bill, we're so mad you're leaving. you leaving us is the worst new thing in the world today and we wish you all the best. we would not be here without you. now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." it's friday right now on "first look." is america facing a terror group far more evil than al qaeda? >> isn't the calculation that isis presents a 9/11 level to the united states? >> isil is as well funded as any group we have seen. they're beyond just a terrorist group. this is beyond anything that we've seen. >> what the pentagon is doing to crush this terror group. an olympic champion takes a monumental first step. plus just a handful of arrests in ferguson. police brace for a wrong-way

driver to hit their squad car. and the most expensive apartment. good morning. good to be with you. as u.s. air strikes continue in iraq, the pentagon is presenting an ominous threat. following the death of american james foley, chuck hagel called isis is a long-term threat. he said isis is more than just a terrorist group. >> they are tremendously well funded. this is beyond anything that we've seen. so we must prepare for everything. the only way you do that is you take a cold, steely hard look at it and get ready. >> nbc's brian mooar is live in washington, d.c. brian, what can you tell us about the latest on this isis threat? >> reporter: he warns this could be a long, difficult fight. the execution of american

journalist james foley has sharpened washington's focus on the terrorist group isis. >> they are an imminent threat to every interest we have whether it's in iraq or anywhere else. >> reporter: iraqis are gaining background. but america's top general insists it will take more than bombs to crush isis. >> this is an organization that has an apocalyptic end of days strategic vision. which will eventually have to be defeated. >> reporter: i don't think we've seen a more significant threat to american securities since the early days of 9/11. >> reporter: isis is preparing to execute another american journalist steven sotloff and call for other american targets. it's a fight the u.s. doesn't want but can't ignore. >> mr. obama has realized he can't use this narrative of how he's ending two wars on his watch. and we have to settle in for a long effort. >> reporter: united states is now getting a bitter taste.

an isis threat that's growing stronger. well, the president has promised no u.s. combat boots on the ground. the state department is now asking for 300 more troops to secure u.s. facilities there. francis? >> brian mooar from washington, d.c. thank you. they were just days from dying. two americans infected with the ebo ebola virus are disease free and home. >> today is a miraculous day. i'm thrilled to be alive. july 23rd i woke up feeling under the weather. and then my life took an unexpected turn as i was diagnosed with ebola virus disease. as i lay in my bed in liberia for the following nine days getting sicker and weaker each day, i prayed that god would help me. i did not know then, but have learned since, that there were

thousands maybe even millions of people around the world praying for me. my dear friend nancy writebol upon her release from the hospital wanted me to share the gratitude tr all the prayers on her behalf. i cannot thank you enough. >> they were treated at atlanta's emory hospital. they were given zmapp. it's still unclear how big of an impact the drug made. in the middle east, a big target is taken out. it went down in rafa in southern gaza. an air attack created the crater the size of a neighborhood block. and now out west in what might be the world's largest vanishing act. some 63 trillion gallons of

water that's been lost since the beginning of last year. from the university of san diego. hardest hit, lake meade. if the history-making drought goes on big water consumers like california will find severe rationing ahead. a huge victory for partially paralyzed olympic swimmer amy van dyken-rouen. >> i feel good. >> and she did it. the six-time gold medalist taking her first steps since becoming paralyzed from the waist down after an accident three months ago. she did it with the help of a walker and a device attached to her lelgs. on the "today" show, she said she's experienced feeling below her waist giving her hope she will one day walk again. she's now home. renewed hope for treating children with autism. scientists found that a drug that restores healthy connections also reverses

autistic-like behaviors such as avoiding social interaction. according to the latest government estimates, 1 in 60 children in the united states has a form of autism. there's a florida woman who ordered a coffee from her starbucks drive-thru that she offered to get the drink for the stranger in the car behind her. well, that one simple act of kindness inspired hundreds of others to do the same. in one day, 378 back-to-back customers all offered to pay for the stranger in the car behind them. hopefully that will continue. time for sports this friday morning. the nationals continue their red hot streak. they beat the diamondbacks 1-0 last night to stretch their winning streak to ten consecutive games. they did so in the past six games. that's only three wins shy of the franchise record. two new york and the yankees. they take on the astros. the foul ball goes in the stands. look who gets it. you know him. that's chris rock who snags it.

he makes a gesture giving the ball to a young fan. the yankees go on to win 3-0. it came down to two popular teams. mo'ne davis' dragons from philly against chicago. bottom of the first, a hit to the mound and a wild throw to the first gives chicago the early lead. chicago up by two, a solo homer makes it a one-run game. but chicago is able to hold the 6-5 lead eliminating philly. chicago will face nevada in the usa championship game at 3:30 p.m. eastern time friday. week three of the nfl preseason kicked off last night. le'veon bell and legarrette blount both cleared to play after charges. jeremy maclin, watch his leg right there buckles and he goes down. he'll just walk it off and return to the action later.

second half. philly will go on to win 31-21. lambeau field will be selling this at packers game. it's called the horse collar. yeah. it's a massive kielbasa smothered in bread and beer cheese. it will cost you 20 bucks. if you don't share, you will get a food coma for sure. and a mountain biker attempted to break the guinness world record for longest back-to-back flip. here he goes. and nails it. jumping here and reaching speeds of 45 miles per hour before soaring a hundred feet in the air easily surpassing the past record of 78 feet. how impressive is that? makes it seem so easy. >> i'm nervous for his parents. let's look at our weather here with bill kairns. >> heading into a hot weekend.

>> for some of us. >> and the thunderstorms for other people will be a problem. the chicago area this morning, flash flooding is widespread across the city. started about two hours ago. these thunderstorms have been training over the region. the heaviest has moved out. so the water is very slow to recede. it looks like some of this water is going to stick around for the morning rush hour. officially now over 4 inches of rain at midway airport in just the last couple hours. at o'hare we had about 2 inches of rain. hopefully a lot of this will be out by the peak of the rush hour. we're watching the tropics. getting some squally type weather. there's no signs of any imminent formation of a tropical storm or even a hurricane for that matter. but this is all still heading in the general area of the bahamas as we go through the upcoming weekend. looks to stall out near florida or the coast of florida on monday into tuesday. again, hasn't formed yet so our computers are having a hard time

pinpointing where it's going to go. from florida to the southeast coast and everybody there, just need to keep an eye on it. nothing to be afraid of, but keep an eye on it over the upcoming weekend. the hot forecast continues today. i know as you mentioned the only exception in the northeast. it looks like it's going to be beautiful, but not hot. it will just be an early fall. >> this is the winddown. here we go. >> we're the exception not the rule. just ahead, find out what an apartment in monaco and a kentucky ham have in common. plus an ice bucket challenge that goes terribly wrong. and the moment of impact between a wrongway driver and a police cruiser.

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getting down to business on this friday. stocks jump again with the dow returning above the 17,000 mark. and according to yahoo! the world's most expensive apartment could sell in monaco for almost a half billion. with a "b."

look at this. this is called the sky penthouse that would include 3800 square feet with five different levels. and a water slide from a terrace. forbes is out with its rankings of which nfl teams have the best fans. at number one, the green bay packers followed by the denver broncos, new orleans saints, new england patriots, baltimore ravens, colts, cowboys, steelers, seahawks, and bears. and the tooth fairy isn't paying what she used to. time for the stories making news this morning. in ferguson, calmer crowds dominated the scene following a weak of chaos. there were just seven arrests and none of those busted were from ferguson.

>> we had to respond to fewer innoce incidents tonight. no firings, no molotov cocktails, no shootings. >> the calmness comes as the national guard pulls out. captain johnson described how the community is take back their town. >> on the table today you see a coloring book, you see crayons. you also see a sock puppet. the kids there today gave me this sock puppet before i left. isn't it a better sight that can bring a smile to our face and hope to our heart when we can see a table with a coloring book, a box of crayons, and a sock puppet? instead of weapons or molotov cocktails. >> 13 days after he was shot, michael brown will finally be laid to rest on monday with the reverend al sharpton giving the eulogy. the bodies of 12 passengers

are back in malaysia after flight 17 was shot down over ukraine. 298 passengers and crew were on board. in kentucky an ice bucket challenge goes bad. two firefighters injured one critically. they were spraying water when they got too close to power lines shocking them. and in kentucky, $2 million for a ham. it weighed 15 pounds. divided by $2 million, it's almost $126,000 per pound. she's going to hit. she's going to hit. >> across the pond, a dash cam video, the elderly man was on the wrong side of the road cops decided to use their car as a barricade. one officer was hurt but will be okay. just ahead, a virginia law for the dark ages and paul ryan opens up about john boehner's smoking habit. scrambled politics is next. what would happen... if energy could come from anything?

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where memories will be forged into the sand. and then hung on a wall for years to come. get out there, with over 50,000 hotels at $150 dollars or less. expedia. find yours. time now for your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. later this morning governor rick perry will be arraigned over abuse of power charges. he doesn't have to attend the hearing. the potential 2016 presidential candidate, however, will be in new hampshire meeting with political and business leaders. a new poll finds republican senate candidate scott brown in a dead heat with jean shaheen.

he trailed by two points today. last month he was trailed shaheen by 12 points. this sounds like a story out of the late 17th century. they are banning magic arts which includes fortune telling. the debate started after a local tarot card reader was asked to stop her craft in this antique store. supporters of the ban say repealing the law will bring about crime. the council is taking steps to remove the code that prohibits fortune telling. ♪ reunited and it feels so good ♪ oh, and there you have it. that reunion. it was last night former republican presidential candidate mitt romney and paul ryan together for the first time since their failed 2012 campaign bid. take a listen to their responses when asked who should run for president next.

>> i've got to say him. >> he's generous. but i had my turn. it's his turn now. >> after the interview saying, quote, third time's a charm. the former massachusetts governor has denied any plans to run again, but ryan has said he would wait until after the midterm elections to make his decision. one thing grgsman ryan is candid about, his disdain about the speaker of the house's smoking habit. ryan said he's never asked boehner to stop smoking, but, quote, i try to sit as far away from him in meetings that i know are going to be stressful. i just hate getting that smell in my clothes. and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. as we head into the weekend, let's give you first look into more politics and big political stories. i'm joined now by kevin of the hill. thanks for being with us on this friday. >> happy friday. how are you? >> we're doing well. here all the talk about of

politics and isis. and a vote may take place in september when they return to capitol hill here. what do you expect? >> we're seeing an increasing number of bipartisan congress members to vote on some bill that would show support for the military. in response to isis. the reason they're doing this, democrats say that congress should have a role in this type of action. if more military presence is needed, the time has come and this has just reached too far with regards to what's happening overseas. and congress needs to have a role in that going forward. >> hearing from several representatives from california and others as well. let's talk about this too. especially when it comes to the criticism on the action and the president as well. we've also heard from a former

white house adviser karl rove who's been blasting the president especially after speaking on the beheading of journalist foley. and he said that, okay, you know what? why is he going and hitting the links after speaking about this? it's some criticism he knows well after working with president george w. bush. >> you know, i think this is such a tragic story and i think it's one that continues to evolve. i think a lot of folks are making their positions clear. but i do think that as you mentioned earlier in the next couple of weeks especially when congress returns from its august recess, we are going to see even more of congress shining the light on isis particularly as the violence overseas unfortunately seems to escalate. >> let me ask you this in the little time that we have left. that appearance on fox news with former massachusetts governor mitt romney and paul ryan. >> they're back.

>> they're back with reunited and it feels so good playing in the background. are we supposed to read anything more into their appearance? >> i think representative paul ryan has made it clear he is considering a 2016 presidential white house run. but he also, of course, is looking at potential positions for house leadership or chairing certain committees after the midterms. either way, i do think that seeing them together does drum up support for republicans ahead of the midterm elections. >> and he may sell a few books he's pushing for as well. >> of course the book. >> thank you for being with us on this friday. >> thank you. still to come, first buzz. that's next including molly ringwald's run in with herself. and how to keep from losing your bird feed. that's next.

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time to share our favorite stories of the story in first buzz. i'm an '80s kid so i love the brat pack and everything of his. it's a picture of molly ringwald's daughter and herself circa 1986. while back to school shopping, she saw herself. so she said can't escape her mom even when back to school shopping. how cute is that. >> she's probably at the age she can start watching it. >> i know. and you're bringing us a bird feeder and a squirrel. >> this is quick and easy and makes you smile on a friday. the bird feeder was constantly getting raided by the squirrel. so they actually had the genius

idea to put vaseline on the pole. it took awhile for the squirrel to figure it out. it's like fireman squirrel. >> i love he's not giving up. this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. have a great weekend. ♪ they have no standard of decency, of responsible human behavior. i think the records are pretty clear on that. so, yes. they are an imminent threat to every interest we have whether it's in iraq or anywhere else. >> defense secretary chuck hagel on the reality of isis and its potential reach to the u.s. and europe. is there a firm coalition plan to extinguish the terror group once and for all? ebola free and now immune to the virus. dr. kent brantly looking amazingly healthy as he faces the cameras in atlanta and hugs each of the medical staffers who

saved him from near certain death. and get this. jimmy fallon and news anchors put together something that will turn that frown upside down. this is "way too early." ♪ hey, everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is friday, august 22nd. welcome to "way too early," the show that was asked to contribute to that fallon bit. but it was way past our bedtime. but we look forward to showing it to you in the cooler. want to start this morning with the ongoing assault that's happening on militants as militants offer details behind the beheading of the american journalist. chuck hagel says they are an imminent threat and the nation's top general says it is likely impossible to stop the militants without going after them in both iraq and