the latest on hurricane cristobal and tropical storm marie. and whacked or not whacked? one of tv's biggest unsolved mysteries, the fate of tony soprano in hbo's hit series finalry. new details from the show's creator. this is "way too early"! hey, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. it is thursday, august 28th am welcome to "way too early," the show that agrees with tony's jukebox choice. wait until you hear what the show's creator says about tony's fate. contradictory news that will have you believin'. we begin overseas with the latest develop. s in the american assault against islamic state militants in iraq and syria. u.s. officials are investigating if another american was killed fighting for isis in sear yachlt a law enforcement official telling nbc news "it appears to

be true that a second american died in the same incident as douglas macarthur mccain. if that is true, it could be part of a troubling trend that puts the u.s. at risk for a possible attack. >> we're trying to find out a lot more, clearly. we know dozens and dozens of americans are potentially becoming radicalized and going over and fighting with groups like isil and that's worrysome enough. but when we talk about the potential immediacy of the threat of isil, that's one of the factors that we're talking about, this idea that foreign fighters could go over there, get radicalized, get equipped, get trained and come back to their home lands whether it's the united states or any other western nation. >> meanwhile, the mother of another u.s. journalist being held hostage is speaking out. shirley sotloff made a passionate plea that held james foley and threatened to murder her son stephen as well. >> since stephen's capture, i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches

that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> president obama is also considering a new humanitarian relief operation about 100 miles north of baghdad. up to 15,000 shiite turkmen are there without food and water currently and republican senate majority leader said he supports the president's strategy against isis and predicts many lawmakers will back him if he asks congress for its support. a texas father has been acquitted of murder. david bajas was accused of shooting to death a drunk driver who killed both of his children in a car wreck. his family members were in tears in the courtroom just moments after a jury found him not guilty. nearly two years ago, that's

when jose banda's car slammed into his disabled truck. he and his sons david and caleb were pushing ate long the road when banda slams into them killing the boys. the prosecutors claims he went home, got a gun, came back to the scene and shot banda in the head. but in the end, the jury acquitted barajas and the father emerged to applause as he spoke to family and media. >> how does it feel, david? >> a lot of weight lifted off my back. i'm still destroyed. i'm missing my sons. always and forever. it's been a lot of weight lifted. but i'm still hurt. i'm still hurt, very hurt. >> the senator is making the media rounds for her new book revealing offensive comments she endured in office. the book "off the sidelines" is part biography and action for the women's movement and "people" magazine details the more uncomfortable moments in the book.

while in the congressional gym, an older male colleague told her, good thing you're working out because you wouldn't want to get porky. on a separate occasion after she had lost 50 pounds a member of the senate squeezed her stomach saying don't lose too much weight now, i like my girls chubby. a new report has bad news for the republican party's efforts to win over women as it looks to take back the senate and return to the white house. an exclusive report states a study ordered by two republican groups found that female voters feel the party is stuck in the past. they also said the gop was intoll ranerant and lacked compassion. 50% of women had an unfavorable view of the republican party compared to 39% for democrats and the study found the top four issues for women are the economy, health care, education, jobs. all issues that benefited democrats. and female voters believe that equal pay for equal work is the policy that would help women the most.

right now the fbi and secret service are looking into weather russian hackers are behind recent attacks on j.p. morgan chase and other u.s. banks. according to bloomberg news, officials are investigating the incident as pos ubl retaliation for u.s. sanctions against russia over ukraine. steve sedgwick joins us live with more on this from london. >> good morning. what this probe is doing is looking at whether j.p. morgan and other financial institutions in the united states and in europe were subject to attacks from hackers that were state sponsored. this is the point. j.p. morgan said we get people trying to hack us every single day. we have multiple levels of defense. the difference it time around is because relations are so bad over in ukraine between the rest and russia, that's what state sponsored? some are saying this is so sofisticated that they had to have state sponsoring. early stage. neither the fbi or jp morgan are confirming they believe i was the russians.

elsewhere, interesting story going on at uber. they've been accused of actually sending out what is called brand ambassadors to ask their own drivers a lot of questions and trying to get them to migrate to the uber service. this is part of the supplying long term operational growth which is being admitted to by uber in a very aggressive way between it and his rivals. >> that is a fascinating story. they talk about burner phones that uber is using and different things they've been trying to figure out a way to combat the competitiveness of lift. also steve, the story about a new york city invest. executive that is accused of insider trading. what are the details of this one? >> so this is michael lucarelli. what is new about a guy accused of insider trading, he is indicted on securities fraud, accused of half a million in illegal profit. cnbc crew and a couple reporters were outside the court in manhattan. he decided to run off.

he ran off even after his sandals fell off. so he was a barefoot escapee so to speak from the cnbc camera. he is fast. yeah. >> absolutely. >> former director of marketing intelligence. clearly on his lunch break he does go to the gym and hit the treadmill. >> he is fit. >> real quickly steve before i let you go. if we can pull up the boards, we see a mixed bag yesterday though. green arrows for the dow and the s&p 500 and the psychological barriers still above 2,000. what do you expect today? >> yeah. there is another light volume. not everybody's gone back to the desk after the summer holidays. light volume day. retail stocks are doing well. best month since october 2011. what is interesting today, let's take a look at gdp. everyone will recall had a big bounce back in the u.s. economy in the second quarter. maybe a slight revision down to 3.8% from the previous figure of 4%. elsewhere, pending home sales, we've also got weekly jobless numbers for everyone to look out

for. >> all right, steve, thank you, sir. appreciate it v a good day. all right, he says he's not running but a brand new poll shows mitt romney is still the favorite among republican voters in iowa for 2016. a poll today shows the 2012 republican presidential nominee has the support of 35% of likely caucus voters. 10% are undecided with 9% backing mike huckabee. without romney's name in the poll, the top choice is undecided. 17%. mike huckabee and chris christie poll in the low single digits. and we talked about the white house bid for romney. that is only increasing after he left the door slightly open in a radio interview earlier this week. >> i know you're going to press. but, you know, this is something we gave a lot of thought to when early on i decided we're not rupiru running this time. again, we said, look, i have had the chance of running. i didn't win. someone else has a better chance than i do.

and that's what we believe. and that's why i'm not running. and, you noi, circumstances can change but i'm just not going to let my head go there. i remember that great line from "dumb & dumber" where -- >> so you're telling me i have a chance? >> there you go. you remember. yes. one of a million. >> "dumb & dumber." romney later clarifying what that one in a million chance would be. >> well, you know, let's say all the guys that are running all came together and said we can't do it. you must do it. that's the one in a million we're thinking about. >> all right. so much difference story for democrats in iowa. 66% of likely caucus voters support hillary clinton followed by senator elizabeth warren and vice president joe biden. so this brings us to our twitter question for you this morning. do you think that mitt romney should make a run for it come 2016 or is it time for somebody new on right? give us your most creative answers. we'll put the best ones coming up later on in the show.

really interesting to think about him that one in a million chance. still ahead on "way too early," a story of heroism turns out to be a falsehood. why usc football player josh shaw hired a criminal defense attorney. and later -- ♪ when i wake up in the morning ♪ >> viva the 90s. a sneak peek of the upcoming and unauthorized "save by the mbell movie. it is so bad, it is great. "way too early" will be right back. >> they moved today 200,000 strong down washington, d.c., in what is easily the most massive demonstration ever seen in the capital or in the nation. ♪ ♪

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time for sports. we'll start with this show. josh shaw now suspended indefinitely after admitting he lied about how he suffered his ankle injuries. the sexual said in a statement yesterday, so shaw first said he hurt himself on saturday night after jumping from a second story balcony to save his 7-year-old nephew who was struggling in the pool. now part of the school statement include ed comments from the he coach who said we're extremely disappointed in josh. he let us all down. as i have said, nothing in his background led us to doubt him when he told us of his injuries. nor did anything after our initial vetting of the story. meanwhile, shaw retained criminal defense lawyer who in the past has represented celebrities including rihanna and snoop dogg. he released a statement confirming that he injured himself if a fall but did not

specify any further details and he said in a phone interview, so far, there is nothing criminal about this whatsoever. we'll continue to follow that and bring you updates there. cleveland browns wide receiver josh gordon will miss the entire season after the nfl upheld the suspension for a failed test on marijuana. in a statement released by the players association, he apologized to his team, expressed discontent with the league's discretion in the judgment of this case. technically gordon is suspended indefinitely but is eligible for reenstatement following the 2014 season. spip spin is now apologizing after receiving criticism for a report on how michael sam is fitting in with fellow players that included details on his showering habits with teammates. they released a statement saying espn regrets the manner in which we presented our report. clearly on tuesday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on lgbt related topics. st. louis rams coach jeff fisher

called the piece unethical and unprofessional claiming she manufactured the story. he said, "she was out of line. she went and contacted several players on their personal time, misled them with questions and then put this piece together." all right, let's switch gears and talk about some tennis and the u.s. open for you on the men's side. we have dimitrov finally knocking a win in this contest after three consecutive years of first round exits. he beat american ryan harrison. his girlfriend, maria sharapova joins him with a victory adva e advancing out of the second round after three sets. then we have the two time champ venus williams moving on to the third round for the first time since 2010 after winning in straight sets for herself. it was a bad hair day for carolyn was knee 5:00y. that's because it gets caught in the racket. yeah. that's got to hurt. attempting to return. she loses the point but goes on to win. >> that happened to barnicle

long time ago. >> i know. and it never grew back. >> long, long time ago. >> yeah, when i played the u.s. open. >> but did it come back? >> no. that was it. a real bad -- >> a follicle fail. >> what are we watching, bill karins? we have two storm systems. >> the waves are very impressive. we haven't got hit directly from the hurricanes. the surf is up almost everywhere from florida -- look at these still pictures. this is from california. this is not on the east coast. but this has been very impressive stuff in southern california. they're saying some of the biggest sets of waves from a hurricane they've seen there in 20 years. of course, the professional grate surfers, this is their dream come true. this is rough stuff yesterday. this is pictures from seal beach, california. so as far as the weather is going, we're not being directly impacted by either of the storms. it is just plain old hot across the country yesterday. we did hit 90 in new york city. so a little taste of late summer holds on. 8 d.c.

florida was warm. we're still hot in the midwest. a little cooler in st. louis to chicago. we even were 91 in boston. it's been a very cool sumner new england. so a little taste of it yesterday. today we're back to that beautiful low humidity air. a cold front went through last night. ten degrees off the temperatures in new england. humid sti gone. this is just a beautiful as it gets for a thursday afternoon. d.c. about 85 today. the travel trouble spot, definitely out here. omaha, nebraska, getting drenched this morning. if we're going to have any problems, it will be flooding to day. iowa, nebraska, probably the states with the two worst weather. >> interesting note as we close out. our official end of summer with labor day weekend. dangerous hot temperatures. >> it's going to be warm until labor day on the east coast. a very warm start to september. summer, maybe it will stick around a while. >> thank you, sir. coming up on "morning joe," author and "washington post" reporter bob woodward weighs in on what president obama faces

with isis. we're going to huddle around the water cooler for sopranos answers seven years into the making. what happened to tony? lewis finally returned. we know what happened to lewis. he had a long party weekend and he's finally come back to work with some answers on tony. thank ythank you for defendiyour sacrifice. and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel.

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all right. it is time for the cooler. we welcome back lewis who had some time off because you needed this time off to do some investigative work about one of tv's best mysteries. >> that's right. one of the great unsolved mysteries in tv history. ♪ don't stop believin' ♪ street lights people ♪ >> the journey, the onion rings, the suspension this morning is even more confusion. did tony soprano survive the cut to black? an article says she asked the show's creator david chase if tony died. he shook his head know and then simply said, no, he isn't. but hours later aist said that he is not dead adding that as

david chase said numerous times on the record, whether tony soprano is alive or dead is not the point. to continue to search for the answer is fruitless. the final scene raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer. the series finale has been so controversial, thomas, according to reports that hbo's website crashed actually when fans rushed to have -- to voice their displeasure on the website. >> they weren't too happy. people wanted to have a more concrete conclusion. >> yeah. i think it was the most gut wrenching ending of any tv series that i've ever seen. >> masters of suspension. but now it's just like journey says, "don't stop believin'," lewis. >> that's right. hold out hope for tony soprano. let's go to a different type of tv. let's go to the behind-the-scenes look at the most popular sitcom of the 90s. lifetime released the unthorsed "save by the bell" story.

it looks incredible. >> the truth is, saved about it bell wasn't supposed to be about students at first. it was supposed to be about the teachers. miss bliss taught my eight blg grade history class. she was more than a teacher. we could talk to her about anything. she really nad every kid feel like she believed in us. >> show about a school, the kind of school that we wish we had all gone to. >> what if no one shows up? >> they will. right? >> i don't think i can handle being canceled again. >> it's going to go great. you worry too much. >> you always think everything is going to be great. >> dude, look at where you're at. you have to enjoy it. >> what if people don't show up? >> guys, we'll be fine. >> set that one on the dvr. the movie reviewers tell me on lifetime and it looks just

fantastic. >> first of all, you already know my dvr habits. you know that it is set. >> it is already set. you're just making sure. just don't tape over it now. >> never. >> now what were the cooler be without a panda story? now there is a panda that may actually be smarter than the aench bear. experts in china believe a giant panda may have faked her pregnancy to get better care. workers said after showing prenatal signs, the mothers to be are moved into single rooms with air conditioning around the clock care. they also receive more fruits, buns and bamboo. why wount fake being pregnant? it's quite common for pandas to faulk their pregnancy to improve their quality of life. one more thing, this panda was supposed to be the world's first live broadcast of a panda birth, needless to say, that is now called off. >> really? >> yeah. >> they know how to fake their own pregnancy to get air-conditioning? >> listen, i would do it if i

get more bamboo and more buns, more fruits. why not? >> more power to you, miss panned yachlt lewis, great to you have back. let's get to our twitter responses for today. we asked you about mitt romney, should he run now that he let a little speculation out there now that it's up for consideration. we have the best responses. how do people like this idea? >> well, our viewers are skeptical. 47% says he doesn't care what he does, the rest has better things to do. touche. and armon makes a good point. why not a romney rerun? full house, teenage mutant ninja turtles and all the rage these days. >> saved by the bell, come on. why not? >> all right. thank you, my dear. next on "way too early," a look at the stories you're talking about in the day ahead and "morning joe" is just moments away. and asked for less. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet... and not a "have just a little" buffet. because what we all really want is more.

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start to the labor day travel weekend. aaa expects it to be the busiest since the great recession. plus, there's going to be a three day birthday tribute to michael jackson. that's going to michael jackson will get under way in his boyhood home of gary, indiana. family members including his mother katherine and his children are expected to attend that celebration. that is going to do it of thursday's edition of "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ haes good morning. mike has been ordered around going back to parochial school. >> trying to get him ready for school is like getting a village ready. >> maggie is ready. >> you guys. >> a princess. i don't know where to start today. so much to talk about. when you're looking