chuck hagel saying isis is more dangerous than al qaeda. isil is as sophisticated and well funded as any group we have seen. they're beyond just a terrorist group. it's beyond anything we've seen. we must prepare for everything. >> can they be defeated without addressing that part of their organization which resides in syria? the answer is no. >> it requires a variety of instruments. only one small part is air strikes. i'm not predicting it with will happen in syria. >> isis sent the family of james foley a letter demanding a ransom. there was no communication after a brief exchange until they received a threatening e-mail in isis days before foley was executed. the e-mail saying their son would pay the price for u.s. air

strikes against isis in iraq. on the "today" show james foley's parents talked talking about a phone call they received from pope francis. >> our whole family was there. one of our beloved priests, friends, father mark was there. and my brother-in-law spoke in spanish to him. he was just so kind. >> he offered us his personal prayer, and we felt very comforted and supported in that regard. >> john, i know you and the family decided to release this e-mail that was sent to you from your son's captors. it was an e-mail you received a week before he was executed. was it the first e-mail you received from them and why did you decide to release this one? >> well, we haven't heard from james app or its since december and, you know, i actually was

excited to see an e-mail despite the conclusions they would execute jim. i under estimated that point. i didn't realize how brutal they were. i actually hoped we could engage in negotiations with them. >> we're also hearing from a french journalist released by isis in april who was held in syria with other foreign hostaging including james foley himself. he said foley was singled out for abuse because he was american. >> being an american, for him, and the -- those were negative points. >> nbc news chief richard engel joins us and kristen welker.

>> richard, isis controls large part of syria and iraq and has an estimated 17,000 fighters. the question being put out in washington, d.c., what will it take to defeat isis? >> well, i think that 17,000 fighters is probably a very conservative estimate. no one really knows the exact strength. it has been predicted or estimate there had about 12,000 foreign fighters. those would be just a portion of their force. they would also have syrian fighters and iraqi fighters. so this is not a small terrorist organization that is operating in hiding. you have to think of it as dislodging a government. it's more like the taliban and al qaeda when they were in charge of afghanistan. and to dislodge them, it took a concerted u.s. air campaign and then a rebuilding effort of that country that lasted over a

decade. this is not a small endeavor that is the world is confronting here. >> as you've been talking about and reporting on about the strength of the forces of isis, and how they included foreign fighters. at least 100 americans it's estimated at least 500 britains. when you look at the capabilities, does isis pose a greater threat to europe right now than the u.s. looking at those numbers? z>> in the short term, isis' greatest threat is to iraq and syria and probably lebanon. right now it's a localized group. it is engaged in daily battles. it is massacring people. you saw the attempted massacre and partial massacres carried out against the yezidi population that lead to the u.s. intervention and lead to american air strikes in northern iraq. we've seen what the group is

capable of doing to the own hostages and other minority groups including christians. but it doesn't mean that the group's focus, its target is limited to this part of the world. the group has promised openly it wants to carry out another 9/11. if you listen to that clip of the defense secretary, you played earlier, he basically said it's a group that can threaten our interest anywhere. we don't know how but we have to be prepared for it. >> talking about general dempsey and his comments,. kristen, he's not predicting the u.s. will conduct air strikes then did you the defense secretary said we're looking at all options. any further word from the white house on what the options might be? any intimations? >> well, my reporting is consistent with that comment that you just referenced. the senior administration official tells me that president obama is weighing all his options. he hasn't ruled anything out at

this point in time. having said that, there are no immediate plans to go into syria or launch air strikes in syria. but certainly the pressure is mounting on president obama. in part because of the foley execution. isis has a sophisticated pr machine. so both through videos, tweets, they have been threatening the united states. this president talking about him in a way, if you will, mounting up pressure that way and then you have lawmakers many republicans and some democrats who are saying that the administration really needs to expand its response. they need to make this about defeating isis. compare that, though, richard, the polls, which shows that the vast majority of americans don't want to see the united states go into syria. so the president really getting pressure on both sides. we're going it get a briefing here on martha's vitamin yard a little bit later on today from eric schultz as well as ben rhodes. in that briefing, we will anticipate learning more about where specifically the president is when it comes to potentially

launching air strikes in syria. >> and perhaps we'll get more data from that. the u.n. saying today that more than 191,000 people have been killed since the syrian civil war began. big numbers here. the u.s. and syrian president bashar al assad they find themselves on the same side against isis, and how does then the u.s. split the difference on this? >> that is one of the most bizarre factors in the entire conflict. the conflict has been going on for three years. and in those three years, about 200,000 people have been killed. millions have been create refugees displaced from their home. what is the u.s. doing about it? you have to think about this as not just a conflict in syria. originally there was a fight in syria and you had bashar allah said fighting against the

rebels. the u.s. was initially on the rebel side. the rebels have been defeated and in their place you see isis. the group that calls themselves the islamic state which carved out a piece of syria and iraq. does the u.s. continue backing the syrian opposition, which is now isis. clearly not. is the alternative to back bashar al assad which used chemical weapons against its own people or do it alone, which as kristen said most americans don't want to see the u.s. ebb gauge -- engaging in air strikes expandsing the conflict even further. not just carrying out air strikes in iraq but going across the border and carrying out air strikes in syria. >> a tough equation, certainly. kristen, you talked about taunting what isis is doing and what lead to the murder of a u.s. journalist, the beheading

of james foley. the daily beast asking the question has it become personal for the white house and the pentagon? what is your thought? >> with we know the white house and pentagon were infuriated by that video by the brutal execution of james foley. but in terms of whether or not it's personal, i think the way to look at this, richard, it raisings specter. this is an attack against the united states one former u.s. official saying it's a terrorist attack against the united states. i think there is a sense there needs to be some type of response to that action. but the question is what and i can also tell you just based on what richard was saying, they are taking these potential threats against the u.s. seriously. it is true they are right now, isis is focussed on fighting that regional war in that area. again, they are not ruling out the possibility they could set their sights on american or

european interests abroad, for example. they're taking all the threats very seriously and certainly the execution of james foley raises the specter and the threat level. >> nbc correspondent kristen welker, richard engel, thank you. it. more individuvigils planned cities across the weekend. ahead of michael brown's funeral on monday, protests took a much calmer tone overnight as we were watching missouri's governor order, for instance, the national guard to begin pulling out of forson itself. the grand jury took up the case wednesday and st. louis county prosecutor telling nbc news the ferguson police department did not file a report on the shooting of michael brown since the case was turned over to county police. we're learning the officer who shot brown, darren wilson, was treated for injuries shortly after the sheeting. as calls grow now to have bob

mckuala taken off the case. here is chris hayes on all in last night. >> when so you challenges like the one you have seen. you want to rely on the pillar of democracy. one is having local elected prosecutors. the other is transparency. in this situation we have both. we have a local elected prosecutor who -- i'm not going to take him off the case. he said -- >> you're not going to appoint a special prosecutor. >> no. i'm not. >> craig melvin joining us live from ferguson. we've been watching the debate go on. yet at the same time, perhaps we're seeing a little bit of a shift here. st. louis public radio saying a thousand roses laid out on the street for michael brown right down the middle of the road. is the town showing less anger, perhaps moving into more grieving now? as we look toward monday?

>> i think that's an excellent way to describe it. we've seen the memorial grow. it's the largest of three makeshift memorials. yeah. there was sometimes violent clashes we've seen play out those have sub sized. and i think that the healing process started. the 18-year-old said to happen this monday 10:00 a.m. at the church nearby. that church can seat about 3500, we're told. we are told they are expecting it to be filled to capacity. that the funeral is open to the public. we get a sense, for instance, there's a peace fest scheduled for the weekend. there are other events being planned. there were two town hall meets last night. you had groups of people coming together trying to come up with a way forward. so yeah, i would say that the healing process is very much in

in motion. >> you know also, that's what we were talking about a second ago, and the report that officer wilson sustained some sort of injury. anymore details about what might be? >> no. in fact, what we do know nbc news has been able to confirm that the 28-year-old officer did go to the hospital after shooting michael brown. we tonight know whether he was admitted to the hospital. we also don't know how severe the injury or injuries that he sustained. we don't know how severe the injuries were. in fact, a spokesperson with the local prosecutor's office told us yesterday his medical records will not be made available to the public as long as it's before grand jury. we may not know more about the injuries and what they were until that time. >> until mid month.

thank you. bob mcdonnell's testimony is entering a third day in the corruption trial. one day after making a new revelation about the rocky relationship with his wife. first we heard the explosion. we looked up and we saw a big flash. it was crazy. >> an ice bucket challenge goes horribly wrong. what landed two firefighters in the hospital today. plus this. se has become the darling of the little league world series. >> fast ball! >> she certainly has. little league phenom. mone davis. a lot of people watching her. coming up peanut johnson. the only female pitchers of the know grow leaguers said it's the greatest gift to watch mone in action. you can find the team on twitter@"newsnation." and this is our chex commercial. there's lots of choices and each of us has a favorite.

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virginia's former governor back on the stand in his corruption trial. it's a bizarre look inside his marriage. during tmt yesterday, for instance, he painted a depressing picture of his relationship with his wife, maureen. revealing for the first time the two are living apart. mcdonnell said their marriage got worse as he rose in politics and at one point, he made excuses to stay late in his office rather than face her at home. mcdonnell described a long e-mail he sent maureen labor day weekend. quote, i'm completely at loss as how to handle the fiery anger and hate that has become more and more frequent. i'm so spiritually and mentally exhausted from being yelled at. with me now is ben jacobs. i was reading through the article that you wrote, the five weirdest revelations from the

mcdonnell trial so far. why is the testimony focussed so heavily on the relationship on his wife? >> well, because it's the one way mcdonnell can be acquitted he's being charged of conspireing with his wife to take the gifts from a businessman, johnny williams. the marriage is so broken they couldn't spire. he ends up being acquitted. >> we look at this, the trial stems from the dealings with johnny williams. it's the ceo who allegedly gave them more than $165,000 in ex-change for their help. he wanted the help to promote the dietary supplements. and in your article, that i was reading through, you say they were pitching it. she was pitching it. she was pitching it to ann r romney. >> out he went to south carolin

during the primary to campaign with the romneys. his aids let maureen get away. and next thing they know she was pitching it to ann romney. one of mcdonnell's aids described what happened. mcdonnell simply said yesterday he found it embarrassing. >> let's dig a little bit deeper on the relationship that maureen mcdonnell may have had with johnny williams. you note that mcdonnell's lawyer asked him if he thought his wife had a physical affair with williams. he said no. but then he said believes she had a strong emotional relationship with him. how far might it go, you think? >> what his lawyers describe as a crush that maurn reen had on johnny williams. if you look the trial there are points where johnny williams is communicating with marine mcdonnells four or five times a day. and bob sent the e-mail. she never responded but the same

day she was exchanging text messages back and forth with johnny williams. there seems to be a situation where mcdonnell, you know, was focussed on a career he was someone who in another world would have been a presidential contender in 2016. and she didn't know what to do. at this businessman came along and ended up paying a lot of attention to her. >> we get more details as you're describing here. it's expected one might want to hear from maureen. watchers are saying it's unlikely she'll take the stand. if she doesn't then, might it get a little bit dangerous? might we see some gender baiting or stereotyping going on of maureen mcdonnell? >> i certainly think we are sighing that already. and that may continue. but part is that this is what they decided. it was their plan, their legal strategy that mcdonnell was offered a plea deal where she would have pleaded guilty to one minor fraud count and his wife would have gotten off and they

declined it and took it to trial. that's as much as gender beating seems disphasefu fufu futastefus to be the. >> charges filed against the teens who reportedly snipped around. former miami heat star ray allen's home while his wife and children weres asleep. why congressman paul ryan says he stays away from john boehner in meetings. it's one of the things we thought you should know. here is a look what is happening today. today possible republican presidential candidate governor rick perry visiting new hampshire. the first state to hold primaries. as the arraignment on abuse of power felony charges was held in texas this morning. and the u.s. state department will hold a news briefing this afternoon we expect to hear the latest u.s.

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expedia. find yours. seventeens are facing cha e charges accused of sneaking into ray allen's home. it came almost a week later. this after allen publicly criticized law enforcement for not arresting the teens at the get go. it started last week when allen's wife called 9-1-1 early thursday morning to report that she had been woken up by a group of people talking and holding flashlights in her own bedroom. her four children were in the room at the same time when she screamed out the teens fled. there's a bit of that call. >> they were as like they were on a tour. pointing out stuff like wow, look at the picture. oh, my god.

he's got a flat screen tv. joining me now is an investigative reporter from the miami he recallarrold. the law enforcement arrive they do not charge any of the kids here. any of those individuals that entered the home. in fact, this came from the allen family in the miami herald. the suggestion that anyone can unlawfully into someone's locked home and an occupied bedroom in the middle of the night without consequences is unsettling regardless of the stated or actual reason for such unlawful entry. why weren't they charged? >> you know, that's a really good question. there's a lot of debate among police officers, criminal justice, you know, observers why weren't they charged or arrested on the spot. and the truth of the matter is, you have to have, you know, you have to have a reason to have arrest them. and they were not in the presence of law enforcement at the time.

it's the first degree misdemeanor when they broke in or intruded into the home. there's no evidence they did that. the door was unlocked. they, you know, according to the statements they gave police. they were curious. they didn't take anything according to miss walker allen. he said she concurred. nothing was taken. so the intent was not there. >> okay. then how is law enforcement responding to the why didn't you do this immediately and instead we had to wait one week before the charge of trespassing of an unoccupied structure was then laid down against the individuals? >> you know, that's a good question. there's a lot of questions that are not being answered. her attorney is not even commenting any further. it's very hard to get in contact with the allen's family attorney. they're not answering those questions. >> aren't they saying that this is the process. isn't law enforcement saying this is the way things work

according to what some have told us. the police telling our producers today they wanted to charge them with occupied burglary, but the process doesn't support that. >> exactly. and looking at the police report, if you look at all the supplemental reports that were provided, you know, there was no evidence found. that's what law enforcement saying you have former prosecutors who disagree. they say just the fact of you entering a home occupied or unoccupied door locked or unlocked, you know, it's there's an assumption in the law you're there to commit a crime. so there's a big -- this is debate amongst should they have been charged with burglary versus trespassing. >> okay. thank you very much. i appreciate your perspective. very interesting story. monique madden as we talk about the allen's home being broken

into. the nba star from the miami heat. new questions how the president handed overseas cri s crises. for what he was seen doing after his speech about islamic militants. we return to ferguson, missouri to talk live with a reporter who has been on the ground. why she said last night was an interesting one. how the army wants to change one of the most controversial policies the line on tattoos. it's the "newsnation" gut check.

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or carrying guns, or attacking the police only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos. >> there's not a racial divide in the city of ferguson. >> hopefully we'll have a calming influence on the area. and people know that the federal, thorough investigation is being done. >> i'm going to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being. and we will prevail! [ cheers and applause ] >> the united states of america will continue to do what we must do to protect our people, we will be vigilant and we'll be relentless. joining us now live nbc political editor mark murray. the president getting criticism as he vacations on martha's vineyard. you put it together, for instance, the other day after delivering a tough speech against isis on the murder of james foley, he immediately, when you're looking at some of

the pictures put out there. pictures of him golfing, pictures of him smiling. the new york times story headlined this saying,. what is the read you're getting there from who you are speaking with in d.c. or par for course and we see it every time? >> richard, this is an optics problem for the obama administration and white house. you never want to have these kind of stories written this type of conversation occurring. but what the white house makes clear they don't really care about the discussions. they would rather say they want to be able to get the policy right and the president even though right before he went to golf spoke to the parents of the journalist who was killed by isis that he went out and gave a strong statement. they think they matter more than what he does after wards. as we have seen, it's been an entire summer of crises. you mentioned all of them. it seems like one a week in

addition to the president playing golf. we heard he should go to the border during the border crisis, he should go to ferguson. and the white house continues to say they would rather get the policy right than to give in the demands on what they should be doing on the optics front. >> the white house spokesman eric schultz acknowledged what you were saying, quote, ongoing complicated situations in the world is what the president has to deal with as he is on vacation. this is a busy august. uncommonly. he also insisted that president obama remains, quote, engaged. and when we think about this, you know best the president is always on the job, wouldn't you say? >> absolutely. they take their command. they have the press area set up. it's true for every president that we've had. when they go on vacation, they essentially bring the white house and much of the staff, much of the capabilities with them at all. but of course, vacation, august. they kind of bring out the different type of stories. we are talking about this when it was george w. bush and he was

at the ranch during his presidency. and so this is an evergreen story in august. and i guarantee the next president who comes around come 2017 when that person goes on vacation, either during the christmas time or august we'll be talking about it again. >> all right. thank you so much. nbc news political editor mark murray. turn it back to the situation in ferguson and the fall outover the death of unarmed teen michael brown. brown's funeral is set for monday and vigils are being planned in multiple cities. as the national guard pulls out of ferguson, the military-like police presence is scaling back. in is what captain ron johnson had to say about the calmer tone of demonstrations last night. >> we also experimented with pulling patrol cars back from the street to allow for more room for marching. that continues. we had to respond to fewer incidents tonight.

there were no molotov cocktails tonight, no fires, or shootings. we did not seize a single handgun. >> one of the first reporters on the ground in ferguson. last night she road along with officers as they patrolled the scene. we have spoke anyone the wee hours of the morning right after captain ron johnson has given the early morning briefing. it seems to be getting earlier and earlier. which possibly means less information he has to pull together. >> i think things have changed a lot here. a couple of days ago, i was running from gunshots and tear gas and felt like i needed to put my gas mask on every moment of the night. and then last night came, as you said i spent the evening embedded with the tactical operations team. there these are the same people that had to use tear gas before

and had to shoot basically rub earth bullets. and the people last night were playing angry birds. they were hanging out. they weren't really doing much in terms of patrolling because people were orderly. and people were walking past them and taking pictures and moving on. >> that's very interesting. you got to ride along with them as you were embedded. did they have the perspective as they were looking toward the coming days as and monday and the memorial service. did they believe that perhaps they could leave the gas masks hung up at home? >> no. i don't think they're going to be leaving their gas masks hung at home. even for me. they required me to bring a bulletproof vest and the commanding officer told me something interesteding. he said we're hoping for the best but planning for the worst. i think the police here, as much as they they want to say it's calm but they know it's a volatile situation and we nights we thought everything was calm and ended up having to use tear gas. they're very much at the ready. and spending time with them. they have all their gear on.

they are very prepared to arrest people and do whatever they need to do. >> what was the difference in their tone in their energy since you've been there since the beginning as you were riding along with them. what sort of distinction would you make about that feeling they were sort of e moding to you indirectly? >> i think they are probably it was probably a feeling of calmness in themselves. i think it was a feeling of, like, being friendly and joking with protesters. i think just from the other side, it was very unique thing to look at from the police side. from the other side, i would remember police officers yelling at people and speaking to them harshly. last night they were like if you want to take a picture, fine, please keep it moving and try to make sure you're doing what the rule says. i think police officers were really calmer last night. they were almost having fun. playing angry birds. watching music videos. that's what they were doing. >> what surprised you about the way they described the protesters as you were embedded

with them? >> i think maybe what surprised me was just the idea that they really believe that these people actually do have a real sense of -- they should be here. they really do deserve to have this space. i think so many people think, oh, the police. us to be gone. the police want us to stop protesting. i didn't get that. i talk to several officers who said we understand they are frustrated. if they wanting to protest we're happy to have that. i think that surprised me. age lot of people think they police are tired and want them to go away. they really wanted to separate people. they wanted to know who were the looters and the reporters and the protesters. and from the other side, as a reporter you want to embed with protesters. that's all i wanted to do for the last week. yesterday i learned it's hard to tell me from a protester from a looter when you're on the other side of a tactical vehicle. >> does not sleep. up late and up early.

thank you so much from usa today. come up on "newsnation." while the championship dreams may be dashed for little league super star mone davis. her popularity is not. up next i'll talk live with a woman who is one of m 0 ne's biggest fans. the only pitcher from the negro league. stick around.

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nancy writebol's sons are speaking out about their mother's fight with the ebola virus. that tops our look at stories around the "newsnation" this morning. during an interview on the today show this morning they said she's recovering and happy to be reunited with the family after her release from the hospital tuesday. when asked if his mom will go back to liberia. here is what her son had to say about that. >> i don't know. >> she is still thinking about it. she's been talking with dad about that. the season of rest and recovery for her. they want to process that. africa is on their heart.

the suffering of western africa is ke-- deep for them. maybe it will give them on clarity on what to do next and where to go. ice bucket challenge that turns dangerous. four firefighters in kentucky were injured. one critically after the latter came too close to power lines shocking them. they were helping a group of students by spraying them with the ice cold water. and take a look at this. chris rock grabs a foul ball that landed in his seat at the yankee's game yesterday. doing the right thing he gave it to a kid sitting near him. pitching phenom mone davis' little league world series has come to an end. there's no denying the mark she left. her team fell to chicago's jackie robinson west last night 6-5. meaning the chicago team will advance to the u.s. title game.

after becoming the first little leaguer to land on the cover of sports ill traustrated and the t female to pitch a shutout in the series. it's cleshe's become a role mod for other young girls interested in sports. many are wondering what is next for davis? one person who can relate is maime "peanut" johnson 60 years ago became the first and only pitcher in the history of the league. she met mone a few years ago and was impressed. she made the trip to williams port last week to see her play in person. a pleasure to see you here today with us. let me ask you this. you have quite an amazing story. as i said, you were the first and only pitcher in the history of the negro leagues after being rejected from playing in the

white female baseball league. you played for the indianapolis clowns where you won 33 games and lost eight. you were teammates with hank aaron himself. what does that mean to you in who mone is? >> it means a great deal to me because i never thought that i would see me reincarnated. that's what i say about it. she's a wonderful young lady. she's smart, she's just a young lady that makes you proud to know and she can pitch, too. and i hope that she really takes what she's doing to heart and then try to really dominate it at the way that she needs to do

it and take her time about learning. she really needs to have some guidance and hopefully she'll get that and she'll get the fundamentals of baseball. that's what she needs most of all. >> what did you think of her fast ball? we were showing some of of the video here. the fast ball, some 70 miles per hour. you can see the dust coming off the catcher's mitt there. what was your best pitch, as well? what do you think? >> well, like said, she can throw! there's no doubt about that. and she can throw hard for a young lady for her age. i could too at that particular time. well, like i said before, she needs to learn the fundamentals of what she's doing and then she can really do what she needs to do. >> right. right. i've got some amazing momee ini

here with me on set. you may remember signing a bat and framed picture for our mile here, senior vice president at msnbc. i've got the bat you've signed here. here it says mamie "peanut" johnson. off signed framed picture you did for her when she was doing a series on the negro leagues in birmingham. you had a very successful career but you decided to change careers, you say, to help your son, to take care of your son. those were different times today than compared to today. what's the piece of advice you would give here when you think of monet as she decides in the coming nears and decades what she's going to do? >> well, actually, it's not only me, but i had a young son and i had to raise him. so i had to stop playing baseball and go back to school

and to get me something that i knew that would give me a salary so i could really take care of myself. and sports is a good thing and if you be fortunate enough to make it through the times and don't break a leg or arm or something that will hinder you from playing, it's good keep playing. but you need to find something to do in order to have something to lean on when you are unable to play that sport or whatever it might be that you're trying to do. >> wise words that we all can certainly apply to our lives. a real honor speaking with you today. mamie "peanut" johnson, thank you so much for stopping by and talking about mo'ne.

>> and thank you for having me. i'm very, very pleased. >> our pleasure, certainly, thank you so much. our "news nation" gut check. that's up next. when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. the summer of this.mmer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. 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.

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there's a lot to tell you about and here's something we thought you should know. congressman paul ryan is taking aim at john boehner's smoking habit. ryan says while he's never asked speaker boehner to stop smoking "i try to sit as far away from him as i can in meetings that i know will be stressful. i just hate getting that smell on my clothes." time for the "news nation" gut check now. the army could soon announce changes to its tattoo policy. under rules that went into effect in march, soldiers cannot have tattoos on the head, face, neck, or hands, they can not have more than four businessable tattoos below the elbows or knees or sleeve tattoos. at that time soldiers were grandfathered in but they can not request a promotion without a waiver. one staff sergeant who hopes to be promoted sued in federal

court to get the rules declared unconstitutional. the army times says the new policy will likely relax the rules for those looking to earn a commission or make warrant. a spokesman says the changes are "imminent." what does your gut tell you about that? should the army relax its tattoo policy. du go to newsnation.msnbc.com to tell us what you think. up next, andrea mitchell reports, stick around. are slated to live a shorter life span than their parents. it's a problem that we can turn around and change. revolution foods is a company we started to provide access to healthy, affordable, kid-inspired, chef-crafted food. we looked at what are the aspects of food that will help set up kids for success? making sure foods are made with high quality ingredients and prepared fresh everyday. our collaboration with citi has helped us really accelerate the expansion of our business

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports" get ready. in the wake of james foley's execution, the secretary of defense warns isis is a force that must be reckoned with. >> this is beyond anything that we've seen. so we must prepare for everything and the only way to do this is to take a cold, steely, hard look at it and get ready.

>> we'll hear more from the pentagon in a briefing moments from now. as foley's parents reveal new details today on the threatening e-mail from their son's captors just days before his murder. >> i do not realize how brutal they were and i actually hope we didn't engage in negotiations with them. >> not backing down, missouri governor jay nixon pulls the national guard troops out of ferguson and he stands up to pressure to assign a special prosecutor in the death of michael brown. >> we have a local elected prosecutor who, no, i'm not going to take him off the case. he said he's going to -- >> you're saying that now. you are not going to appoint a special prosecutor? >> right. no. i'm not. good day,