this is "way too early." good friday morning, i'm bill in for thomas roberts who decided a three-day weekend wasn't enough. it's friday, august 29th, welcome to way too early. begin in washington, president obama is facing strong criticism for plans that may or may not be in place to combat islamic state militants. raised eyebrows after he was still developing a strategy. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. i think what i've seen in some of the news reports suggests that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we're at than we currently are. there's no point in me asking for action on the part of

congress before i know exactly what it is that is going to be required for us to get the job done. >> white house press secretary josh ernest clarified that the president was referring to syria. and there is a clear plan for isis in iraq. but the chair of the house intelligence committee was extremely troubled. >> this is so frustrating that with all of this going on, the all the intelligence showing us the problems that are there, the president says i want a strategy how too deal with this by the end of the week. it just tells you that apparently we're not taking this serious for some length of time. it was odd, but to have a press conference to say we don't have a strategy was really shocking given the severity of the threat. that's what is so concerning to me. >> a new usa today poll finds more than 50% of americans believe president obama is not tough enough in his approach to foreign policy. and james foley and at least

three other hostages were water boarded after being kidnapped in syria. isis is also responsible for a massacre that left 200 soldiers dead. releasing troubling video showing them being led into the desert in their underwear. and nearly a dozen u.s. citizens are fighting with the islamic militants in iraq and syria. now to the crisis in ukraine, president obama is ruling out u.s. military action despite claims of another major kurgs by russian troops. accused of helping fro-russian troops by sending in soldiers and artillery. and they have control of a coastline town on the way to crim crimea. >> and to release soldiers in eastern ukraine, proving they are working under orders from moscow. russia has up to 1,000 troops

inside of ukraine, and released satellite images as part of the case. president obama is claiming russia for the violence, saying that u.s. action is not in the cards. and remains focused on using diplomatic pressure. and the u.s. ambassador to the united nations had harsh criticism at an emergency meeting of the council. >> instead of heeding and the rules of the international order, at every step russia has come before this council to say everything but the troop. it's manipulated and outright lied. serious negotiations are needed, urgently needed, but russia has to stop lying and stop fueling this conflict. the mask is coming off. in these acts, these recent acts, we see russia's actions for what they are, a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside illegal separatists in

another sovereign country. >> they say the violence left nearly 2600 people dead since april. and that's close to nearly 3,000 if we include the victims of flight 17. and joan rivers is resting comfortably with family in a new york hospital. having a minor throat surgery when she stopped breathing. rivers is known for her take no prisoners brand of comedy. on tv from the apprentice to filling in for the great johnny carson. we wish her the best. and the louisiana governor was going to have a serious re-election fight, but calling into question about whether she has a permanent residence in her home state. she claims the $2.5 million home on capitol hill as her address. but qualifying for the louisiana

ballot, she listed her family's home in new orleans. that's reportedly inhabited by her parents for decades. according to the post, they co-own with their mom. her leading republican opponent says she doesn't live in new orleans. she says i have lived on pryor street most of my life, and now when not serving constituents across the state. her opponents are considering legal action. lan drew has more paperwork actions when it was said she used senate funds for campaign flights. and allison grimes is seizing on leaked audio, reportedly of mitch mcconnell, he pans raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment

coverage and extending student loan laws. >> these go farther than any stump speech he's offered. he know he's voted against the minimum wage 17 times, and tu turned his backs on college students across the nation. but what these tapes reveal, he won't even consider a vote to increase the minimum wage, to extend unemployment insurance benefits, he won't consider making college more affordable for our students. >> now let's get to the friday business news. and good news for apple fans. in classic form, the company sent out inveiitations to a september event. they were huge. maybe five or ten years ago. maybe live up to them. unveil the iphone 6 and a new smart watch. jeff, the iphone is no surprise,

speculation has is all abuzz. what's the latest? >> yeah. this is fascinating, bill. it's a must-have invite if you are a technology journalist. and seemed to be the case that apple would reveal an iwatch, there was a frenzy of activity over at rival samsung and lg. we were anticipating a couple of new smart watches next week in germany, but both within hours had rushed out their own press releases, telling us about new watches they're set to bring to the market. so interesting how apple's mere suggestion, or the suggestion that apple would have this watch announcement on the 9th of september has prodded its rivals into action. keep your eye on this story. we're going to hear some more as we get to that 9th of september announcement from apple. i want to move it on, while in the technology space, this is a great story. google are trialing a new drone.

it's five foot wide, two and a half feet wide, and they say it would be a way of getting into the delivery market for them. and i'll tell you why we're interested in this story. we know amazon has been trialing its own versions, and this would, again, put google and amazon toe-to-toe in another area of technology. the big issue here, though, the faa is not planning to license any of these drones for delivery any time soon. and right now mostly in the united states they are illegal for commercial usage. back to you. >> obviously amazon and google, must be betting the laws are going to change and go their way eventually. and abercrombie, i heard this this morning, all my shirts with a and f are no longer popular, huh? >> yeah, well, you know, i'm in the same camp as you because i just got myself a new wardrobe. and now i'm told i'm

unfashionab unfashionable. >> no more branding. >> apparently a and f is taking the brand off or minimizing it, because there are indications in teen stores teens are turned off the a and f logo. we had numbers from the company, and say thousaa near 6% decline revenue. and in stores open for a year, 11%. it tells you that the youth are walking away from the a and f branding. >> getting rid of the brand. now if they can get rid of the smell that percolates in front of the store. have a wonderful weekend. well how about this story, a california teacher in hot water over a tweet she reportedly sent out earlier this year. according to reports, she tweeted, i already want to stab some kids. is that bad? and so happy to be done with school for ten days, but especially to be away from the ones who truly try my patience

and make my trigger finger itchy. despite being known as light-hearted and popular among students, parents, of course, took the tweets seriously and reported them e to the district. the san diego mercury news reports she has been given a written reprimand and is still teaching. and a toddler is being blamed for something on social media, blame the mom. the mom was upset they didn't give her enough notice for picture day. so she decided to let off steam on facebook. why is there something new i dislike about will's school? are people working in the education field really just that ignorant? the next day the school called and asked her to stop by for a chat. here's what she told the news in florida. >> they just felt like we weren't the right fit, parent relationship with the school.

and that they didn't want him as a student anymore. i was in shock. why would you excel a 4-year-old over something his mom posts on her private facebook page? only people on her friends list can see. >> the letter reads in part, you utilize social media to call into question the integrity and the intelligence of the staff. this is consistent with sewing disorder, spoken of in the handbook you signed. maybe it's better they both go their separate ways. and nfl commissioner roger goodell announces sweeping new changes to nfl policy. and we told you about the headline that president obama made for what he said yesterday, but it was his wardrobe that had twitter abuzz. we'll explain in the cooler. that story and a check on your weekend holiday forecast when

"way too early" comes right back. ♪ >> to state today has suffered a agree vous blow on the coast, and we're not through. it's a major disaster. and there's much left to happen. from 2000 to 2011, on average 17 manufacturers a day shut down in america.

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thank you daddy. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance can be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. time now for sports. and this was big news yesterday. nfl commissioner roger goodell is changing the league's policy on domestic violence in a memo, responding to recent criticism. writing, quote, i didn't get it. the backlash following the case of baltimore ravens running back ray rice who was suspended for just two games following a domestic violence arrest following an sought of his then-fiance.

my disciplinary decision made the public question whether we understood the toll it inflicts on families. i take the responsibility to show that they properly reflect our values. the nfl will suspend any employee, or players if they go against the rules on sexual assault with physical force. for a second offense, barred for a year and face the chance they might not be allowed back in the league. tony stewart will return to racing this weekend in atlanta. he's missed three races since he struck and killed fellow racer kevin ward jr. earlier this month. an investigation it going on into ward's death. he will have a press conference today.

and on the men's side, novak djokovich wins in three sets. and andy murray, winning in three sets. and on the women's side, an easy day for serena williams who topped fellow american lana king, 6-1, 6-0, in just under an hour. barely breaking a sweat. we so wanted her to make a run, 15-year-old up and comer, c.c. bellis. runs out of gas leer in the third set. and she goes down 6-3. ending her u.s. open run. we so look forward to more stories about an up and coming american 15-year-old. now to the major leagues, and a new baseball record thursday, when san francisco giants pitcher retired his 46th batter in a row. 15 innings worth of batters, earning him a standing o from

the crowd. it ended when the next doubled. but he had the record. the giants win it 4- 1. anaheim, angels, a's, and tying up the game. that's a solo home run to left field. and then to the bottom of the ninth. interesting call. eric ibar with the chopper. the pitcher grabs it. what happened there in the pitcher did grab the ball and got in the way of the base runner. the umpire said that's an obstruction call. a's were not too thrilled and played under protest after that. the runner did not score. it goes to extra innings, and the angels, runners on the corners, and hit one to right field. plenty deep enough even for albert pujols to score from third. now two games up in the al west.

and the story this week, the twin hurricanes right along the east and west coast. and the amazing pictures from california with these waves. the surf was up for the third straight day. wasn't quite as big as two days ago. amazing pictures. and sets running 10 to 15 feet instead of 15 to 20. they will come down once again this afternoon. improve at the beaches for everyone. now the forecast over the holiday weekend. in the middle of the country today and tomorrow, best chance of rain. towards the end of the holiday weekend, shifting to the east. this is the rainfall, the brighter the colors, the better the chance of heavier rains. minneapolis to iowa, memphis to louisiana. afternoon storms in florida, and through the weekend, storms from the middle of the country, then by sunday, reach the east coast and probably stick around into monday, into labor day. not a washout.

a summer-like weekend forecast. coming up at the top of the hour, morning joe, and reaction to president obama's headline-grabbing line, we don't have a strategy yet. you won't want to miss mika's must-read opinion page this morning. and a luxury breakfast at an all-american restaurant chain right here in the big apple. stay tuned. ♪

. now it's time to see what's going on on the friday cooler. i'm craving a grand slam breakfast. what do you have? >> everything in new york city is bigger and better. and now one new diner is making no exception. denny's, best known for the grand slam breakfast just opened in downtown manhattan, just about an hour ago. it's not the run of the mill denny's. dark wood panelling, button tufted seating, and the best part, the grand crew slam. two grand slam entrees, a bottle of 2003 tom perry nonchampagne, all for $300. i'm going there for my birthday. >> i'm buying. >> i'll remember that. got it on camera. president obama got the

internet buzzing, but not just about what he said, but what he wore. the president's suit choice lit up twitter, the audacity of taupe, and yes we tan. the president said he only wears gray or blue suits in an effort to perry down decisions. here he is at an easter service earlier this year. many were negative on the suit selection, he's not the first president to lighten things up john dingle offered strong support for the fashion choice. others speculated that they are taking style tips from governor rick perry. it had a twitter handle, named obama's tan suit. >> we all have a tan suit in the closet. >> just kind of sits there. you never take it out. >> dust it off now and then. >> break it out. it's not the worst thing in the world. just when you thought the

ice bucket challenge was played out, here is donald trump showing the world it's cool to do. accepting the challenge on the rooftop of the trump tower, only the best, the trump ice bottled water. >> everybody's going crazy over this thing. i guess they want to see whether or not it's my real hair. which it is. so here's what i'm going to do. miss universe and miss usa, i own it, they're here, they're going to really do a number on me. i'm challenging president obama, my son donald, my son eric. let's go, ladies. >> wow! >> what a mess. >> nothing but class there. miss universe and miss usa dumping the ice bucket on the donald. the als says it's raised more

than $94 million since the challenge took off. at this time last year, the organization hadn't hit 3 million. that's the real story. >> mika challenged her, he didn't give her credit. >> we do whatever mika tells us to do. he's doing the right thing. >> thanks, lewis. next on way too early, the stories you'll be talking about the day ahead on "morning joe." that is just moments away. plac, at the right time. 12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. like ramada, you do your thing, leave the rest to us. for a chance to win one million dollars, visit wyndhamrewards.com 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. but do you really?

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whole, let's get a check on the day ahead. closing arguments are expected to begin in the trial against former virginia governor bob mcdonnell. and president barack obama heads to new york and rhode island for fundraisers. and who are you going to call? the consult classic ghost busters marks its 30th anniversary with a rerelease in more than 700 theaters nationwide. getting slimed, the marshmallow man, that was awesome. thomas roberts has this job easy. morning joe starts right now. ♪

all right, so just curious, mika, you know, i'm a big alabama fan, right? >> sure. people would ask me, what are you going to do? what is your plan? you know? we don't got a plan. we just got good old boys and girls and alabama and blah, blah. because, see, the bear would never show his hand. what are you going to do? show your hand? >> show your hand. >> everybody is freaking out. the president said yesterday we don't have a plan. a what is worse? is it worse if a president says i've got a plan and this is exactly what i'm going to do? >> exactly. >> no, i'm serious. dead serious. or is it better to go, you know, because this is what i would do. if you ever liked me as president of the united states and i was about to kill some terrorists, you asked me what the plan was, you know what? i really't