferguson kind of hung by a string. as you mentioned there was this standoff where protesters who

had been marching peacefully up and down along the side of the street decided to kind of gather in the center and link arms but they were loud but not overly aggressive. a few plastic bottles came flying into the air where a police officer was standing. then something happened. i'm not sure what happened, but the tear gas canisters were flung into the crowd. people were running and in further distance you could what sounded to be percussion grenades and punctuated again by gunshots. while the majority of the protesters had been peaceful, something happened. as captain johnson said there seemed to be a criminal element kind of buried within the ranks of those protesters. >> gene robinson is with us and has a question for you. >> trumaine, who are the violent protesters, the ones who are not demonstrating peacefully? could you describe them? young, old, female, male, from in town, out of town? who are they? >> reporter: it's still kind of

hard to tell because, again, they are kind of hidden in plain sight. certainly some of the more aggressive agitators are young people, young men. but, again, according to captain johnson, among the 30 arrests were people as try sfaer as california and new york. a bunch of people, including community organizers, last night who helped keep the peace, said they are provocative within the crowd. the crowd is so thick it's hard to identify who is a criminal and who is a professor. >> trymaine, obviously, early on when the tear gas was flying when you had the local ferguson cops in charge, it caused a lot of unrest in the community. what has the response been since ron johnson has been out there, a son of ferguson? the tear gas is still flying at night when these people are

looking at and the small element breaking the law. but what is the reaction in the day? is there just as much distrust of law enforcement or does this move make a big difference after nights like last night? >> reporter: captain johnson's presence has been, you know, marked a dynamic shift in the way the police interacted with the people. on any given day, you see captain johnson out there. he is hugging people and shaking hands. he is actually giving them time. press is surrounding him. residents are surrounding him and protesters are surrounding him' barking questions at him, occasional insult. he handles it with grace and poise. there is a big difference. also last night i would say there seemed to be a great deal of restraint before the tear gas is fired. just days ago during one of the worst nights, i saw one bottle fly and heard it hit one of the police trucks and within 20 seconds they were unloading tear

gas canisters. last night, there were several bottles thrown at officers and they used restraint. i think that's directly connected to captain johnson. he is of this commune. he sees himself as one of them and he has marched with these protesters and he understands he wants the community to move on. one person mentioned that something about mike brown is no longer here and can no longer go to college. he said i want to make sure all of the mike brown's in this community have an opportunity. a big difference him being there and what we had before. >> trymaine lee, thank you. we will cover the story throughout the day. eric holder is going to ferguson tomorrow. same story. president obama sent him there. he will oversee the federal investigation of michael brown's shooting at a hasty press conference yesterday, the president spoke on the situation in ferguson. okay, we don't have that bite. >> thank you, t.j.

front page of "the washington post." gene, this is another one of those situations that this president, all presidents find themselves in, but this president especially. so he sends eric holder so the right wingers are going to be angry he is sending eric holder. the left wingers are angry because he is not coming himself. if he doesn't send anybody, then everybody goes, this president is disengaged. >> it's a total no win situation. >> it's tough. but this is not a hurricane where he comes and he is welcomed by everybody. this is a tough situation that the president -- >> right. >> we have seen this with race before. this president has been extra careful when issues of race came around and in a way that frustrated a lot of civil rights leaders. >> yeah. >> i think he has also done great things. >> no, i'm not being critical of him. i'm just saying this is a really tough line for this president to hold. we saw it a couple of summers ago with, remember, the beer summit? >> no, absolutely.

whatever he says about race is wrong, right? >> exactly. >> it's wrong for somebody. it goes too far, doesn't go far enough. he can't possibly say the right thing about race. this situation is complicated in terms of, you know, any potential presidential visit but what is involved in a presidential visit? do you take the presidential entourage to a riot? that is generally not done. that complicates, you know, the sort of political/social complications he already has when you're talking about race. >> the talk about being disengaged is something we will get to in a moment. here is the president and that relates to this conversation. take a look. >> well, i understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of michael brown. giving into that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to race tensions and sir chaos. there is no excuse for excessive force by police or any action

that denies people the right to protest peacefully. so to a community in ferguson that is rightly hurting and looking for answers, let me call, once again, for us to seek some understanding, rather than simply holler at each other. let's seek to heal rather than to wound each other. as americans, we got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity. >> are you considering going yourself? is there more you personally can do, not just for ferguson but for communities that might also feel that kind of tension? >> i have to be very careful about not prejudging these events before investigations are completed. you know, the d.o.j. works for me and when they are conducting an investigation, i got to make sure i don't look like i'm putting my thumb on the scales one way or another. >> mika, i think that is a perfect call. and, again, people on the far right are going to hate him for

it and people on the far left are going to hate him for it. that is actually a reasonable approach. >> all right. i think it's a very fine line he is walking. it's a dangerous situation on a number of levels, and sending eric holder, i've been in contact with eric holder over the past few months on other issues. our kids wen to the same school, but we have talked about the issue of this. he talked about going to ferguson. why are you laughing? >> no reason. nothing, nothing. >> there was some other stories he was interested in. this is a very good move for eric holder. >> the neighborhood is all i'm thinking. >> what? >> you guys have dungshoh-ping over for dinner. i want to live in that zip code! >> the problem is, willie, eric, who we all like, i disagree with him on a lot of stuff but he's a lightning rod. doesn't this seem like the smart move for the president to do? >> he handled it pretty well.

but, gene, if you were watching online yesterday, many prominent african-americans, most of them progressives were upset with that press conference. many called it bloodless and wanted to see more from the president and called him cosbyism. what does that mean? >> cosbyism is a pretty good thing to shoot for! >> in this context, cosbyism, i think means -- -- african-americans and this and that. >> hold on. let's just stop right here. you mean bill cosby, like, has no credit on the street? is cosbyism a slur? >> very controversial in the way he expressed his views which, in fact, have been expressed by -- >> everybody. >> everybody, right. >> including al sharpton was talking about rap culture a decade ago. >> jackson has been talking about it for years and years and years. the interesting thing about the

president's reaction is that it was kind of bloodless and obviously deliberately so. he wants to know the facts of what happened. it wasn't personal in the way that he talked about trayvon martin, for example, and if i had a son, it would -- he would look like trayvon martin. it wasn't a personal suppression of ankguish and sorrow. it was reserved. and i think that was right. >> that was a smart way to be, because we -- we know what happened with trayvon, like immediately. we knew that this poor young man was walking through a white neighborhood and a guy chased after him and people said stay away from him. because of -- we know what happened there. we still don't know what happened here. that's what we need our president to do, to actually show some restraint in this situation. >> sending the attorney general is a strong message. >> people on the right are going

to hate seeing eric holder out there too. >> i think the sweater that hurt cosby. >> you think so? >> the sweater, yeah. >> i thought i thought run dmz all wearing those cosby sweaters in '89. >> what is striking to me about the press conference if you think about where barack obama would have wanted to be six years into his presidency, having a press conference in which the two most searing issue is the american role in iraq and a race riot in the middle of america, it is just hard to imagine he could have ever thought this is where i will be six years into my administration. >> you know what is also hard to imagine? that in 2014, we are still having this happened and it seems to happen every year. we seem to have an issue like this every that shows that we still have, mika, this racial divide in america on some level and it's pretty stunning. >> well, it's absolutely, for many people, it's an everyday

rela reality. you see the president and the fine line and even on this show, you know, it is difficult actually to strike the right balance in the conversation without leaving someone out. >> carol, you obviously cover the white house every day. what can you tell us from your reporting about the calculation that is going on behind the scenes in the white house about how much the president should say and who should go ferguson, et cetera? >> well, what you saw yesterday was a really carefully crafted statement. it was no accident that the president tried to strike that balance that you guys have been talking about. the president of the united states, he is not looking to put his thumb on the scale. so he tried to issue a statement that, you know, sympathized with the frustration that people are having in ferguson but, at the same time, urging calm and more of a longer term perspective and letting the investigation play out. that might not be appealing to either side, but that is where they see that this president

needs to play things right now. you guys mentioned the 2009 press conference where the president said that cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting skip gates and that was a real moment for this white house and they still kind of see over that and are looking to never make that kind of mistake again where they felt like the president got out a little bit ahead. they don't want to do that this time. the other thing in terms of a presidential visit you know, there's so many things that go into when a president goes to visit somewhere. number one is the white house is asking, like, what is the goal? and i don't think right now they see a conceivable, like, goal with there is an investigation going on. and so the president is trying to appear engaged by sending the attorney general there and offering his sympathies but, at the same time, let the investigation play out. >> still ahead on "morning joe," senator claire mccaskill joins us before she heads to ferguson, missouri, later today. that's in our 8:00 hour.

also we have the front page of "the new york times" story how obama is seen frustrating his own party. we need to talk more to carol about that and also claire mccaskill. >> willie sits down with the top pro golfer, rory mcilroy. if you're wondering if there is anything taylor swift can't do. >> is there anything she can't do? >> the answer is apparently nothing. we will show you her latest music video in hollyweird. up next, how a couple of hot dogs beat the summer heat? what? here is bill karins with a check on the forecast. what is going on? bill? >> that looks like fun. good morning, everyone. we are heading into the dog days of summer. though some of us haven't had any summer heat. it is on the way. the southern half of the country big changes. to this point this is the weather pattern all summer. hot, dry out west and cooler than normal in the east. here is the week ahead. we are watching the heat shifting from the west to the south especially.

it's not so much going to be in the northeast. but definitely the deep south, the southeast, mid-atlantic into the tennessee valley. the hottest weather of the summer is on your way. before we get there, we have strong storms today for you. not so much in the st. louis area of ferguson, but towards indianapolis, lafayette, ft. wayne and detroit and strong storms this afternoon and some could clip chicago. here is your forecast and look at the hot weather building. 90 in kansas city. 98 dallas. yesterday was 101 in oklahoma city. one of the hottest days of the summer. then watch as we head into wednesday. everything spreads east. kansas city there at 95. i'll show you the st. louis forecast. that is kind of indicative of how hot it's going to be. notice 96 to 97 through the upcoming weekend with a heat index near 105 so it's going to be very hot and steamy stuff there in the middle of the country. time square in new york city, no such heat for you. you're looking at nice summer weather right through the weekend. ♪ ♪ and i come home

from a hard day's work ♪ ♪ nervous whitening will damage your teeth? introducing new listerine® healthy whitetm. it not only safely whitens teeth, but also restores enamel. lose the nerves, and get a healthier, whiter smile that you'll love. listerine® healthy whitetm. power to your mouthtm! that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase. not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit."

quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you could possibly imagine. say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet? and with that in mind... everybody's excited about the back at staples.avings from the customers, to the staples associates. with guaranteed low prices on sharpies. you'll flip out! now go tell your friends. staples, make more happen for less.

there is a picture in the "new york post." skall scarlett johansson is looking great. >> let's take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers, "the boston globe." a new report from the usda shows how much it costs to raise a child, guys. this is what you're paying for. a middle income family with one child born in 2013 should expect to shell out $200,000. 30% toward housing and run parents 73,000. the next single biggest expense is child care and education, followed by food, transportation, health care, and clothing. it also costs more to raise a child in urban areas. the northeast came in as the most expensive at 282,000 followed by the west and midwest

and, joe, you'll be working the rest of your life. "wall street journal" pope francis southbound speaking out against the force using militants in iraq. the pope said one nation shouldn't be acting alone, a reference to the united states but he said he approved action in iraq to protect the religious minorities. the father is considering a visit to northern iraq. new york daily news a strong contender for the mug shot hall of fame. 19-year-old robert burt was busted in maine for drunk driving in june but check out his t-shirt when he showed up this month to start serving the jail sentence. >> what? >> his own mug shot. >> wow. >> that's pretty good. >> a booking photo. the caption reads burt family reunion. a reference to already incarcerated relative he will be joining behind bars. the shirt said the so-called reunion was sponsored by bud

light and the somerset county sheriff. >> what do we have here? >> a family reunion there. they are just on the boat. kind of hanging out. it's good to see families that come together, it really is. >> what are you talking about? >> this from "the "new york post."" a fashion model was found at a local hospital after disappearing two weeks ago after leaving a new york city nightclub. officials say the 22-year-old was reported missing on august 6th by her boyfriend. a hospital employee called police when they recognized her after hearing about her disappearance. she is believed to check herself in and no word on her condition. >> now this story has gone to the dogs. >> i tell you what. >> you know as bill karins said, it's the dog days of summer. >> this is "today." video of dogs swimming in a pool. doggie day care released photos of puppies swimming in a pool.

the pool party is a part of summer activities to entertain their furry friends. >> cute. >> that is cute, i guess. >> dogs swimming. >> that is great. moving on. increasingly americans aren't taking all of their paid vacation despite feeling overwhelmed at the office. gfk survey reveals 40% of american workers don't plan on using all of their vacation time. >> i'm going to. >> i think you used mine actually! and yours! >> let's face it. >> one of the biggest reasons they tread the pile of work they find on their desk when they come back. others believe the work can't be done by anyone else in their absence. control freaks. what the study authors call a martyr complex. >> willie, do you think i have a martyr's complex? >> you definitely do. >> i'm a control freak. >> yeah. >> sorry. not! 22% are worried they will appear

replaceable amid a tight job market. woman in tv, yes. while some say they wanted to bank or roll over the days, a chart was made using government statistics showing a clear trend since the '70s. fewer americans taking a week off in the month of july. >> that's a mistake! >> i know you do. the huffington post has more on this survey online. are you a martyr? >> i don't have the complex. >> what about you? >> i think i'm worried about -- i've always been like that. >> >> when i started scarborough country, i would take vacation time and call the e.p. and say how did we do? they would be like, bad news. we did really well last night. they are trying to say, you know, like you don't want somebody else to do better than you and i think i'm probably the only guy on tv that goes, yes! >> oh, please. >> no, i'm serious. >> i knew like my replacement was doing better than me, phil wouldn't like call me back.

>> you have to work tomorrow. what is coming up, willie? coming up, the cleveland browns hope to put their quarterback questions to rest last night. and then this happened. johnny football -- well, we can't show it to you here but trust me, it's not a good moment. there it is. on the field flipping the bird. >> oh, no! come on, you punk! what is wrong with him? >> we will show you what happened next. woooo.

i know what you're thinking. you're thinking beneful. [announcer]and why wouldn't he be? beneful has wholesome grains,real beef,even accents of spinach,carrots and peas. it has carbohydrates for energy and protein for those serious muscles. [guy] aarrrrr! [announcer]even accents of vitamin-rich veggies. [guy] so happy! you love it so much. yes you do! but it's good for you,too. [announcer] healthful. flavorful. beneful. from purina. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity.

do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? yeah, we help with fraud protection. we monitor every purchase every day and alert you if anything looks unusual. wow! you're really looking out for us. we are. and if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. just to be clear, you are saying "frog protection" right? yeah, fraud protection. frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you.

fraud protection. get it at discover.com

let's check in on johnny football. >> had a big night last night! >> johnny, johnny, johnny. >> had a big night last night. >> preseason nfl matchup and expected to showcase the quarterback race between johnny manziel of the browns and broia hoyer. johnny manship stole the spotlight for the wrong reasons. chased out of the pocket and incomplete pass near the redskins sideline. the redskins start jawing with him as happens. as he runs to his sideline, johnny football flips off the redskins. >> behind that fuzzy thing is the friendly bird. >> thank you, john, for pointing that out. >> there it is. >> so manziel, obviously, has gotten criticism over his

conduct in the past. redskins won 24-1. here is how manziel explained it in the postgame press conference. quote, i felt like i did job holding my composure throughout the night and then you have a lapse of judgment. a slip-up. >> do you think defenses around the league are going after those knees? what do you think? >> he's begging for it. >> put your head down, right? >> he runs hot. that's who he is. but now you're going to have linebackers who run 4.4 40 running after him. you better buy them all rolexes today. >> be really, really nice. they are coming for him. >> they are coming for johnny. los angeles clippers celebrated a new beginning with a clippers fan fest as they welcomed new owner steve ballmer. >> the ballmer. >> the microsoft ceo. >> this is straight out of silicon valley if you haven't seen it. >> bought the team for $2 billion! high five and chest bumps!

>> have you seen silicon valley? >> no. >> i won't get into that. >> let's hear mr. ballmer celebrating with the fans. >> do we have any clipper fans here? i can't hear you! >> that is amazing. ballmer even gave out his e-mail address to the crowd. told the crowd to call him steve, not mr. ballmer. you can find him on youtube doing this over various microsoft events. >> he is a screamer. >> he's a motivator. >> he's a motivator. >> he's a motivational speaker. >> mr. steve. >> just steve is okay. >> modulate. that's why i called him mr. steve. >> modulation is not his thing. >> that's nice, though. >> very nice. it's been a rough run for the

clippers. >> how do you know when he gets to the really important part? >> i know! that's what i'm saying! >> you stress everything, that is important speaking talent, yeah. let's -- >> when gets to the punch line. >> minor league baseball. manager has the meltdown of a lifetime. >> minicolic takes a step back d he is sliding into home plate. he has covered up home plate. now he takes off his shoes and leaves them at home plate. and he is taking off his jersey and he leaves it. >> why is he doing that? >> at home plate. >> wow. >> that's enough, joe. >> he says to his jersey and shoes. joe mikalik, the minor league manager. >> the players won't look at him. >> so embarrassing.

>> he won't pick up his shoes. that's a grown man right there. that's a grown man. >> that team needs one apparently. >> that guy should of introduced to steve ballmer because i think they would get along. >> and johnny manziel. >> huh-uh. coming up the gop birth control gamble. how republicans are trying to beat democrats at their own game. >> are we for birth control now? >> apparently. >> carol lee is back to explain coming up next. don't go away.

dust irritating your eye? ♪ (singing) ♪ visine® gives your eyes relief in seconds. visine®. get back to normal. losing your chex mix too easily? deploy the boring potato chip decoy bag. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix has twenty bags of interesting. pick your mix.

[ male announcer ] when you see everyone in america almost every day, you notice a few things. like the fact that you're pretty attached to these. ok, really attached. and that's alright. because we'll text you when your package is on the way. we're even expanding sunday package delivery. yes, sunday. at the u.s. postal service, our priority is...was... and always will be...you. our priority is...was... surrender to the power

of accomodation grooveland ♪ booking.com booking.yeah! ♪ all right. 40 past the hour. it was a cutting reality for republicans from previous elections. they knew their party was in trouble when someone said the rape guy lost and somebody then asked which one. okay. >> that's a bad sign. >> it's not a good sign. i think we all can agree on that. >> also debates about contraception. >> don't do that. >> no, i was just saying. it was not a good thing. >> it didn't work with them. >> republican women a bad thing. >> and turn them off. this midterm election the gop is trying to hard nod to repeat the mistakes of todd aiken and

richard murdoch. as elise viebeck reports, she joins us to explain. are they for birth control now? >> we have always been for birth control, well, most of us. >> as joe said, very few republicans on record these days saying that they oppose birth control per se. but what they are saying on the campaign trail now is women shouldn't have to visit a doctor in order to get the pill which mika, as you and i know, women can take for years on end and have to visit the doctor sometimes multiple times a year just to get a piece of paper to go fill that prescription. what republican candidates are saying in order to neutralize this very tough debate for them is, hey, maybe we should just make the bill available over the counter and they think this is generating some positive buzz. >> that's a huge leap from having your insurance company and they cover viagra and issues

about insurance companies not covering birth control. i don't know who is nelson on the lines on the republican party to go buy this over the counter. >> this is an idea endorsed by the american college of object take strir obstetricians and gynecologies. there are a lot of democrats who believe this is common sense. at the same time, they don't want to give up this debate against republicans because they feel like it's a winner for them. think about the headlines that have been dragging down republicans on birth control for years now. they talk about how employers should be able to not cover birth control if they have a religious objection and many persons support parenthood amendments which ban forms of birth control. democrats want to allow them to keep that position' not allow to take them to take over the debate on this new idea. >> if republicans start pushing this, are democrats really going to stand up? i can't imagine even harry reid

would stand in the way of this. you get out of the way and let this pass. >> it's interesting. so far, we haven't seen any legislative proposals to this effect but on the campaign trail democrats are not embracing this proposal. they say republicans want to get rid of mandated insurance coverage for birth control that this proposal doesn't work on its face and it's going to raise costs for women so they are not getting behind it on the campaign trail which puts them in a really tough spot. >> who are the republicans behind this and how do they deal with the far right and the base and other republicans? >> it's a great idea. i mean, the person who premiered this on the campaign trail is representative corey gardner. a tea party and elected in the wave in 2010 and running in a close race in colorado for the senate. he decided the personhood issue he said he previously supported and no long does was dragging him down so much that he came up with this idea which, in fact, actually bobby jindal had proposed in 2012 but that didn't

get much traction at the time. you see not only corey gardner, but also ed gillespie in virginia and mike mcfadden in minnesota talking about this as a way to turn the debate on its head. >> let me ask you, mika. i'll be honest with you i have not been to the drugstore to get my birth control prescription refilled in a couple of weeks. if i were a woman i would think like this would save a lot of time, effort, whatever, right? >> would insurance still cover it? >> oh, yeah. look. >> yeah. it seems too easy to me. it's always stupid to have to call a doctor and get this or that. >> a lot of debates. we saw the white house caught up in it in terms of different organizations run by religious institutions, whether or not they will cover it. i mean, this actually can be a problem on both sides of the aisle. for republicans, it's a big problem that i think can be solved by instituting these

changes. i don't know if everybody will go for it in the republican party. >> i'm sure they won't. again, if -- >> it's a good try. >> i think republicans should put it on the floor and if they pass it in the house let the democrats try to kill it in the senate. >> it's been a good line for ed gillespie in virginia. >> has it really? >> i don't think he is going to win but he has been using that line. >> what is his line? >> no. same thing. that birth control should be -- >> a chicken in every pot, birth control in every pot? >> elise, thank you so much. great piece. we appreciate it. >> great. thank you both. coming up the allegations of abuse of power appear to be thin but could we still see a rick perry mug shot in the near future? >> come on! >> more "morning joe" is coming up. our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses. perfect timing. we're offering our best-ever pricing on mobile plans for business. run the numbers on that. well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be... one-seventy-five a month. good calculating kyle. good job kyle.

you just made partner. our best-ever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. now with a $100 bill credit for every business line you add. hello! three grams daily of beta-glucan... a soluable fiber from whole grain oat foods like cheerios can help lower cholesterol. thank you! if energy could come from anything?. or if power could go anywhere? or if light could seek out the dark? what would happen if that happens? anything.

we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet,

buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods. you're shopping for something great. learn more at buypowercard.com

♪ let's do some political headlines. former secretary of state hillary clinton headed to iowa. tom harkin announced both hillary and bill clinton will speak at his annual steak fry next month fuelling the nonstop speculation about her political. >> it's cloptinton's first trip iowa since 2008 when she lost the caucuses to barack obama. a poll showed last month among iowan 70% support hillary

clinton and 30% support vice president joe biden and 10% still undecided. guys, what do we make of this, anything or a stop on the long tour? >> stop on the long tour. blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. let's go to carol lee. there is a story on the front page of "the new york times" i've been wanting to talk to you since the top of the show. obama seems ton frustrating his own party. you have quotes from claire mccaskill who is on the show in a little bit. a lot of people saying this guy is not engaged. this is not surprising they are saying it because democratic senators have been saying that quietly for years now. it's surprising, though, they are starting to speak out. what is the white house reaction to this? >> more of the same. they feel like they have been hearing this for a really long time. you know, this is a president that does not like to schmooze. he just doesn't. that hasn't changed and i think why you're seeing democrats speaking out now is because they have kind of thrown their hands up and realized that it's not going to change any time soon. this is the way it's going to

be. but the thing about barack obama is he doesn't like to schmooze with anybody. i mean, if you travel with him, i've traveled with him a number of times and one of my favorite things to do is look at him working along michelle obama and he finishes way before her and she is still, you know, working and talking to people. so it's not just democrats, it's not just congress, he doesn't like to do this with donors. he is not a schmoozing guy. and the problem for him, though, is that he needs democrats and -- to get his agenda passed and the anecdote of "the new york times" story of him shutting down harry reid over the leadership. >> the ambassador. >> yeah. that is like harry reid is his guy so think of how many things harry reid has done for barack obama since the republicans have taken over the house. and so, you know, i think the white house hate when stories like this come out. they kind of roll their eyes over it. but it's just -- this is who the president is and it's not going

to change. >> no. he basically said you and mitch work it out on the ambassador issue which are obama's choices. >> claire said barack obama schmoozing is like him eating spinach. >> if you like spinach, you like schmoozing. coming up at the top of the hour, we are -- thank you, carol. we are going back to ferguson, missouri, another live report from the ground there. former mayor antonio vil villaraigosa and ed rendell will join us. hollyweird is next. stay with us. at staples. from the customers, to the staples associates. with guaranteed low prices on sharpies. you'll flip out! now go tell your friends. staples, make more happen for less.

we make surprising things. things that push limits and shift perceptions. we make things that go farther, and exceed expectations. the all-new chrysler 200. america's import. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. so get out there, and get the best price guaranteed. find it for less and we'll match it and give you $50 toward your next trip. expedia. find yours. . wondering what that is? that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase. not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit." quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back

on everything you could possibly imagine. say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet? and with that in mind... moderate to severe is tough, but i've managed. i got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. when i finally told my doctor, he said my crohn's was not under control. he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure.

before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. if you're still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. think the tree we carved our names in is still here? probably dead... how much fun is this? what? what a beautiful sunset... if you like sunsets. whether you're sweet or salty... you'll love nature valley sweet and salty bars.

♪ no, i'm not. >> no, your mother. >> in some ways, minus the chain saw. >> oh, yeah. >> that is the key difference. >> wasn't it amazing watching that? >> it was incredible. a great piece on your mom. >> check it out. she's cool. she has got a thing at the quaker museum. you can see her work in september in washington, d.c. >> awesome. >> we are going to be there. >> yes. >> 18th, right? september 18th. >> wow, you're good. >> will she actually do a chain saw demonstration? >> she is a spokes model for stihl chain saws. real people, stihl people. >> last night in this very building, rory mcilroy stopped by "the tonight show" so rory

could have time on time with jimmy fallon. tiger is taking time off for back surgery he served as jimmy's caddie. check it out. >> take turn chipping balls. our face on the wall. tiger, you're going to be my coach. >> i'm just getting the balls lined up for you, sir. >> i love it you're my caddie. this is the best thing ever. >> mine is the big fat head. >> dude. i'm sorry. >> you have to get it there first. >> all right, all right! >> was that the horn? go. just start hitting! oh! yeah!

oh, no! his name is already engraved in the trophy? have you no faith in your host? who made this thing? >> very nice guy. >> tiger woods apparently shot at the donny deutsche store, shopping there for baby gap tees. >> from donny's store to a trip to hollyweird. >> here is your trouble. who just walked in? it's time for hollyweird. taylor swift debuted her new music video and announced her fifth album 1989 is her very first documented pop album released in on account. news she wasn't a pop artist all along is shock waves through the industry. in peyton manning wasn't a pro bowl quarterback he would be a hol hollyweird store.

a manager refuses to sell gatorade to customers who aren't sweating. >> are you sweating? you got to be sweating to have that. does this deserve enough sweat? enough to get some back set going. >> speaking of that? "dumb and dumber 2" is months away from hitting theaters but marketing campaign is in full screen. they play on the film "lucy." the average person uses 10% of their brain capacity, imagine what she could do with 100. they ask us to imagine what they could do with 1%. >> just when i think you couldn't possibly be any dumber! you go and do something like this. totally redeem yourself! >> just when we thought the als ice bucket challenge might be losing steam these two dignitaries came along and totally proved us wrong.

>> oh, wait. that's not ice. that's 10,000 in cash. which i am donating to the als foundation. let's face it. ice is going to melt but this money will actually help people. >> oh! woo-hoo! woo-hoo! >> it looks like an industrialized size bucket will do the trick, isn't that right, joe? >> worked for you. >> that was good. that was good stuff. willie, rob ford, man, he can, you know, put a kick in any campaign. a little creepy. >> the right message, though. it's not about the ice, it's about the donation to the cause. >> "dumb and dumb ownererdumber exciting is that coming back? the next hour of "morning joe" starts right now.

♪ i'm telling you, we are going to make this neighborhood whole. we are going to make this community whole and we are going to do it together and i am not going to let the criminals that have come out here from across the country or live in this community to define this neighborhood and define what we are going to do to make it right. >> welcome back. john heilemann and eugene robinson still bus. thomas roberts just joined the table. good to have you on board. >> hi there. >> we start in ferguson, this hour. so far, the presence of the fat guard isn't stopping the violent protests there. police fired several rounds of tear gas at demonstrators overnight ten days after michael brown an unarmed teenager, was killed by a police officer. last night state highway patrol captain ron johnson says officers came under heavy gunfire but did not fire any shots in return.

at least two civilians were wounded. more than 30 people were arrested. captain johnson is urging those looking to protest peacefully to do so during the day so police can focus on those committing crimes after hours. >> anyone who has been at these protests understands that there is a dangerous dynamic in the night. it allow the small number of violent agitators to hide in the crowd and then attempt to create chaos. the catalysts can be bottle strong, molotov cocktails and, of course, shots fired. protesters are peaceful and respectful. protesters don't clash with police. they don't throw molotov cocktails. >> right now amnesty international has 13 observers and organizers on the ground in ferguson. it is the first time ever the group has sent that type of team to the united states. joining us from los angeles is

former mayor antonio villaraigosa and in pennsylvania, former governor ed ren doll. >> it seems that almost everything has been tried. "the new york times" top headlines says missouri tries another idea. call in guard. last night, another night of unrest. what is what is the next step? >> well, the question is what was done to precipitate all of this? obviy, the city and the county has mishandled this situation from the very beginning. what is next, i think captain johnson hit it right on the head. we got to make sure that we differentiate between protesters who are marching and picketing peacefully and those people who are committing crimes, attacking the police officers, and they are going to have to get control of the night as he mentioned.

>> gene, we look back and i'm sure eric holder and others are going to look at everything that led to these events. >> yeah. >> but at what point? and i guess the community is stepping up now and saying enough is enough. but at what point does the town of ferguson say, enough is enough, and turn on these violent thugs that make up a very small, small percentage of the peaceful marchers. >> a lot of people in ferguson have said that. >> yeah. >> and, you know, the question is it's a free country. people have a right to protest and demonstrate. so, you know, there will be accommodations for that. i'm not sure it's going to work to say demonstrate during the day and then, you know, not at night. >> right. >> i'm not sure that works. i think in many ways, i think the community will police itself and, you know, one hopes they can just kind of get a handle on

it. you can't condone, you know, the violence and the looting. >> you can't. >> even if you understand why the community is upset. >> while the community may have ample reason to be upset, the police is now in a position where they are questioning their every move and that is not a safe situation either. ed rendell, what is the perspective on the part of the city government and law enforcement in this situation, do you think? >> well, first thing that should be done is whatever the evidence is, and it seems to be fairly strong, whoever is reviewing it, i guess it's a prosecutor, ought to be urged to make as quick and as fair a judgment as he can. if the evidence is overwhelming, clearly, if an arrest is appropriate, i don't know the evidence, but if it is, the arrest should be made and it should be made as swiftly as possible. >> that's clear. >> i think that diffuses everything. >> what arrest is that? >> of the cop. >> of the policeman. >> if there is one. >> if there is one.

>> if there is one. that will take weeks. >> well, it doesn't necessarily have to take weeks, number one. but, number two, captain johnson is doing what all police forces should have done in a preventive way. in philadelphia, we have something called a civil affairs unit. we had it way before i was mayor. and the civil affairs people go out into the community. they often bring the police clergy with them. we have 78 clergy members who signed up to help the police and they preach at the very beginning, they preach restraint and they say peaceful demonstrations, and they say let's work this out together. obviously, nothing was in place in ferguson. they had no protocols for dealing with this. so they are playing catch-up. i think captain johnson is doing the very best he can and if i were the citizens of ferguson, it's tough to say demonstrate in the day time because a lot of people work. but demonstrate at 5:00 at night or 6:00 at night and tell the police where you're going so that the police can know in

advance. have some communication together to keep that bad element that joe is talking about on the run. >> so you're talking about the possibility of arresting the police officer. i mean, is there any evidence out there that you might know about that none of us know about that would even discuss it? i've heard leaked information on one side but not on the other side. have you heard any information that would suggest this police officer just shot a man in cold blood in the middle of the street? >> the only thing that i know, joe, and i said, if it's appropriate. obviously, no one wants an arrest just for the sake of quieting things down, but i think the one evidence -- piece of evidence out there is that he was shot six times. >> right. >> and that doesn't necessarily mean the police officer acted illegal but it certainly creates -- >> there is tons of other signs of different side of the story. his arm might have been up. nobody knows. and i think. >> that is the problem.

>> that is the problem. the next step, you know, if the announcement is made that there is not going to be an arrest, if the evidence shows that there isn't any evidence, that could start a whole new -- >> one thing that would advance, i think, you know, just advance things is if they would release the police report. you know? basic documents about what happened have not been released and this creates a suspicion and anger, you know, among the community. >> there is a deeper vetting of the investigation that needs to happen and certainly those facts need to be made public. mayor villaraigosa, i wanted to ask you. as we wait for the hard facts to come out about this i want to ask you specifically about your tenure as mayor of los angeles as it intersected with bill bratton who is the police commissioner of new york city. we can look at ferguson and new york city and look at suburbs in urban areas and realize that they can be powder kegs for

problems. so how do you plant the proper seeds to be able to reap things down the line better, not only in a police culture, but in a community culture? what specifically did you do? >> first of all, charlie beck, the chief the lapd and bill bratton both understand that community policing and constitutional policing have to be key elements to any police department in the united states of america, democratic country. we have to understand that the civilians are in charge which is why i frankly don't understand that i haven't seen enough of the mayor of that town in the situation. one of the things we did, we had about 67% of the city is of color and about that number of our police officers are of color. in fact, patrol, it's almost close to 80%. we focused a lot on making our police department more diverse,

focusing on working in our community. our captains are in the community every week. our chief, both bratton and beck were meeting in the community quarterly so that there was a relationship before big incidents happened. that was critical. the diversity of our police department. a police commissioner in charge of the police department that reviews these things. >> mika, everything that he is talking about, ferguson didn't do. was overwhelmingly white police make up a diverse community. >> it is percolating for sure over a long period of time. gentlemen, thank you. also these protests, as we cover them, lead to other moments as people are trying to, you know, express themselves in many different ways. here is chris hayes and craig melvin on our air last night when protesters began throwing rocks at them during a live report.

>> reporter: we have been out here since the live show at 7:00 p.m. central. whoa! >> hey, hey, hey! watch out, chris. you know what? >> cher throwing rocks at us. >> reporter: you know what? we are telling a true story. >> reporter: people are angry, man, they are really angry. we are trying to. few rocks chucked at us. we are fine, we are fine. >> all right. >> you can definitely see how angry people are and, by the way, that's the way they handle it. we are fine, move on. don't become the story. so we will continue to follow this throughout the day. we want to get to political news now. governor rick perry put together a high profile legal team to fight the abusive powers against him. a judge declined to issue an arrest warranty warrant.

however the chance that governor perry booked on those charges which includes fingerprinting and having a mug shot taken. governor perry believes the charges could be part of a plot to derail a white house bid in 2016 and he says, in part, quote this. i think over the course of the last 12 to 14 months we have been thoughtfully engaged in helping candidates across the country. we have been successful in many of those places to help move the needle for those candidates. and really the hard-core left they are not above sinking someone's political or personal life or block someone from being engaged in that type of activity. so the timing is suspect to say the least. anyone disagree? >> john heilemann, seriously, john, i cannot imagine a judge is going to ever let this case go out of the blocks for a guy that said i will veto this bill. at the end of the day, this probably helps rick perry, does it not, with his political base if the case is dismissed?

>> i think that is probably right. you never know what a judge will do. this is clearly a politically motivated case and it's also the case that judges are politically motivated. on the merits, it seems to me pretty likely this will get dismissed but a bad thing if he gets booked. no one likes a mug shot floating around regardless of what the outcome is, it's not a great picture to have out there in the world. one more story before we get to break. we have been talking the past hour. front page of "the new york times." the article this morning describing president obama's distant relationship with democrats on capitol hill and according to the report, that sense of neglect from within the party is starting to catch up with the white house. the times retails a cold exchange between the president and harry reid during a meeting, the top senate democrat complained that republicans were blocking nominees. especially pertaining to ambassadors and other people the

president wants to get through. the paper reports the president said, quote, you and mitch work it out, ending the discussion. and angering the majority leader. the white house says reid had merely caught the president off guard, suddenly shifting the conversation from iraq but other lawmakers talk openly about the lack of chemistry with the white house. senator joe manchin described his relationship with the president, quote, it's fairly nonexistent. there is not much of a relationship. adequated maybe if something isn't working you'd say what can i do better? and senator claire mccaskill said, quote, for him eating spinach is schmoozing with elected officials. this is not something he loves. he wasn't that kind of a senator. the times also notes that out of 180 rounds of golf on only two occasions has the president invited members of congress to play. the article says the president's hands-off approach has left him with few allies in congress to help deal with issues and shape his legacy. the white house told "the times"

the president is doing all he can to help get democrats elected this cycle and has held 18 meetings this year with lawmakers. >> john, you do the math. >> come on, john. >> in the break, you did the math. you said 180 rounds of golf, if he took three members with him every round he could have played golf with the entire house and senate. >> just the house, i think. that is 540 open slots. 180 times three. >> that is the house and the senate, so there you are, he could have covered everybody and didn't do that. what is most interesting this article because some people like joe manchin is who is pretty outspoken of president obama not big news but the lead with the harry reid episode that is described, that story is hard to imagine where that came from other than senator reid's office. the notion that there is that big a break between between the senate majority leader and the white house they decided, i don't know exactly what the sourcing is on it. they say four sources but who

spoke to reid about it but it seems like the senate majority leader is throwing a sharp elbow at the president in a story that is going to get a lot of attention. >> ed rendell, i know you and i haven't had this conversation but we talk to the same people. i know, whether you want to admit it on tv or not, it's up to you, but i know you've been hearing from senior democratic senators from day one, since president obama was sworn in, that this guy just doesn't get to washington. he doesn't know how to deal with capitol hill, that he gets in his own way by being cool and aloof, et cetera. again, i'm not talking about republicans. i discount what republicans say about the president. i'm talking about democrats who have been saying for about a year now, this guy wants to be the necks president. he just doesn't seem to like being where he is. you read "the new york times" article, i said that last week on an interview that is basically what the times is saying today that these democratic senators are just enraged how checked out he is. >> yeah.

a level of frustration among democrats senators and congress about the president's lack of engagement. no question about that and that helps. anyone who has been an nan executive position, any executive position knows that is an essential element. on the other hand, our guys whine a lot. >> yeah. >> and the fact that the president doesn't kiss you doesn't mean you don't go out there and fight for your constituents either. but you're right. there is a level of disengagement but it's also no excuse for congress not getting together on their own. i mean, we have leaders in the congress who should be doing this if the president won't get engaged. we have leaders in the congress choo who should be reaching across the aisle. >> at the same time, you have people saying the white house has the greatest home field advantage and it is. never worked for me because i'm a son of a -- itch and i'm going to go back and vote and vote the way i wanted to vote. but for 99% of the guys or women that went over there, they melted. they just melted. right? you were an executive.

you understand what it works on, who it works on and who it doesn't work on? >> it definitely works, particularly at the margin but remember also the president -- once earmarks went the president used a valuable tool. i used earmarks effectively with my republicans in the house. >> i bet you did. >> yes, you did. he loves the earmarks. >> look at the pride in him! >> but just really quickly. before we go to break, first of all, joe manchin can be credited for having on his house boat bipartisan like cocktail parties. i want to go to one. and also on this scenario that "the new york times" plays out, just read it and look at it from different angles because the ambassador issue is very awkward. and the white house has had a couple of stumbles along the way. and i can imagine that maybe he didn't want to discuss it in a full room and said you guys work it out.

>> with mitch mcconnell in the room, yeah. >> we will have to revisit this issue. >> he is who he is. >> he is who he is. >> he is not going to change. >> the issue is -- >> the only people that are going to be able to vet this are the historians 30 years from now. president obama won two national elections on the fact that i want to be in washington and do it from the outside/in and not get in there and try to seduce everyone the same old way it's been done for decades. still to come, kanye west is reportedly working on a song with paul mccartney. voters have a chance to choose from dan sullivan and dan sullivan. we will explain the confusion. as president obama addressed the issue against isis. we are going live to the

critical dam in iraq where kurdish forces are trying to defeat the isis militants. we will be right back.

first the cookie at check-in.... then a little time to kick back. earn double hilton honors points with the 2 "x" points package and be one step closer to a weekend break. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything.

it can help your business save money. false. the truth is when you compare our fastest internet to the fastest dsl from the phone company, comcast business gives you more for your money. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business.

23 past the hour. deadly strikes in iraq continue with new signs the tide is turning against isis. kurdish and iraqi fighters recaptured a critical dam with help from u.s. air support. joining us from iraq is nbc news chief global correspondent bill neily. bill? >> good morning, mika. i've just come from the top of mosul dam and it's the biggest in iraq and it's the site of perhaps the first significant victory against the islamist militants of isis and won by u.s. air power and kurdish fighters on the ground. on the ground there is literaturlittered with isis vehicles and they are nowhere to be scene. they are on the run. >> reporter: kurdish fighters celebrating a victory over islamist militants. they portray what isis planted

near the dam they lost. it was a victory won from the barrels of kurdish guns and rockets. but it was won too from the air. u.s. war planes have attacked isis vehicles and positions near the mosul dam more than 30 times in recent days. >> with our support, iraqi and kurdish forces took a major step forward by recapturing the largest dam in iraq near the city of mosul. if that dam was breached, it could have proven catastrophic. >> reporter: their fire power has tip the balance of this battle inflicting a significant defeat on isis. this is the first time that the seemingly unstoppable advance of isis has not only been halted, but been reversed. far from the fighting, refugees are grateful they are forcing isis back. the militants killed this little girl's sister.

her father says without them we never would have pushed them away. they have lost everything but one small comfort is their enemies have now lost ground and perhaps a crucial battle. this was crucial victory because as the president hinted there, one fear was that isis might blow up the dam. sending a tsunami of water cascading towards bagehdad and threatening the lives of tens of thousands of people. now out of isis hands. the big question was this just one victory or is this the turning of the tide against isis? >> bill, thank you very much. >> afraid if the dam had broken it would have been a 65-foot wall of water. so, obviously, real strategic need. >> not only that but apparently that dam needs constant maintenance and probably an earthen dam or something like that. if it's not constantly maintained it was going to fail

so they had to get it back. >> on the news website stop me if you've heard this story before. a grave political crisis in baghdad threatens iraq delicate ethnic and sectarian balance. the incumbent prime minister shia partisan who is as obstinate as he is confident clings in power. other political powers try to dislodge him in vain and washington and tehran acting separately but out of c'mon interest persuade the dominant shia coalition to nominate a man with almost no public profile and no proven or political skills and no real mandate to govern. that is the story of haider al abadi and soon to be the prime minister of iraq. and the story of nuri al maliki the man he is replacing. it's really discouraging. >> gene robinson, we have been been seeking in vein the thomas jefferson of the middle east and iraq and afghanistan for a

decade. >> he doesn't live there any more. >> i don't think they are there. i don't think they are there. >> yeah. yeah. i mean, look. it certainly looks to me as if the future of iraq is, you know, three perhaps loosely joined, you know, units of a confederation maybe that seems to be what the iraqis want. >> let the kurds take care of their area and let the shi take care of their area. >> that seems to be where the logic and momentum are heading. >> yeah. >> but we will see. later this hour, golf great rory mcilroy breaks down his recent success on the course with willie during a one-on-one interview coming up. also, will a surge of dan sullivan's on the ballot in alaska confuse voters as they head to the polls later today? peter alexandra joins us. >> i'm confused already. >> which one is dan sullivan? spokesperson: you can get a $1,000 turbocharged reward card

with a new volkswagen turbo. so why are we so obsessed with turbo? because there's nothing more exhilarating than a powerful ride. and you can get that in places you might not expect. like the passat. and also in the fun-to-drive jetta. in fact, volkswagen has sold more turbos than any other brand over the last ten years. that is a lot of turbo. avo: get a $1,000 turbocharged reward card on new 2014 turbo models or lease a 2014 passat s for $189 a month after a $1,000 bonus. so ally bank really has no hidden fethat's right. accounts? it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. dovisit tripadvisor new york.

with millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. chances are we're already there. or what you want to do, 12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. like super 8, where every destination is super. for a chance to win one million dollars, visit wyndhamrewards.com funtil to keep growing, theys hneeded a new factory,, but where?

fortunately, they get financing from ge capital. we're part of ge, a company that's built hundreds of factories. so we can bring in experts to help them evaluate costs, incentives, and zoning to make a decision that would make their founder proud. if you just need a loan, just call a bank. at ge capital, we're builders. and what we know, can help you grow. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score.

♪ light voters in alaska head to the polls this morning to determine

the republican nominee for senator and they will take on mark begich. the republicans joe miller and lieutenant governor tread well are trailing dan sullivan in the polls. sullivan, the former attorney general, under palin is the favorite here with backing from club for growth and american crossroads but he has been attacked from all sides by a lot of negative ads. but he is not the only dan sullivan who is running for office. >> what? >> yeah, not the only one out there and that is raising some concern and it's confusing voters. peter alexandra joins us from washington with more on the two sullivans. >> i thought you would appreciate this. alaskans go to the polls today and in the republican primary -- two guys with the same name that are running for different statewide offices. while the candidates are having a little fun with this coined,

the voters there appear to be all confused. repeat polls show a third of the voters who are likely to vote today don't know one dan sullivan from the other. >> let's do it! >> reporter: you'll excuse alaskans this susk mmer if theye seeing double. meet dan sullivan. >> i am the original dan sullivan. >> reporter: popular anchorage mayor and shoo-in for lieutenant governor. the only problem sullivan's same appears under dan sullivan running for senate. >> great to have a mayor. he looked around saying, wait a minute, i thought this was my fund-raiser. then he went for the ball of checks! >> reporter: still some voters are having trouble keeping track. >> are they the same signs? >> one is old. and has a combover. he's the governor one, i think. >> newer guy is running for senate, right? >> exactly. >> one of my employees the other day said i heard you on the

debates last night. i'm not in any debates. >> reporter: as for differentiating the dan's? >> i hope they have pictures next to them on the ballot. >> maybe call him daniel? >> stick a middle initial in there. >> reporter: both candidates passed on that option. the key letters here may not be a and s but r and d and since the balance in the senate ray rest on dan s. sullivan and democrat mark begich this november. so is america's biggest state big enough for two dan sullivan's? >> absolutely! >> we did send the other dan sullivan campaign an invoice for a hundred thousand dollars for using my name for campaign purposes. haven't seen a check yet, but we are hoping. >> we might have an invoice that is lot larger for him just because of all the advertising that was gone into the senate race. >> reporter: both dan sullivan's are having some fun for this. we asked could they be related? it turns out the dan sullivan a popular pub owner and told us is

in the genealogy and would offer to do research but he put it pub by pub. >> peter, it's john heilemann here. the dan sullivan in the senate race looks pretty likely to win the republican nomination. then setting up that race against mark begich. that's a pretty big race. what do you know about the like lieho -- likelihood that begich will hold his seat? >> i think they think begich has run a pretty strong race to this point but senate democrats are getting out early in advance of this november election likely to be between dan sullivan, the senate candidate, the former a.g., and mark begich, spending about $4 million already on that race right now. the dan sullivan who is running for senate at least in alaska, he was formerly in sarah palin's administration as you guys noted before, he had a past history working for the bush administration as well.

he is sort of a newer alaskan and got there in 1997 versus the other dan sullivan, the second one who is the popular former mayor there whose family has a long history in alaska, i think his father and grandfather were mayors in anchorage and valdez. a lot of people think mark begich has run a pretty strong race to this point. >> peter alexandra, thank you very much. up next, he says when you make peaceful protests impossible you'll make rowdy protests predictable and that appears to be exactly what is happening now in ferguson, missouri. missouri congressman emmanuel cleaver joins us next. ♪ she inspires you.

no question about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use

and a free 30-tablet trial. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. so get out there, and get the best price guaranteed. find it for less and we'll match it and give you $50 toward your next trip. expedia. find yours.

welcome back to "morning joe." >> just reading "the washington post," of course, gene, as i do every day, three times a day, but seeing that jim jefffords passed away. the independent republican from vermont and/democrat and changed the balance of the senate in 2001. >> which was a big political moment. >> he was quintessentially new england. >> three terms in the senate and in the house and over the course of the time in the senate the lowest ever score for the american conservative union. he was the most liberal senator in the history of those rankings which tells you a lot about new england republicans. you can be a republican in vermont and be way off the scale. something that has kind of vanished in our polarized environment who could never exist in the republican party today. >> i remember having haley barbour about olympia snowe when

they said they wanted her out of the republican party. i said what do you think? he said he wanted her in the party. jim geoffjeffords was probably republican's last chance. >> all right. as we continue to cover the situation in ferguson, i want to bring in your piece in "the washington post." joining us from kansas city, congressman e manual cleaver, a democrat from missouri. good to have you on board, sir. >> good morning. >> gene, you write this in "the post." in ferguson a sense of being left behind, millions of african-americans took advantage of the opportunities created by the civil rights movement to climb into the middle class. yet millions of other black americans did not reach the middle class. ferguson and other such pockets across the nation, millions of young black men and women growing up knowing that the deck is stacked against them. did michael brown have a chip on

his shoulder? not according to his friends and family. although the convenience store video suggests otherwise. would it be understandable if he did? might he have wondered if white kids living in nor affluent parts of the town routinely got harassed by police for jaywalking. brown had no police record and graduated from high school and about to enter a technical college. given where he came from it's hard to do a lot better and easy to do a whole lot worse. that about says it all in terms of the plight that the majority of young african-american men face. >> one thing i think that this awful situation does is cast a situation in light. black america is not a monolith. it is diverse now ischemically and culturally i would argue

than in the by gone days in segregation we were all together by law, we had no choice. so you've got a lot of african-americans who have done exceptionally well and you've got a huge minority of african-americans too big who did not do well and for whom the rungs of the ladder to climb into the middle class are missing. the rungs are not there. public education, the blue collar jobs that people used to climb that ladder, they are gone. >> congressman, it seems like we spent our july, a lot of us looking at terrible images coming from gaza. who would have guessed that august we would be seeing images from your home state, missouri, that have shocked a lot of americans. what is next for ferguson? what is next for missouri? and what is the next step to bring peace to this situation? >> well, ferguson resembles

fallujah more it does ferguson. right off i-70 during the 1960s and '70s. right now, we have a community that has been essentially left behind in terms of racial progress and all you have to do is look at the demographics and then look at positions that people hold in the community. and i think you'd have to understand that to understand the anger that the world is now seeing all day and all evening with the people of ferguson. but what we have got to do now is realize that we won't be able to get a thorough investigation by the justice department and the fbi until we can create a climate for that investigation. and what is happening now is damaging or interfering with what needs to be done.

and we really will see the diminishing impact of the hoodlums who have kind of pushed themselves into this situation in ferguson when the attorney general and the justice department, the fbi take center stage instead of having the chief of police of ferguson. >> john heilemann? >> congressman, yesterday, president obama announced the attorney general would be headed to ferguson today. he gave a statement that was very measured and very temp rat. a lot of african-american voices raised yesterday wanting more from him and wanting him to say more and many asking him to go to ferguson himself. how do you feel about those two things? how do you feel he did yesterday? and would you like to see him on the ground in ferguson? >> i have -- i served as mayor of missouri's largest city during the problems we had in the aftermath of the rodney king beating. anything that you do

successfully is probably by error. i mean, you just lumped up and did it. there is no book on what you do or what you say. you know, i think we put enormous pressure on anyone if we create the atmosphere that if this person comes to town, everything is going to be okay. and i don't think -- i mean, the president has already asked attorney general holder to come to ferguson. he'll be there tomorrow with congressman lacy clay and myself and others. so i don't think the president needs to come to ferguson. it adds another distortion. we don't need that now. and we don't need any more people coming into to ferguson to help the poor people out during this time of trouble. what we need is a sense of calm and anything other than that is going to be dangerous. >> congressman e manual cleaver,

thank you very much. up next, at just 25 years old, as rory mcilroy is he one of the greatest golfers of all time? willie's interview with the four-time major champion is next. you're watching "morning joe." who's more excited about back to school savings at staples? the moms? or the dads? with guaranteed low prices on sharpies, it's definitely the dads. staples. make more happen for less.

hard it can be...how ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled... ...copd maintenance treatment... ...that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells,... you can get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. sfx: blowing sound. does breathing with copd...

...weigh you down? don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler.

welcome back to "morning joe." hottest golfer on the planet, rory mcilroy, the irishman the first to admit he is on a roll, winning the british open and pga championship. as he told me yesterday, he thinks he can keep it going for a long time to come. >> seems like with every win the confidence grows just that little bit more. >> this will go down as the summer of rory. >> and we have a shining star at sunset! >> the 25-year-old closing out the golf season by winning the tour's last two majors, doubling his career total in a span of just four weeks. >> your last month would be a great career for a lot of people. three wins, two of them majors. is the game coming as easily to you as it looks like to the rest of us? >> uh, you know, golf is a difficult game. and at times, you get runs like this, where it seems easy, but

golf has a way of knocking you back a peg or two. i'm just sort of waiting for that moment that hasn't quite yet come yet. >> dramatic insurgence to world number one follows one of the most difficult moments in his life. >> we thought it was the best to us. >> break off of his engagement to tennis star caroline wozniacki. reports say he credited that to the improvement of his game. >> what did you mean by that? >> that was taken out of context by the media. what i was trying to say -- it's not directly related in any way. i may or may not have a little more time on my hands these days but that's not to say this is why i'm playing great golf. regardless of whether i'm in any sort of relationship or not, i feel like i'm capable of this golf. >> with mcilroy's game now where he wants it, he is able to enjoy the perks of superstardom, like

dropping by fallon with his some time rival, tiger woods, even hitting the driving range with the two of them later that night at the nike event. >> is that pressure for you, to get the tiger comparisons, or do you enjoy that? >> it's a huge compliment for me to be compared to tyinge or jack. by any means, i don't think i'm the next tiger. rory mcillroy, what he did for the game in the late '90s and early 2000s, no one will be able to replicate. i'll try to replicate some of the things he has done on the golf course. >> he will have a chance to do that next season. he is already looking ahead when he can trade his green polo for a first green jacket. >> the masters, it's the only major championship i haven't won. i'm prepared for that. i'm ready for it. we've got eight months now to find out if rory can make it three majors in a row when the

masters tees off in april. joe, mika, back to you. >> all right. willie, thank you. good piece. you don't want to say anything? >> no, not going to say anything. >> not about -- >> no, we're going to do that later. >> okay. i'm sorry. >> are you going to be okay? >> and i'm sorry about what happened. >> it was tarm terriberrible. >> i'm going to blame nicole. >> i totally blame nicole, she was like the kid in school that watched somebody else get in trouble. >> what are you guys talking about? >> you know exactly what we're talking about. don't play dumb. >> you're the one who brought it up. >> i'm just trying to clue in the audience. >> reporter: we will in a little bit. >> no, we should just -- coming up at the top of the hour, national guard couldn't stop the violence. now attorney general eric holder is headed to ferguson, missouri. we go live to that city of unrest. how would you rate president obama's response to the crisis? should he be more engaged ? missouri senator claire

mccaskill joins us. plus, don pardo passed away. we'll remember his voice. when "morning joe" continues in a moment. give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is, why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax.

which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month. hurry in -- this exceptional offer ends soon. ♪ hurry in -- this exceptional offer ends soon. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are24/7branches? it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things.

what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. you'll be subject to arrest. >> we're not free! >> i understand the passions and the anger. getting into that anger by looting and even attacking the police only serves to raise

tensions and stir chaos. >> in some of the worst urban violence in this country in recent years. >> when night falls, new faces appear in this largely peaceful crowd. their identities often concealed. >> we've got the same you got. >> protesters don't clash with police or throw molotov cocktails. >> just how militarized u.s. police forces have become. >> community policing and constitutional policing have to be key elements to any police department. you have to understand that the civilians are in charge. >> you need to disperse immediately. >> i have to say this is a situation that's about to pop any minute. >> the tear gas is out. >> they're throwing rocks at us. >> it's gotten very, very, very hairy here, very quickly. >> we're going to solve this. we're going to have to do it together. i am not going to let criminals

define this neighborhood and define what we're going to do to make it right. >> it is 8:00 am on the east coast. 5:00 am on the west coast. time to wake up. take a live look at new york city. with us on set, john hallman, eugene robinson. and in washington, carol lee. we have a lot to get to. don pardo. >> yeah. >> passed away. 38 seasons of snl. you know the voice? >> of course. >> of course. >> we all know the voice. it was weird. i went back on apple tv and i stumbled across "saturday night live," the first season up right now. >> 96 years old. >> like '75 and '76. i went back. and it was just -- it's don pardo. >> don pardo. >> oh, my god! for those of you who don't know the voice, take a quick listen. >> they know the voice. >> it's "saturday night live."

>> and, willie, don pardo was the voice of nbc for just decades. >> as things change, some things are constant. >> yes. >> the music on snl and his voice. those two things. and he had a lifetime contract at nbc, started 1944 doing radio and went right up till the end. 1944, he started. >> can i --

a lot of political new this is morning. first we want to start in ferguson. so far the presence of the national guard isn't stopping the violent protests in ferguson, missouri. police fired several rounds of tear gas at demonstrators overnight, ten days after michael brown, an unarmed teenager, was killed by police. last night, state highway patrol captain ron johnson says officers came under heavy gunfire but did not fire any shots in return. at least two civilians were wounded. more than 30 people were arrested. captain johnson is urging those looking to protest peacefully to do so during the day so police can focus on those committeeing crimes after hours.

>> anyone who has been at these protests understands that there is a dangerous dynamic in the night. it allows a small number of agie crowd and create chaos. the catalyst 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. >> right now, amnesty international has 13 observers and organizers on the ground in ferguson. it is the first time ever the group has sent that type of team to the united states. >> joining us from ferguson, missouri, tell us about last night. watching the pictures live last night, for the better part of the evening it looked like peaceful protesters on one side and you had police kind of

standing in line. a bit of a standoff. not much violence. then something took a turn, i don't know i guess around midnight or so, and the tear gas started flying. what happened there? >> once again, the peace here in ferguson kind of hung by a string. as you mentioned, there was this standoff where protesters who had been marching peacefully, up and down the side of the street decided to kind of gather in the center and link arms. still, they were loud, but not overly aggressive. a few plastic bottles came flying into the air where police officers were standing. then something happened. i'm not exactly sure what happened. i'm not sure what happened, but the tear gas canisters were flung into the crowd. you could hear what sounded to be like percussion grenades, punctu punctuated again by gun shots. while the majority of the protesters had been peaceful, something happened. and there seems to be a criminal element kind of buried within the ranks of those protesters.

>> jean robinson is with us and has a question for you. >> trymaine, who are the violent protesters, the ones who are not demonstrating peacefully? could you describe them? young, old, male, female, from in town, out of town? who are they? >> reporter: well, it's still kind of hard to tell. again, they are kind of hidden in plain sight. certainly some of the more aggressive agitators are young people, young men. again, according to captain on, among the 30 arrests were people from as far away as california and new york. so a bunch of people, including community organizers last night who helped to keep the peace said there are agent provocators within the ranks of the protesters. the crowd so thick it's hard to identify who is a criminal and who is a protester. >> obviously, early on, when the tear gas was flying, when you

had the local ferguson cops in charge, it caused a lot of unrest in the community. what happens the response been since ron johnson has been out there, son of ferguson? the tear gas is still flying at night when these people are looting and this small element breaking the law. but what's the reaction in the day? is there just as much distrust of law enforcement, or does this move make a big difference after nights like last night? >> right. captain johnson's presence has been, you know, marked -- dynamic shift in the way the police interacted with the people. on any given day, you see kevin johnson out there. he is hugging people, shaking hands. he is actually giving them time. press is surrounding him. residents are surrounding him. protesters are surrounding him, barking questions at him,

occasional insult, and he handles it with grace and poise. there is a big difference. last night there seemed to be a great deal of restraint before the tear gas was fired. days ago during one of the worst nights i saw one bottle fly and heard it hit one of the police trucks and within 20 seconds, they were unloading tear gas canisters. last night there were several bottles thrown at officers and they used restraint. i think that's directly connected to captain johnson. he is of this community and sees himself as one of them. he has marched with these protesters and understands he wants the community to move on. one person mentioned that, you know, something about mike brown is no longer -- he said i want to make sure all the mike browns in this community have opportunities. it's a big difference of him being there and what we had before. white house announced attorney general eric holder -- eric holder will actually be going to ferguson tomorrow. same story.

president obama will send him there. a hasty press conference yesterday, the president spoke on the situation in ferguson. >> i understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of michael brown. giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos. there is no excuse for excessive force by police or any action that denies people the right to protest peacefully. so, to a community in ferguson that is rightly hurting and looking for answers, let me call once again for us to seek some understanding whether than simply holler at each other. let's seek to heal rather than to wound each other. as americans, we have to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity. >> have you considered going yourself? is there more that you can personally do, not just for

ferguson, but for communities that may also feel that kind of tension? >> i have to be very careful about not prejudging these events before investigations are completed. you know, the doj works for me. when they're conducting investigation, i have to make sure that i don't look like i'm putting my thumb on the scales one way or the other. >> mika, that's a perfect call. and, again, people on the far right are going to hate him for it. people on the far left are going to hate him for it. that is actually a reasoned approach. >> look, i think it's a very fine line that he's walking. >> right. >> it's a dangerous situation on a number of levels. and sending eric holder -- i've been in contact with eric holder the past few months on other issues. our kids went to the same school. we talked about the issue of this. he talked about going to ferguson. why are you laughing? >> no reason. >> what? >> nothing. nothing. >> this is a very good move for eric holder. >> the neighborhood is all i'm

thinking. >> what? >> you guys have open relations with china, your kids go to school with eric holder's. i want to live in that zip code. >> the problem is, willie, eric, we all like. he is a lightning rod. doesn't this seem like a smart move for the president to do? >> he handled it well. gene, if you were watching online yesterday many prominent african-americans, most of them progressives were very upset with that press conference. some of them called it loveless. they accused him of cosby-ism. what does that mean? >> cosby-ism is a pretty good thing to shoot for. >> in this context, i think it means playing the victim. >> what? >> that's what it's supposed to mean. >> wait. before we get to -- hold on.

let's stop here. bill cosby has no cred on the street? it's cosby-ism? >> very controversial in the way he expressed his views which, in fact, have been expressed by -- >> everybody. >> millions of people including -- >> everybody. >> al sharpton was talking about rap culture. >> exactly. >> jackson has been talking about it for years and years and years. >> right. >> the interesting thing about the president's reaction is that it was kind of -- and deliberately so. he wants to know the facts of what happened t wasn't personal in the way he talked about trayvon martin, for example, and if i had a son, he would look like trayvon martin. he didn't -- it wasn't a personal expression of anguish and sorrow. it was -- you know, it was reserved. >> that was a smart way to be. because we know what happened

with trayvon. like immediately we knew that this poor young man was walking through a white neighborhood and a guy chased after him. and people said stay away from him. and because of this -- we know what happened there. we still don't know what happened here. that's why wha we need our president to do, to actually show some restraint. >> by sending the attorney general, i think, is sending a strong message. >> a pretty good move. and people on the right are going to hate seeing eric holder go up there, too. >> i think it's the sweater that hurt cosby in terms of street cred. >> you think so? >> the sweater. >> run dmz, all three of them were wearing those sweaters. >> what's so striking about that press conference to me, though, if you think about where barack obama would have wanted to be six years into his presidency, having a press conference in which the two most searing and top of mind issues are the american role in iraq and a race riot in, say, middle america,

it's hard to imagine he could have ever thought this is where i will be six years into my administration. >> do you know what else is hard to imagine, in 2014, we're having this happen. and it seems to happen every year. we seem to have an issue like this every year that shows that we still have, mika, this racial divide in america on some level. and it's pretty stunning. >> well, it's absolutely -- for many people it's an everyday reality. it's something we need to talk about. as you see with the president and the fine line -- even on this show, you know, it is difficult, actually, to strike the right balance in the conversation without leaving someone out. >> and, carol, you obviously cover the white house every day. what can you tell us from your reporting about the calculation that's going on behind the scenes in the white house, about how much the president should say, who should go to ferguson, et cetera. >> well, what you saw yesterday was a really carefully crafted statement. it was no accident that the president tried to strike that

balance that you guys have been talking about. he is the president of the united states. he is not looking to put his thumb on the scale. and so he tried to issue a statement that, you know, sympathized with the frustrations that people having in ferguson but at the same time urging calm and more of a longer-term perspective in letting the investigation play out. that might not be appealing to either side, but that's where they see that this president needs to play things right now. and as you guys mentioned, the 2009 press conference where the president said that cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting skip gates. that was a real moment for this white house and they still kind of seethe over there. they felt like the president got out a little bit ahead. they don't want to do that this time n terms of a presidential visit, so many things go into when a president goes to visit

somewhere. and number one, the white house is asking what is the goal? right now they don't see a conceivable like goal where there's an investigation going on. and so the president is trying to appear engaged by sending the attorney general there and offering his sympathies but at the same time, let the investigation play out. coming up on "morning joe," we'll be breaking down the top albums of the decade as well as what current trends will be changing the way you listen to your favorite songs over the next five years. plus -- >> you got picks? >> i've got picks. >> this will be fun. plus, police arrest two teenagers they believe were planning a mass shooting at a los angeles school. those details are still ahead. now that the national guard has failed to stem the violence in ferguson, missouri, what is next? u.s. senator claire mccaskill and joy reed join the discussion. first, bill karins has the

forecast. bill? >> people have been complaining about this summer and the lack of heat. that's about to change. you may be sorry what you asked for. this is the weather pattern we've been in from the great lakes to the east, cooler weather pattern. all the heat and dryness has been out in the west where it's been baking hot. as far as the pattern change, it's been a big change. the west will be much cooler. all the hot weather will be shifting over top of the deep south to the southeast, a little bit warmer in the ohio valley. the northeast, though, still looks to stay a little bit cool. yesterday we started that transition. 101 in oklahoma city. some of that warmth is starting to creep its way across the country. already this morning we're at 72 in chicago, 75 in d.c. that's more summer like and the humidity levels are up, too. here is the forecast for today. we will see a few strong storms also. especially areas like from chicago to indianapolis to detroit, maybe even a few severe storms. otherwise, the heat is the story, as it begins to spread.

as far as the extended forecast goes, here is that area again with the severe weather threat. this heat will really be building wednesday. that's when it goes into the mid 90s from st. louis to kansas city and atlanta. it's here to stay. it looks like this weather pattern should be with us for at least this weekend, maybe even all of next week. it looks like some of the hottest weather of the summer season is coming at the end. we leave you with a shot of washington, d.c. it looks like you're kind of in the middle of the high heat headed your way. some active weather in the midatlantic. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] birdhouse plans. nacho pans. glass on floors. daily chores. for the little mishaps you feel use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster. neosporin. buy three johnson & johnson first aid products and get a free bag. buy three johnson & johnson first aid products

if energy could come from anything?. or if power could go anywhere? or if light could seek out the dark? what would happen if that happens? anything.

[ jackhammer pounding, horns honking ] [ siren wailing ] visit tripadvisor miami. [ bird chirping ] with millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. with millions of reviews, we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov

from st. louis, claire mccaskill. and on set, joy reed. great to see you. >> great to see you, too. >> claire, it's always great to see you. i guess i should say senator. last week, we had this police force that was underrepresented and in this -- now we've got toen the point where the national guard is being called in. we're finding out a week later because of all the buildup to this, there are no easy answers. what can you tell us on the ground about ferguson and what hopes that maybe tonight may be more peaceful than last night and the week before that? >> well, i hope you give me a chance to make a few points this morning, from my perspective here on the ground and visiting incessantly with people in the community. >> of course. >> at ground zero in ferguson and around the ferguson area. first, the biggest problem we

have right now is that the wonderful people of ferguson who want to be law abiding and -- by the way, this isn't a community that had a high crime rate. the surrounding communities in the area had higher crime rates than ferguson. the protesters have now been invaded and embedded among them are a group of instigators, coming from other state that is want a confrontation with police. they are seeking a confrontation with police f i were to criticize the media in terms of some of its coverage, america hasn't heard enough about the people who have been shot, about the man who died after being shot friday night. so now you've got a situation where we have a clash between the first amendment rights of protesters and the duty and obligation of law enforcement to keep those wonderful people safe. and that is what you're seeing play out in front of you. you are seeing tear gas. when you see that, you're seeing that after shots have been

fired. and we know that -- they recovered guns last night. we have a lot of shooting last night. a number of victims last night. that's one of the challenges from a public safety perspective we have going forward. it's not easy. as your reporter said -- >> victims from the people shooting, the instigators? >> yes, yes. >> wow! >> these are not -- people that are being shot are not being shot by the police. the video that keeps being shown, in many instances, are rubber bullets. and those are being shot because there is shooting going on at other protesters and the police. >> all right. claire, senator mccaskill, you, roy blunt, and eric holder will be appearing today. what do you hope to accomplish, and what do you think the symbolic value -- the value in general of the attorney general appearing today? >> it's actually tomorrow. >> tomorrow. >> and the reason that i have been working the phones

incessantly is that, you know, throughout history, the progress in the civil rights movement has largely come at the hands and by the work of the federal government. not state and local. so, there is a natural distrust that is historic of state and local authorities. so having the federal government do a parallel investigation -- and this is really an important point that i don't think has been made. not just on the ground, not just going out independently and canvassing witnesses, but duplicating all of the forensic work, the dna, the trajectory, all of the blood pattern. and there is some really technical forensic evidence in this case. so, i wanted to make sure that was being duplicated and i want to make sure that with eric holder's visit tomorrow, the people in the community are reassured that there is a very, very competent set of eyes looking over the shoulder of every state and local investigator in the community. >> and i think to create

transparency with as much distrust. and as information comes out, some people won't want to hear it. >> the key point, people that we're talking to, people who are talking to members of the media don't trust the local authorities for a lot of reasons. one of the primary reasons is that if there is a perception that i think is backed up by what is actually being done, what local and county police are essentially doing -- what the local authorities are doing is to selectively leak and release information that's disparaging to the victim and that is protective of and would indemnify the officer. and that it does appear that what they're saying is an investigation isn't thorough and also isn't aimed at getting what would objectively be seen as justice but really is aimed at protecting the officer. i would ask the senator if she has confidence in the local authorities, including the prosecutor, who does appear to have his thumb on the scale, to use the president's phrase

sbchlt if she does have confidence in the local authorities, who have already begun to release toxicology reports on the dead young man, but have not released the basic information that we in the media have been asking for. meaning an incident report about the shooting. >> senator? >> well, here is the problem. first of all, yes, i do have confidence in the local authorities. having said that, i understand the distrust. and where it comes from and why. i don't think it's fair, in many instances here. but let me explain something about the evidence that has not been put out there. when you have a complicated shooting scene like this, the only thing you have to corroborate witnesses' testimony, does it match -- in complicated forensics cases, if you put out the forensics evidence all of a sudden the witnesses' statements start matching the evidence. right now the physical evidence is uncontrovertable.

it is there. the federal authorities will have it. when you look at these witnesses' statements, does it match the physical evidence? and that's really helpful in determining whether or not they're credible. and i want to point out, too, here -- this hasn't been said enough. you know, through history when police shootings have been investigated, there have been way too many times it's taken two days. those are cover-ups, when it take twos days. you can't do this right in two days. and patience is in short supply around here, for all the right reasons. so, more people need to be talking about if they are doing it right in a complicated scene like this, you have to take the time to make sure you've checked and double-checked your physical evidence. and you can't let that out or all of a sudden the witnesses are going to compare back with what they read instead of what they saw. >> a relatively small element here that are the law breakers versus the law abiding

protesters. captain johnson suggested last night that one strategy to try to distinguish between the two would be to have protests take place during the day. thereby, leaving only the law breakers out at night. do you think that's a workable strat swri, going forward, to try to make that distinction? >> we're working on several different ideas in that regard. one is i've talked to, yesterday, a number of community leaders that have been very active and brave and wonderful in this instance. i've got to tell you, there is a -- a lot of them are appearing on tv. they are terrific. maybe finding a public space that is away from the business district. i worry about the health and vibrancy of this community, too, as much as i worry about the safety and fairness and the way they're treated. maybe we can move it to some green space and do some kind of just minimal screening to make sure guns are not going in. right now, there is surveillance going on. there is a real effort to try to find the people who are actually wanting the confrontation and

causing the violence and seeing if we can't begin to be more aggressive about making arrests of those people with the guns, with the weapons and, therefore, n make it safe for everyone. we overpoliced for a few days and then we complete underpoliced. i think what they're doing now is what they feel they have to do to keep it safe under these dangerous circumstances with these instigators in town. >> senator we also wanted to ask you about the article on the front page of the "new york times" today. i'm sure you saw it. you're quoted in it. it is about frustration within your party. >> frustration with the president. let me ask you, first, before we get to the "new york times" article. one of these general snapshots with the president, frustration. we've all heard in washington about him, as you've said, liking to shmooze about as much as i like to eat spinach. should the president be heading

out to ferguson or would he just be getting in the way? is eric holder the right move? >> practical considerations now is that if a presidential visit requires a lot of security from local officials. right now our local officials have their hands full. >> totally strapped. >> it is a very bad time for a presidential visit for the practical reasons of -- >> right. >> -- many of these people are not getting enough sleep. we are really taxing all of the jurisdictions on the police forces. it's a bad idea. >> so, we also heard many on the left yesterday criticizing the president for not being aggressive enough. i found out cosby-ism is a slu., you're on the ground there, though. what are you hearing?

do people want more from the president or did he seem to strike a good, balanced tone? >> i think his tone was excellent. he has taken the time. i visited with him yesterday and visitd with eric holder a number of times on the phone and molly, who runs the civil rights division of justice, we've talk aid number of times. i think he has taken the right tone. i'm happy to talk about the personality of my friend and the president on another day. today, i really am not up to talking about what everybody -- the kind of stuff everybody in washington kind of likes to talk about. i would rather stay on ferguson today and have an opportunity today to say ed rendell is wrong. i don't get that opportunity enough. i was at church in ferguson on sunday. there wasn't a lot of cameras at all these churches. there was where there was media people but not where there was, you know, all these people. community meetings are occurring round the clock. ministers in this community have

done wonderful things. we have everybody engaged on the ground trying to reach out to young peel. i'm meeting with a group of young people again tomorrow. there is all kinds of things going on on the ground and it is not getting the coverage it deserves. it seems the sticks want to stay and show when there is some kind of confrontation and nobody is interested in covering any of the efforts going on with healing. >> it's an ongoing frustration. >> that's fair. >> gene? >> quickly i wanted to ask, senator mccaskill, what are you doing today? what's on your agenda? >> i do a check-in with a number of ministers and people on the ground, many of you who have seen on various outlets, like antonio french, who has covered this around the clock very competently on twitter. you know, there's a group of them i check in with every day. i will be in ferguson today. one of my projects now is to

figure out how we can pull people back in to shop in ferguson. it is perfectly safe in ferguson during the day. there are many stores and businesses that need our commerce. i hate to see all these great, small businesses in ferguson suffering so terribly because their community is being portrayed in a way that, frankly, is just not true. >> yeah. >> i'm going to spend some time in the business community in ferguson today. >> on that note, claire, we would love for you to come back any time this week. >> thank you, claire. >> you bet. >> as the sun folds and talk about what's happen tlg. >> we won't make you talk about spinach or the cardinals. >> great. >> you're doing your job and we certainly -- >> senator claire mccaskill. >> -- appreciate what you're doing on the ground there. >> thank you. the president's tone yesterday, we said at the top of the show, the president's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. a lot of people on the far right

will be angry if he doesn't go out, a lot of people on the left will be angry. >> in general, president obama is the man walking in the narrowest room on earth where he can't touch either wall. if he is too hot he gets beaten up for taking sides and using the supreme and awesome power of that presidency. >> he gets blame for the record protest es that turn into are riots. >> fanning the flames, throwing fires on -- or on the other side he comes across too chilly and people say he's not exuding the passion. >> what was he yesterday to you? >> first of all, i think he did the right thing by -- he can't go to ferguson. he would bring with him all the secret service and all of that and inflame the situation more. >> uh-huh. >> i think what the president does get criticized for is his overall cool demeanor. >> i'm asking you, though -- >> it's a function of him -- >> what did you think? what was your gut when you were watching him? >> my personal feeling on it is that the president said the right things and that it is important for the president to be measured and not to take

sides, but that president obama, in general, i think suffers from a lack of -- i call it theatrics. theatrical nature of the presidency is something he has not embraced. there is something when the people need warmth from the president and they need to see where the president's passions lie. that's something at that time american people have come to expect from our presidents. i think 20th century presidents on have been a passion-filled sort of office. >> the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. >> right. >> ask not -- mr. gorbachev. >> whether it was kennedy, whether it was fdr saying i welcome their hatred. that's something that the president just does not do. >> i think there's reasons for it. i think we'll have another conversation, another day about the constraightens on him with the narrow -- >> he cannot win. this headline right here, one headline enrages extremists on both sides.

holder to ferguson. you can't win. zblie think it's going to be really fascinating the next few days there. police foil an alleged plan for a mass shooting at a los angeles high school. we'll have those details for you. plus, how much is your dollar worth or $100? the answer to that question might surprise you depending on which part of the country you live in. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age? [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin

to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ocuvite. are those made with all-beef, karen? yeah, they're hebrew national. but unlike yours, they're also kosher. only certain cuts of kosher beef meet their strict standards. they're all ruined. help yourself! oh no, we couldn...okay thanks, hebrew national. a hot dog you can trust.

two students were arrested amid allegations of plotting a shooting at california south pasadena high school. according to police, they had a detailed list of teachers and any students they intended to shoot. school officials reached out to police after learning of the plot. no guns were discovered at the teens' homes, but they had been researching weapons on their computers. more information will be released later this morning at a press conference. from nbc affiliate wfla, mother of five used text messages to convince a thief to return her stolen car. she realized her work phone was in the car, began to text it, pleading for the car's safe return. after explaining the situation to the thief, he had a change of heart, told her where she could find the vehicle. >> wow! >> he even topped off her

transmission fluid. >> amazing. >> and apologized in a text about taking it. >> wow! >> the woman was so grateful, she did not press charges. >> gosh! >> they're going on a date. >> exactly. >> in the car. >> so brave on her part. >> new data showing big difference in a cost of living across the country. $100 is worth the most in mississippi where it's valued at over $115. money also goes the furthest in arkansas, missouri, alabama and south dakota. meanwhile, $100 is worth the least in washington, d.c. where it's valued at 84, followed by hawaii, new york, new jersey and california. you would think it would be new york. >> i guess upstate levels things out. the city is so much more expensive than d.c. it's crazy. i thought d.c. was expensive until i moved -- >> $84? still ahead, turns out the

era of digital music didn't kill the album. list of top albums this decade next on "morning joe." >> and we're not even like halfway through. >> speaking of albums. ups is a global company, but most of our employees live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business.

but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ so what we're looking for is a way to "plus" our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses. perfect timing. we're offering our best-ever pricing on mobile plans for business. run the numbers on that. well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be... one-seventy-five a month. good calculating kyle. good job kyle. you just made partner. our best-ever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. now with a $100 bill credit for every business line you add. so ally bank really has no hidden fethat's right. accounts? it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates.

we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov hey pal? you ready? can you pick me up at 6:30? ah... (boy) i'm here! i'm here! (cop) too late. i was gone for five minutes! ugh!

move it. you're killing me. you know what, dad? i'm good. (dad) it may be quite a while before he's ready, but our subaru legacy will be waiting for him. (vo) the longest-lasting midsize sedan in its class. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. i don't know if we'll get it in sequential order. there's just no rules. with us now, mike schriber, founder of pitch fork. we met across a crowded ballroom, magazine award. i was announcing all these awards and i said pitch fork. >> you shouted us out. thought we were going to win something. >> no, no power, just a microphone. so, anyway, you guys have put out the best albums. and i have joey on set here,

joey scarborough, who is actually a guy that we always have the big debates. there was a -- the album is dead. that's the last album. >> yeah. >> then illinois came out. that's the last -- no. albums are doing pretty well still. it's still the way musicians move their music. >> people keep expecting the format to die out. artists still want to take a powerful, artistic statement. doing that, you know, with a song versus an album -- album is much more of the cycle. and i think, you know, it's a format that is -- >> going to stick around? >> yes. >> let's dig into this. heilman, go ahead. >> 4 1/2 years into the decade, why would you make such a list? >> we're approaching the end of the decade. at the end of, you know, the year, we're already doing our

year-end list. we don't want to overwhelm people with lists and august seems to be a dry time for any new releases. it's something to lighten the move. >> sort of halfway through a decade? >> right. you know, the best albums of the decade so far, ramming things up. >> exactly. >> we did this last decade as well. >> couple of artists here that have -- and this is mainly indy artists, kanye, topping the list. couple of groups like that have a couple of albums in here, too. >> let's talk about kanye first. why does he have the best album of the decade so far? >> the thing about kanye, clearly it's his most ambitious and powerful statement t blends together everything that he has done. >> can i tell you what make mees angry about this? swroey told me this is the best album of the decade so far, before your list came out. >> it's tied.

>> it's an unabashedly sort of pop record. it's a traditional rock album cycle, too, experimental segues, spoken intros and very phronetic. his most critically acclaimed. he is obviously a hugely divisive figure and that largely comes down to the fact that he's so egomaniacal. >> talking mainstream critics or alternative critics i don't think you would get much argument about that album being the best record as well. you have on number eight and two other hip hop records. to me that's an interesting fact. you think about a general view that hip hop has sold out. lot of hip hop has become

commercial. to see four out of the top ten be hip hop records is kind of surprise i surprising. it says something special about the genre. >> we're also pop music fans, rap music fans and, you know, it's -- making sure everything is well rounded, that you have everything well represented is crucial. i think that, you know, we're discerning about what pop artists we cover. but -- and by no means are we all inclusive in that. particularly when those artists are pushing the limits, it warrants recognition. >> what does this mean conversely about any music, about rock 'n' roll music? you have deer hunter three. >> yeah. >> halcyon made the list. rock 'n' roll is not so much dead but maybe the more ambitious stuff is coming from those other genres.

why do you think that is at this point? >> honestly, i think that just given the nature of things, rock music has been around for so long, rock and pop music are kind of -- they're more engaged with sort of electronic and sample based things and kind of -- in some ways it's easier to create something that's a little bit fresher and newer sounding. >> yeah. >> that's something that we're always looking towards, you know, something that sounds different, that's surprising. >> so let's talk about number six really quickly. modern vampires of the city, i personally didn't think that was their best effort. >> okay. >> sort of more front to back, but the critics fell all over themselves last year, second album of the year, rolling stones album of the year. >> yeah. >> talk about -- >> let's not -- >> honestly, it has their best songs of any of their records. lyrically, it's absolutely an amazing record. the songs are very poetic.

you read the lyrics, it's really -- they're each aligned. you could really pick apart a lot of meaning out of each of those -- out of every line. >> yeah. >> and i honestly think it's their most structured and just their most well envisioned -- >> do you have a favorite vampire weekend song? >> heilman? >> just for you, cape cod. >> that's a good one. >> it's tough to give up the gun but -- >> we'll see you in another 4 1/2 years. almost every day, you notice a few things. like the fact that you're pretty attached to these. ok, really attached. and that's alright. because we'll text you when your package is on the way. we're even expanding sunday package delivery. yes, sunday.

at the u.s. postal service, our priority is...was... and always will be...you. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month. hurry in -- this exceptional offer ends soon. ♪ hurry in -- this exceptional offer ends soon. no question about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your

medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial.

i was talking to joey about drugs. >> don't talk to him about drugs. >> he asked me for advice. >> he asked you for no advice. >> he asked me for advice. >> he asked you for no advice. >> he seemed to be fairly advanced on the subject before i even got to him. >> congressman ryan, "the way forward," look forward to talking to him tomorrow. >> can't wait. haven't seen him in a while. up next, what, if anything, did we learn today? >> i have learned a lot. nada. vo: this is the summer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. so get out there, and get the best price guaranteed. find it for less and we'll match it and give you $50 toward your next trip. expedia. find yours.

wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. i make a lot of purchases foand i get ass. lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account.

and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. [ woman ] if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block that contributes to r.a. symptoms. humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults. [ male announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers,

including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. [ woman ] take the next step. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com. this is humira at work.

>> john, what have you learned? >> pitch fork have neglected to put -- >> you're very angry. >> they put it at number 33. >> very angry about that. >> like rolling stone always put -- >> violent agitators, disabling effort, terms we hear about the middle east. >> right. >> being used in ferguson. >> yeah. >> gene? >> iconic don pardo, voice of

nbc for 70 years. >> can you believe that? >> music and soccer expert. what's next? >> keep him away from john heilman. if it's way too early, it's "morning joe" but stick around, craig melvin is live from ferguson, right now. anyone who has been to these protests understands there is a dangerous dynamic in the night that allows a small number of violent agitators to hide in the crowd and attempt to create chaos. protesters are peaceful and respectful. protesters don't clash with police. they don't throw molotov cocktails. it is