the next step in battling isis. the president weighs in on his assessment of the terror threat and reaction to it. plus, one of the key figures in tracking down osama bin laden gives her take on isis and whether they have the capability to strike the u.s. homeland. >> back on track, just weeks after killing a fellow driver. nascar champion tony stewart talks about getting behind the wheel and racing again. >> nothing could be further from the truth. >> and office politics. the reverend al sharpton. what truth is he talking about? and where does it fit in the ferguson, missouri, shooting. hi, everyone, welcome to

"weekends with alex witt." new remarks from president obama about the isis threat and other global threats facing the u.s. right now. nbc's kristen welker at the white house for us. >> president obama attended three fund-raisers yesterday, and one of them in purchase, new york, he really tried to reassure the crowd as he faces these two foreign policy crises, the threat of isis, and of course the recent incursions of russia into eastern ukraine. i'll tell you what he said and then we can discuss it. he said, quote, i can see why -- let me start here. the world's always been messy. we're just noticing now in part because of social media. he said, if you watch the likely news, it feels like the world is falling apart. and then he also said, we will get through these challenging times just like we have in the past. the president saying this of

course as his foreign policy is being tested right now. and this past week, the white house really in damage control mode after president obama said he didn't yet have a strategy for dealing with isis. his republican critics pounced on that, said it was an indication that he didn't have a clear foreign policy. however, the white house has pushed back very strongly, saying, look, the president's comments were taken out of context, that he does have a broader policy when it comes to dealing with isis in iraq. you've already seen the air strikes begin. the humanitarian assistance in iraq. and the building of an international coalition. or at least the attempts to build an international coalition. and what is being determined now is exactly how to proceed when it comes to dealing with isis in syria. that is where the terrorist group is headquartered. so president obama saying he's still waiting to get all of his military options from the pentagon. we know that secretary of state john kerry is heading to the middle east in the coming days. he's going to try to build that international coalition that we've spoken so much about. as for president obama this weekend, we're told he's going

to be doing some work here at the white house today. and then later on this evening, he will head back to westchester, new york, for a private event. alex. >> okay. hey, kristin, do you have your ifb in, can you hear me? i saw you took it out. okay, must have been getting some feedback in her ear. thank you for that. our guest is an nbc military analyst. the military coalition, what does it look like now? >> right now, it doesn't look like anything at all. there isn't a coalition at all. there's a lot of talk, but nobody's come together. even those people who really have significant threats here, including europeans and the arabs. much more than we. many more of those people are fighting in syria and iraq than we do. i think the problem is that it's

going to be extremely difficult to put a coalition together. and we won't be able to do it until we have a strategy. you know, the white house's comments notwithstanding, i think it was a freudian slip when the president says he doesn't have a strategy and i think there is no strategy at the moment. there are no objectives where you start at the end and you work backwards and try to figure out what you want to have happen and how you're going to get there. at the moment, i don't think the white house decided exactly what it wants to have happen, strategically perhaps, but certainly, not tactically. we're headed nowhere so far. >> look, is it in part -- just look at syria, i mean, there are lawmakers who are calling for the u.s. to provide the free syrian army with more weaponry. can they really move into that nation? it's got isis to the north and bashar al assad to the south. >> calls for the united states to start bombing the bad guys is not going to help either. even if we find out where they are in syria, and they do i have

a hierarchy and therefore have a chain of command, it can't be done by itself. it has to be part of a concerted ground program. air strikes are no good by themselves. it has to be part of an overall military campaign on the ground. and you can't do that without the syrian army. again, so far, we're headed nowhere. >> we can't do it without our allies in the region. jordan, saudi arabia, turkey, are they concerned that were they to join this coalition, then isis might move to get footholds in their countries? >> the short answer is yes. but i think there's a possibility they might try to do that in any case. don't forget, these people are talking about a caliphate, which back in the old, old days used to include turkey and syria and everybody in the middle east. so the problem here is that no matter what any of the other states do, isis is going to carry on until somebody stops them. ab and nobody's going to stop them until we have a strategy and we

know exactly what we want to attack and in conjunction with whom. the irony here is you might have the united states' allies being, of all people, iran and syria. probably the only way you can squash isis. >> we're seeing more and more reports of around a dozen or so americans traveling to syria, they're trying to fight alongside isis. are you surprised that they are putting americans, like douglas maacarthur mccain, if killed ar found with their passports in their back pockets? >> no, i think it's part of their plan. they're very, very smart. as you've heard, as you reported, they've got control of their entire media message. and to the extent they can demonstrate there are people from everywhere joining the isis fight on the side of isis, they want to be able to demonstrate that. they're doing a very good job of it so far.

>> do you think there are americans fighting alongside isis who are either preparing tore or being trained to attack the united states? >> yes, but i think over the shorter term, the nation states that are much more at risk and have the more imminent threat are those in europe. and particularly great britain. and also the arab states. it doesn't mean they're not going to come here. they're planning on coming here. which is one reason they have to be stopped. they're probably going to wind up going to europe first. >> okay, colonel jacob, thank you so much. a texas judge blocked a harsh new abortion rule yesterday helping to keep clinics open in the south. the rule, which was set to take effect on monday, requires all abortion clinic, in the state meet the same stringent standards as hospitals. that includes building equipment, staffing minimums. a federal judge calls it understa unconstitutional. texas officials have vowed to appeal.

a 67-year-old utah woman is lucky to be alive today. jan harding was rushed to hospital after drinking tea laced with heavy duty cleaning chemicals at a local restaurant. the restaurant says it was a mistake when the employee accidentally mixed the cleaner with sugar. she suffered burns to her mouth and esophagus and doctors say she could have died if the poison had reached her stomach. >> i don't know why it was me. i've never asked why it was me. there were other people in that restaurant. could have been them. but it wasn't. it was me. i'm not mad because i know god has a plan for my life. and i'm here to follow that plan. >> harding says she has hopes this incident will change the way restaurants store and label their cleaning products. and that phoenix mom who left her kids in the car while she went on a job interview has regained custody. 35-year-old shanisha taylor has been fighting to get her two sons back. taylor admits she made a mistake when she chose to leave the boys in a hot car while she attended

a job interview but says her decision that day was a difficult one. >> it was a moment of desperation. it was -- it was me knowing my family was in crisis and knowing i had to make a choice between providing for my children or caring for my children. >> well, labor day weekend is the last gasp of summer. not everyone will be able to enjoy the sunshine because there's severe weather threatening parts of the midwest as well as parts of the east coast. we look at new york city, which looks beautiful today. our meteorologist is here with the forecast. >> a beautiful day indeed in the big apple. things are looking good up and down the eastern seaboard today and much of the day tomorrow. but later tomorrow into labor daymond, we have to watch out for some thunderstorms. severe thunderstorms in the forecast for areas of eastern montana and parts of the dakotas later today into the evening. some thunderstorms there could produce some damaging winds and large hail. we expect to see some severe weather in parts of the midwest sunday into monday. heat is building today in the southwest.

l.a., a high of 85 degrees. the nice area to go to is the beach in southern california, but in the wake of post-tropical storm marie, there is the threat of rip currents so beachgoers should be on high alert. on sunday, the heat and humidity will begin to build across the northeast. we expect to see temperatures getting to 90 degrees in washington, d.c. 85 in new york city. scattered showers and thunderstorms in the northeast, especially as we head on into the afternoon. could see some locally heavy rainfall in some areas sunday night into monday morning. but it looks like many people in the east should be able to take out the grills by monday afternoon. sunday in the twin cities, a high of 84. chicago looking at a brief break of the thunderstorm activity open sunday. here's a look at the severe weather threat on sunday. duluth, minneapolis, down to omaha and hutchinson, kansas, looking at the severe thunderstorms along a cold front which could bring some damaging winds, large hail, heavy rain

and we could also see isolated tornadoes. chicago could see severe weather. northern california's in clean-up mode after last week's 6.1 quake. how to predict where the next one will hit. new technology that could offer a better warning when it does. coming up later in office politics, my conversation with reverend al sharpton. was he responding to a request when he decided to visit missouri? (knochello? hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg.

that's hilarious. sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. next time i'm going to midas. high-five! arg! i did not see that coming. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) thank ythank you for defendiyour sacrifice. and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel. 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. wherever morning takes you, take along nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares. oatmeal. cinnamon. softly-baked. nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares.

california's napa valley rattled by dozens of aftershocks since this past week's quake struck the area. one estimate says the damage and financial loss could reach as high as $1 billion. the quake also renews calls for an early warning system to be put in place it why isn't one in

place already? joining me, keith newsen. the usgs is working on a similar quake warning system. how does it work? why don't we have one yet, particularly in california? >> we're working with a number of partners, mainly university partners. we've been working on this for a couple of years now. it takes advantage of the idea that we can communicate information a lot faster than earthquake waves can travel through the earth. an earthquake happens, if we have sensors nearby, they sense that motion, they calculate the magnitude of the earthquake and predict the intensity of shaking that will be felt at distances from the event. then we take advantage of rapid telecommunications, send messages out. hopefully we educate people, people are aware of the actions to take and they make use of that. >> i'm a california girl and i've lived through earthquakes

but i'm curious how ten ends seconds of warning can make a difference. >> seconds really do matter in this case. on the human scale it gives people time to drop cover and hold on. it gives professionals like doctors and surgeons and dentists time to cease what they're doing and stabilize the situation. things can be automated as well. for example, in japan, they slow trains and even some bridges get closed i believe. power systems can be slowed down and made safe. and in industrial settings, industrial equipment can be slowed and made safe and hazardous chemicals can be made stable. >> as you know, keith, california is riddled with fault lines. what does the location of this particular quake in napa tell

us, if anything, about where the next one could hit? >> it tells us about the next system, which is where we think the fault occur. if you would ask me a week ago where the most likely would be to occur, i probably wouldn't have said the west napa fault. i probably would have said some of the larger more famous faults like the rogers creek and hayward fault system to the west, which we think has about a 30% probability of producing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake over a 30-year window. there's another fault to the east of this fault, the green valley fault. it probably has a 3% to 5% chance of producing magnitude 6.7 earthquake or greater over the next 30 years. we're able to forecast on long-term scales how likely they are to produce earthquakes. it wasn't one that people thought was due or anything like

that, but we're really not at the point where we're making predictions. we tend not to use the "p" word. we forecast long term. >> but something interesting. and i was home in los angeles this week after this quake in napa and a lot of discussion on monday was around when the next one is going to hit and where. and folks in southern california think, gosh, it's been a while since we've had a real big quake. you know, how can you predict -- i know you just said you don't want to use the p. word, but how can you give an estimate on a timely sense when something is pretty much statistically due? >> well, we really don't do that, but we give examples. for example, the hayward fault not too far from where i am now, it produces earthquakes about every 150 years. we know that from the record over the last ten years of more than 10 or 12 earth kwabs. the last big earthquakes was 1868. it wouldn't surprise any of us. but can we predict when an

earthquake is going to happen in the los angeles area, for example, in the next -- or when the next earthquake will happen? we can't do that. swhoe all learn from it. we should be prepared. we should think about the buildings we spent time in. are they safe? have we consulted efforts to know they're safe? so this is really a bit of a shot across everyone's bow to think about where they spend time and if they're prepared. >> do you have a guesstimate how long it will take ton get the technology? >> that depends on level of funding. two years from now, we could probably have a system up and running where we're issuing public alerts, providing seconds to as much as minutes of warning. along with that would be education and developing appropriate messaging and trying

to educate the users of those messages. >> okay, keith, thank you very much for your time, i appreciate it. >> thank you. the cia agent who helped hunt down osama bin laden gives her take on isis. [ female announcer ] this allergy season, will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather? a mouth breather! [ whimpers ] how do you sleep like that? well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more. so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do -- sleep. add breathe right to your allergy medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. nobody ever stomped their foot 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. that's why verizon is giving you even more.

now, for a limited time, get more data! 1 gb of bonus data every month with every new smartphone or upgrade. our best ever pricing with the more everything plan and 50% off all new smartphones. like the htc one m8 for windows or android. built to inspire envy. come get your more with verizon.

i think she tried to kill us. no, it's only 15 calories. with reddi wip, fruit never sounded more delicious, with 15 calories per serving and real cream, the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology.

shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. tony stewart is back on the track. the nascar superstar got behind the wheel friday for the first time since his car struck and killed a fellow driver during a race in new york. stewart also spoke publicly about the accident that stunned the racing world. a nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: some fans think he's returning too soon because the investigation is still ongoing, but others are thrilled at the three-time nascar champ back in action. tony stewart looked focused as

he got behind the wheel for qualifying laps, ahead of this sunday's big race. >> this has been one of the toughest strategies i've ever had to deal with. both professionally and personally. this is something that will definitely affect my life forever. >> reporter: speaking publicly for the first time since he struck and killed another driver. this video posted on youtube showed how ward's car and stewart's car appeared to bum. ward spun out, climbed out of his vehicle and walked on to the track. >> tony stewart just hit that guy! >> this is a sadness and a pain i hope no one ever has to experience in their life. >> stewart says he's praying for ward's family members. >> i want kevin's father, kevin sr., and his mother pam, and his sisters, christy and kayla and catlin, to know that every day i'm thinking about them. >> so far, word ward's family has not commented.

the sheriff says the crash investigation will take another two weeks. >> i need to respect the ongoing investigation process. emotionally, i'm not sure if i could answer them. >> his teammates like danica patrick are standing by him. >> it's been something that i can't even fact them what it would be like. as a team, we're here for him. >> as for stewart's reputation as a hot head, teammate kevin harvick feels it's overblown. >> to use those things with the emotional attachments that come with our sport in situations like that, really doesn't have anything to do with that type of particular situation that tony was in. >> stewart will need to win one of his next two races to have a shot at the championship. sports writers think that's a long shot considering what he's been through, but he'll have plenty of fans here tomorrow cheering him on. >> now to today's number ones. we begin in music city.

nashville. it's the capital of country music. based on the study by wallethub.com, nashville is the most american city. the queen city of cincinnati comes in second with its economy the factor most resembling this nation's. the economy's also the top reason indianapolis rankings as the third most american city. fighting the freshman 15 are what plenty of college students are up against. active times.com has come up with a list of colleges that go out to help students stay fit. many offer recreation and dining options. texas a&m wins as the most fit college. the military academies ranked highly. >> welcome to "the daily show." >> yeah, he's the best. he may be tops in political sat tight but he's definitely tops in earnings. jon stewart's first in tv

guide's ranking, with annual earnings between $25 million and $30 million. that is no joke. that is your number ones. t 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. 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 [meow mix jingle slowly anright on cue.cks] [cat meows]

♪meow, meow, meow, meow... it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name.

[ 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. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." the secret service has said they've taken all investigative steps in searching for a connecticut man who's believed to be a threat to the president. initial reports out of westchester county said police there were on the lookout for a man possibly armed with an assault rifle who may be headed in president obama's direction. officials are not offering any other detail also about the potential suspect. and attorneys for actor tracy morgan say he is struggling to recover from a car accident back in june. we're told morgan relies heavily on a wheelchair and it may be months before he's able to walk again. morgan also broke his nose, leg and several ribs in the crash. the comedian was returning from a show when his limousine bus was struck by a walmart truck on

new jersey turnpike. britain is on edge today after security officials there abruptly raised the country's terror threat level from substantial to its second highest ranking of severe. the prime minister says there's no doubt isis is targeting europe. though no specific threat has been identified. how worried are they in britain? >> they're worried enough to raise the threat level, alex. british officials say there's no evidence of a specific or innent attack. but with 500 british citizens traveling to join isis and some 200 now back in the uk, the threat, they say, is very real. britons awoke to a new fear. terror alert red, the highest since 2011. a terrorist attack the government warned is now highly likely. >> what we're facing in iraq now with isil is a greater and

deeper threat to our security than we have known before. >> reporter: the terror group isis has the world's attention. and they're using it. posting yet another vi violent disturbing video. among the isis fighters are hundreds of british citizens. >> this is the golden era of jihad. >> they've given tips on how to join the fight and they've become executioner. james follyey's killer spoke wi a british accent. britain hasn't been hit since 2005 when four british islamists bombed the london underground. last year, a british soldier, lee wigbuy, was slaughtered on a london street in broad daylight by two islamist extremists. >> this it's laslamic state is

beginning to posture. there are literally thousands of fighters with pass boards that give them easy access. >> reporter: passports that allow them to travel to europe, britain and beyond to the u.s. where the threat level remains the same. >> i don't anticipate at this point there's a plan to change that level. >> reporter: the department of homeland security said in a statement that officials are deeply concerned about the threat posed by isis but they know of no specific credible threat to the u.s., alex. >> okay, kelly, thank you so much from london, appreciate that. new word today from secretary of state john kerry who will soon head to the middle east as the obama administration works on a strategy to combat isis. secretary kerry has penned a new op-ed saying, quote, with the united response led by the u.s., the cancer of isis will not be allowed to spread to other countries. the world can confront this scourge and defeat it. joining me, our guest who served

in the used that hunted down osama bin laden. welcome to you, the u.s. has a history of getting into conflicts in this part of the world based on flawed intelligence. we've seen the tragic result of not acting on intelligence. in your assessment, just how much of a threat does isis pose to the united states? >> i think isis is a unique organization. they're a terrorism organization in addition to a military organization. so they're unique in that aspect. they're slightly different from al qaeda, controlling territory. they've had successes within that region. but at the same time, they're using the platform and ideology that al qaeda has grown so they are looking eventually probably toward the west and possibly into the homeland of the united states. >> before i get to the details, i know that your specialty was

targeting. you have bin laden and zarqawi, taken out by you and your fellow analystings. could the head of isis, baghdadi, could he be killed in a similar mission? would cutting isis at its head kill the body? >> so, i think we've seen the metastases of all the organizations after the leadership is taken out. what we've witnessed now after bin laden and zarqawi is that these troops can metastasize and become much worse. i think al qaeda are still driving their own agenda, so i think taking out leadership can be in the short term somewhat impactful on an organization but in the long term that does not get rid of the ideology itself. >> details on isis. one of the traditionally effective ways to combat terrorists is to stop the money. but is isis largely

self-financed at this point because it does so much extortion? it controls some oil facilities. i mean what can you do to hit them in your wallet? >> i think that's the key question. i don't think there is much we can do. because they are largely self-funded from what we know so far. their oil sales, which are actually, they're selling at a much lower market rate than the actual market because they're having to sell whoever their buyer, you know, actually is. in addition to the fact, you know, like you mentioned extortion and the banks they're robbing basically. so i think it would be pretty difficult to be able to hit them financially. your options are air strikes against some of the oil wells they're actually controlling. but then again, they're also getting funding from so many other places, i think that may not have a huge impact. >> here is a name in the news amid all of this. that is adicky, an al qaeda member, serving in the u.s. for attempted murder. isis said they would have traded

foley and unnamed american woman for sadiqi. so what is her significance to jihadist groups? >> you know, i think at this point, she has just become sort of their totem pole for a request. when it comes to hostage exchanges. i'm not sure that she herself is as impactful for their organization. i think it's more or less just representative of something they know we likely won't be trading for. so it's in some regards -- al qaeda had done the same thing in requests for negotiations. they wanted a cease-fire and surrender of israel to the palestinians to get israel to give up their territory. there's a host of requests from these organizations that they're pretty sure we will not be accommodating. >> another name given to her is lady al qaeda. president obama reiterated on thursday the position that

there's no military solution to this problem of isis. if you look at the players on the ground and all their allegiances and conflicts, is it reasonable to think suddenly sunnis and shias and kurds are going to come together in the name of moderation and tolerance? >> sure, absolutely. the middle east is not unlike the united states and anywhere else in the world. there are people who live there who do not subscribe to this ideology and have no interest in living in war zones. where they attacked recently, that was one of the most diverse areas left in the middle east as far as different ethnic and religious groups living together. so i think it's entirely possible we can try to galvanize some support from that level to reject some of these groups. again, their brutality is so significant that they're terrorizing the local populations into cooperating with them.

>> you've always said it was your job, pretty uniquely, in washington to speak only truth to power and cut past the sugarcoating. so, is president obama being realistic in how he's addressing isis? >> well, i think what's somewhat refreshing is he's saying this isn't going to be easy and i don't have an answer today on how we're going to fix this. which i think this is entirely fair and i think that's worth saying to the american public. because we always want that immediate fix. and this does not have one. >> okay. np ada bakos, thank you. here 's what we've been asked all of you today. do you think the isis threat is overhyped? here's some of your responses. writes, isis threat to the u.s. is definitely overhyped. media is hitting the panic button. lynn on facebook writes, definitely overhyped. we should not give these guys so much press. carol writes, even if it is overhyped, which i don't think it is, i'd rather see it

overhyped than underestimated. keep talking to me. @alexwitt. more of your tweets later in the show. a distraught father is acquitted with murder after being charged with shooting the drunk driver who killed both his kids. 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.

hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? sure, we help with fraud protection. if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. you are saying "frog protection"? fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection. get it at discover.com been all fun and games, here at the harrison household. but one dark, stormy evening... she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her purina cat chow complete. it's great because it has the four cornerstones of nutrition. everything a cat needs for the first step to a healthy, happy life. purina cat chow complete. share your rescue story and join us in building better lives. one rescue at a time.

to fill your viagra prescription online? go to viagra.com to find out about viagra home delivery. millions of men have some degree of erectile dysfunction. talk to your doctor, if viagra is right for you, you can fill your prescription at your pharmacy, or check out viagra home delivery and get started at viagra.com ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. viagra home delivery. a convenient way to have prescription viagra shipped straight to you. go to viagra.com to get started.

a handful of historic landmarks will be illuminated to support stand up for cancer. it will air september 5th on nbc. so far, the event has raised more than $260 million since its 2008 inception. amongst some of the most notable landmarks, chicago's wrigley building, niagara falls and rockefeller center. in today's office politics, reverend sharpton host of msnbc's politics nation given his presence recently in ferguson, missouri, i asked him two questions. how he views his role in some of the country's most high-profile civil rights cases and whether

there's any truth to reports the white house asked him to go to ferguson and assess the situation on the ground there in the wake of michael brown's death. >> nothing could be further from the truth. i was called by the grandfather that sunday morning. the grandfather was on my show politics nation monday night. saying he wanted to go. i had not talked to the white house until tuesday when i was in ferguson. so in order for anyone to believe that they'd have to believe the grandfather -- the grandfather going on my television show, all that, was set up by the white house. why? i mean, it's just absurd. trayvon martin's family had called me. i never got involved in a case where the victims didn't call me. saying the president sent him down there to get intelligence

on the right? the family already held a press conference before i ever talked to anybody in the white house. the reverse is this. if i'm down there, and i've had access to the white house since he's been there and support of the president, wouldn't it be worse if they said they never called sharpton who was on the ground with the family? >> what do you see as your role when you go to events like this? you're able to put media on your show and people listen to you and you cover -- but do you also wear your hat as a reverend? >> a lot of the reasons people call me is because they say, i remember what he did in this case. i remember what he did in that. he understands that. i've been to the morgue with families. i understand the pain of a mother looking at a bullet-ridden child. a lot of people had not gone through that. you don't want somebody doing on the job training on your case. you want somebody that has done this and has won some.

the same with -- so we've won some. we've lost some. so that's why when i say i think this will work and that won't, it turns to -- i'm not judging if anybody's guilty, i'm saying make the process fair. >> where are we on race in this country and how much do you think should be judged on these incidents? >> i think that we're at a place where we have to and are beginning to have more open talks about race. i think for a while people had felt with the election of president obama we were in a post-racial era. i think we've mad a lot of process. him being elected and having so many people of different backgrounds voting for him was an absolute sign we made a lot of progress. i just don't think we were where we felt we were.

we had not equalized everything. better is not meaning that there's not still a distance to go. >> in the wake of michael brown's death, spoke with tracy martin. and it was hard for me to fight back tears in the interview, when he said, alex, we need to put a value on african-american men's lives. i thought, why do we even have to say that in this day and age? what do you think of that? >> when the grandfather told me he laid out in the street for hours, that is what, more than anything, got me. because i get calls a lot at action network. but when i heard this boy laid out there like this, it's almost like we didn't matter, like we're worthless. and that is something that in 2014 we still have to prove our value? i can't think, as i said in the eulogy, any community that would tolerate that. and that's beyond what happened with the cop or what happened

with michael brown. how do you let a human being die and lay out there in the gutter like that? >> tomorrow at this time, the rev examines senator rand paul's outreach to the african-american community. you can catch al sharpton every day on msnbc. the coach of the st. louis rams decides whether the league's first openly gay player will start next thursday. ahead, we examine his chances. hey. i'm ted and this is rudy. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing.

ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] nobody ever stomped their foot 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. that's why verizon is giving you even more. now, for a limited time, get more data! 1 gb of bonus data every month with every new smartphone or upgrade. our best ever pricing with the more everything plan and 50% off all new smartphones. like the htc one m8 for windows or android. built to inspire envy. come get your more with verizon.

a father's acquittal of murder ignite a firestorm of troers controversy. a texas jury found the man not guilty in the fatal shooting of a drunk driver who was responsible for the accident who killed his two sons. my first question to you is for those who have not seen all the details of the story, what is at the crux of this case?

>> in term, of the driving of the car, i mean, the guy -- there was -- the accident of course and he killed a person, but then for him to go back and then kill the person it seems to me was way beyond the pale as a level of vindictiveness that should not have taken place. i tell you, jurors are very interesting people. they identify to some extent with the defendant in this case. when they do, it's hard to get past the emotion. they could say, it could happen to me. they would have the same kind of emotion feelings about it. so i think this case is more about the emotions and identification of the jurors with the defendant in this case. >> okay. but the police did not find the gun that was used. they found little physical evidence linking brahas to the shooting. why did prosecutors think they had a strong enough case to move forward? wasn't the defense somebody else came in and killed him?

>> circumstantial evidence obviously is important in a case like this. and so the jurors -- the prosecution relied upon that as a basis to go forward. because there was a motive involved in it. the revenge factor. it turns out that jurors really didn't see it that way. and so unfortunately for the prosecution, that happens sometimes. they will put evidence together that they think is compelling. at the end of the day, there are other factors that come into play. i thought that was the case. >> so the biggest risk for the prosecutors here was what? was it an overreach? were the charges too high? >> i don't think the charges were too high. i just think they didn't have -- they wanted to do something, obviously. you have a dead person here and they wanted to go forward. but at the same time, they didn't necessarily have the evidence that would support it. so from my point of view, sometimes the prosecution will do that. even though they know it may not have all the evidence, but they

think because of the positive consideration of someone being dead and this person probably did it, then they go forward. unfortunately, the jurors did not see it that way. >> had he been convicted, it would have been circumstantial then? >> it certainly would have been a circumstantial case but that's good evidence as well. you have two kinds of evidence, direct evidence, which clearly someone says, but then circumstantial evidence, which you draw an inference from a certain fact pattern. >> where does reasonable doubt come in? >> it is important in a circumstantial evidence case. you have to have evidence that clearly associates that person to it. if a jury can look at two, one to guilt, would be to innocent, they have to accept the more reasonable. so circumstantial evidence is something that is important but if it's subject to more than one interpretation, the prosecution will lose that particular argume argument, given the jury instructions.

>> i want to ask about this more be a situation in arizona where a 9-year-old accidentally killed her instructor with a uzi machine gun. it's being classified as an industrial accident. is anyone liable here? >> i think there's some liability. the parent may have liability in allowing their daughter to be involved in this kind of activity. it's negligence on her part, whether you like it or not. at the same time, you have the con tri con tributary negligenc with the instructor himself. workman's comp. the company itself. they're responsible for the man's death. having a -- allowing a 9-year-old to use an uzi who may be short is -- to me, way beyond good common sense. i know i have checked on the laws. there's no law that precludes any of this from happening. at the same time, you still are

responsible, even if there's no law, if there's negligent conduct involved. is the parent negligent in allowing the kid to have that weapon? is the company negligent allowing a 9-year-old to do that? and the instructor himself. so therefore he has some culpability. although obviously he's the one that suffered the death. so at best contributory negligence on his part. >> this company has programs where you can go have lunch and then go to the shooting range. minimum age is 8 years old and you can get your hands on one of of a dozen different types of semiautomatic machine guns. >> i really think that ought to be rethought. the company itself if they're going to allow that to happen -- even if you have a waiver of some kind. if you let an 8-year-old or 9-year-old have an uzi, you have

to have responsibility of that. you got to have good sense here. particularly when someone is killed in the process, which is foreseeable. >> okay, john burress, many thanks as always, appreciate it. the mile high fight that's got everyone talking this week. so what would you do if you came in contact with the knee protector? 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.

will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather? a mouth breather! [ whimpers ] how do you sleep like that? well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more. so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do -- sleep. add breathe right to your allergy medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. frothere's no reasonn average 17 we can't manufacture in shuthe united states.ine. here at timbuk2, we make more than 70,000 custom bags a year, right here in san francisco. we knew we needed to grow internationally, we also knew that it was much more complicated to deal with.

i can't imagine having executed what we've executed without having citi side by side with us. their global expertise was critical to our international expansion into asia, into europe and into canada. so today, a customer can walk into our store in singapore, will design a custom bag and that customer will have that american made bag within a few days in singapore. citi has helped us expand our manufacturing facility; the company has doubled in size since 2007. if it can be done here in san francisco, it can be done anywhere in america.

for over 19 million people. [ mom ] with life insurance, we're not just insuring our lives... we're helping protect his. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow. as isis ram panels, a new warning about the threat of terror in america. strong words. who is president putin warning not to mess with russia and why is he mentioning russian's nuclear arms? decision day. michael sam awaits word from the st. louis cardinals. actually, the rams, that is. will he be the first openly gay player to make an nfl team? airline passengers battle over precious space. why are airplanes becomes so cramped?

good day to all of you. now, here's what's happening. right now, secretary of state john kerry's preparing for his upcoming trip to the middle east. as president obama hammers out a strategy to confront the growing threat. kristen, what new are you hearing? >> president obama, as you know, came out and addressed reporters in the white house briefing room earlier this week. the goal was really to put the breaks on this idea that military action in syria was imminent. he said that he is still developing his strategy. he's waiting for the pentagon to give him their final set of options. but he did point out that any strategy would not just be military in nature, it would also have to include a broad international coalition. so you're really seeing the administration begin to start to build that. after that news conference,

because the president said he don't have a strategy yet, those comments played directly into the hands of his republican critics, who's argued he's weak when it comes to foreign policy. the white house pushed back against republican critics saying, look, the president's comments were taken out of context. he does have a strategy. we've seen that already go into effect in iraq. you've seen a barrage of u.s. air strikes in iraq aimed at scaling back the isis advances. you've also seen humanitarian aid. so the white house argues that the president's strategy has already gbegun to take effect. if you look at the polls, most americans don't want the u.s. to engage militarily in a foreign conflict. pressure because there is mounting pressure for him to do something of course in the wake of the brutal beheading of american journalist james foley and the news that isis is

advancing in syria where it's headquarters. on the other hand, you have a lot of americans who are skeptical of american engagement overseas. >> secretary kerry has penned an op-ed in "the new york times" about isis. what is he suggesting about the way to go about doing this? >> he really reiterates this idea that any response has to be broad, has to include an international coalition. i'll read you a little bit of that "new york times" op-ed. it says, air strikes alone won't defeat this enemy. we need to support iraqi forces and the moderate syrian opposition who are facing isis on the face lines. secretary kerry also goes on to talk about the need to counter the isis pr campaign. they have a fairly sophisticated pr campaign. they've released two propaganda videos this past week alone. that is going to be another component of this. secretary kerry heads to the

middle east. that gives u a little bit of a time line when the president might make a decision. >> let's go now to russia and the other developing story of the day. it's best not to mess with us. those words from president putin today as he denies his country's military involvement in eastern ukraine. saying, quote, i want to remind you that russia is one of the world's leading nuclear powers. nato announced at least 1,000 russian troops are operating in ukraine. with a welcome to you, does putin's escalating read rick here match what's happening on the ground in ukraine? >> certainly, there has been an escalation. we've had fighting continuing. we've had a new front opening up in the east. down to the port city of moriopol.

there's apparently fighting going on. we've had soldiers from russia cross into ukraine. we've heard from soldiers, mothers in russia, saying their sons are missing and they're probably fighting in ukraine. of course, rhetoric is also heating up. at the same time, vladimir putin is saying that it's diplomacy that will solve this crisis. it's not fighting. >> wait a minute, he's saying diplomacy will solve the crisis and he inserts the word nuclear in his rhetoric? how's that playing out? >> well, that's right. it's contradictory messages. both ukrainian leader and vladimir putin are still saying that this is not a conflict that can be militarily for the first time. >> president obama says russia is ignoring any diplomatic solutions, but military action is not an option. let's listen to the president. >> we are not taking military

action to solve the ukrainian problem. what we're doing is to mobilize the international community to apply pressure on russia. but i think it is very important to recognize that a military solution to this problem is not going to be forthcoming. >> albina, isolating russia and sanctions don't seem to be stopping putin from doing what he wants. are they having a palpable effect there? >> we don't know yet what the sanctions are actually doing to the russian economy. certainly, the rubble is tumbling. some foreign investors are leaving. in terms of ordinary russians, they still seem to support putin. the overwhelming majority support him. it is really the new sanctions that are being planned that could really hit the russian economy hard. >> okay, thank you very much for joining us.

the attorney general of texas says he will appeal a federal judge's ruling putting new restrictions on hold. mandating that all texas abortion clinics meet the same stringent standards as hospitals, including building equipment and staffing minimums. meantime, in kentucky, the campaign manager for mitch mcconnell's re-election bid. following a scandal involving a presidential campaign he worked for back in 2012. mcconnell is in a fierce battle to prevent allison lunder son grimes from taking his son in the senate. let's go now to missouri. about to give you a live shot there of the rally. organizers are calling it the largest single mass demonstration, demand justice for michael brown. of course, the unarmed black teen shot by ferguson police earlier this month. michael sam with will be watching his missouri tigers

open their college football season. the openly gay defensive lineman finds out if he will be playing on sundays this fall. nbc's kristin dole dlo. >> getting to decide if michael sams makes the cut. on the field, it was michael sam's closing argument. six tackles in thursday's preseason game against miami. most of any rams player. after the guy, sam was feeling good. >> i'm going to sleep really well tonight and i'm very confident i'll be on the team. the rams or any other team. >> sams has seen an outpouring of support since he became the first openly gay player drafted into the league. with the raps decision day drawing near, one directions

harry styles sported a michael sams jersey at a concert. sam followed up with a thank you. when espn aired a report talking about sam's shower habits, the outrage was instantaneous. the network quickly apologized. sam has always tried to keep the focus on football. >> when i do make it and when i put my pads on, you'll see number 96 running down the field and making big plays for his team. in the preseason games, he had three sack, including this one. >> he's got the sack. >> the rams cope has said he believes sam can play in the league. some analysts say there may not be room for the rookie. >> it's going to be hard for the rams to let him go. especially if there's a chance

he gets picked up by another team. a lot of jerseys have been sold in the last four months. you'll have some rams fans not that thrilled if michael sam ends up on another team. >> he could go to any of the other 31 teams. as for how sam is spending these moments, he's back at his alma mater missouri as they play their season opener, alex. >> we're getting word about three hours from now at 4:30 eastern time the st. louis rams will have a news conference. let's go now to the weather. indiana university is letting people back into its memorial stadium after lightning caused an evacuation. lightning could be a threat in other parts of the country as they brace for thunderstorms this holiday weekend. >> a cold front is pushing east across the midwest. that's why we saw some thunderstorms around the bloomington indiana earlier

today. those thunderstorms are quickly continuing to fizzle out. another area of concern as we head through the next 24 hours is the western gulf coast. a lot of moisture coming up from the gulf of mexico. we're talking 4 to 8 inches of rainfall where flash flooding continues to be a major problem. things are looking aly the brig lot brighter for the big easy. high pressure still in control. temperatures are slightly below normal but the heat and humidity will begin to push into the northeast sunday into labor daymond. we're also tracking some thunderstorms that will be late sunday into early monday. then things should clear out in the northeast by monday afternoon. i want to talk about sunday into sunday night, from minnesota, down into kansas. this corridor could see

thunderstorms capable of producing heavy downpours, tornadoes can't be ruled out, and certainly large hail and damaging winds. the heat continues to build in the southwest and it looks like it's going to stick around at least through labor daymonday. and drying out as we head into monday afternoon. >> kind of a bummer for barbecues but we'll see how it goes. an american ally talkings about how close isis might be at striking a u.s. (vo) ours is a world of passengers.

the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiting... ...for a safe arrival. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. designed to help the driver in you... ...care for the passenger in them. the subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru.

as the obama administration developing its strategy, secretary of state john kerry says he and chuck hagel will meet their european ally counterparts next week on the sidelines of the nato summit in

wales. secretary kerry says he will then travel to the mideast to develop support for a global coalition against the islamic militants. joining me now is democratic congressman, member of the intelligence committee, armed services committee and ranking member of subcommittee. welcome, i appreciate your time. as i look at this resume, it tells me that you're the man to answer this question. should the u.s. strike isis in syria to preempt an attack on the u.s. homeland? >> well, isis is a significant threat to u.s. national security, especially given the -- what we estimate to be dozens of individuals with u.s. passports who are fighting with isis, could be over 100 people with u.s. passports who are in syria, fighting. whether it's against the assad regime or with isis. so those individuals could very well return home and could pose

a significant threat to u.s. national security. that's exactly why the europeans, i'm sorry, great britain just upped its threat level because of the significant number of individuals with british passports who have returned home and could pose a threat to security. so secretary -- chairman dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, have said that there is a significant -- obviously isis threat both in syria and coming from iraq and they very well would have to go to syria to attack isis at its core. >> my question is these people who we say are americans or westerners, fighting alongside isis, do we know specifically who we are? have we tracked them? is this an approximation? if we don't know specifically who we are, what are the challenges in figuring that out? >> yeah, and that's the -- obviously, that's the challenge. some of these individuals are

known to the intelligence community. others we are still obviously doing fact finding and research to know exactly who they are. but we have good enough intelligence to know there are significant number of individuals with u.s. passports who are there. >> here's president obama on thursday. let's take a listen to this. >> 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 suggest that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we're at then we currently are. i think that's not just my assessment but the assessment of the military as well. >> sir what was your assessment to that statement from the president? >> well, it says to me the president is taking his time, using extreme due diligence, listening to both his military and national security leadership along with secretary kerry. and secretary defense, hagel.

and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to develop the right strategy. and part of it will likely be a military strategy. other parts of it will be diplomatic. by way of example, i was just with president obama last night. he was in rhode island. and the president spoke about the fact that because isis is demonstrating how violent and extreme they are and how they really have hijacked the islamic religion, manipulating it with awful consequences, that this is an opportunity, to come together and fight against this radical element that is using the islamic religion for terrible purposes and being very violent. >> may i ask you, the president said that this may be overhyped

to some degree, not placing blame on where that's coming from, but do you agree with that, is it overhyped? >> i don't believe it's overhyped at all. we've seen how violent they are. how they will kill indiscriminately. we saw the american journalist who was beheaded. they are extremely violent. my concern of course is they could come here and carry out serious devastating attacks here on the homeland. we can't let that happen. we can see, we're aware now of the isis threat and the challenges. it won't be easy, especially going into syria, if that happens. i will say this, i don't have an appetite and my constituents don't have an appetite for putting large numbers of u.s.

troops on the ground. if anything, it would be targeted air strikes, whether it's drones or with u.s. aircraft. but it's going to have to be done in cooperation with allies, nations around the world in the region who will have to step up and work with us on -- >> that, sir, is the challenge. very divergent goals and allegian allegiances. is it realistic to think this time around they will put aside sect and history and culture to company together in the name of peace? >> well, in some ways, we're already seeing it. we have new political leadership in iraq. i think prime minister maliki was a disaster as a prime minister. and he was told for years by the united states and others that he has to be more inclusive. and if he's not, then the elements that he's leaving out, the sunni elements he's leaving out, are going to be parent of the problem as opposed to part of the solution. we saw that. that's why isis was able to rise

in strength to where he is right now. the new leadership, we have a new president in iraq. we have a new prime minister. a new speaker of the parliament. this new president is being inclusive. so the right things are being done diplomatically there. we have to encourage and see that effort strengthen. >> may i ask you, king abdullah of saudi arabia is issuing a new warning today. here's the quote, terrorism is an evil force that must be fought with wisdom and speed and if neglected i'm sure after a month it will arrive in europe. and a month after that, in america. and he also said the intelligent community must face the terrorists. what is your reaction to those comments? why would king abdullah be saying this? >> sure. i think king abdullah is right on point. i had met with king abdullah in the past. he has struck a similar tone. he is someone who has always been very supportive of diplomacy and bringing parties

together. just as president obama said to me and the group i was with last night, this is an opportunity for groups with divergent backgrounds to come together. this time, put the differences aside. work together to confront this violence extremism. and try to create a more stable iraq, a more stable middle east, if you will. >> all right. rhode island democratic representative, thank you for your time. two passenger incidents aboard airliners this week. how are airlines cramming more people on to the planes? well, that's next. nobody ever stomped their foot 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.

that's why verizon is giving you even more. now, for a limited time, get more data! 1 gb of bonus data every month with every new smartphone or upgrade. our best ever pricing with the more everything plan and 50% off all new smartphones. like the htc one m8 for windows or android. built to inspire envy. come get your more with verizon. ever since we launched snapshot, my life has been positively cray-cray. what's snapshot, you ask? only a revolutionary tool that can save you big-time. just plug it in, and the better you drive, the more cash you'll stash. switching to progressive can already save ye $500. snapshot could save ye even more. meat maiden! bringeth to me thine spiciest wings of buffalo. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews.

whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

(birds chirping softly in background.) (loud engine sounds!) what! how's it going? heard you need a ride to school. i know just the thing to help you get going. power up with new cheerios protein.

injecting botox into lab mice helps reduce the growth of stomach tumors. botox may work to block nerve signals that may feed cancer cells. this week alone, we saw two separate instances of planes at home being diverted because of inflight disputes over reclining seats. so, can you avoid the madness and just enjoy your trip? our guest is the author of "full upright and locked position." mark, welcome to you. we've all felt that frustration on airplanes. is all the anger about these knee protectors or the entire process? >> well, i think you're right, it is the entire process. from the time you get to the airport, you're trying to park, you're waiting in lines. you know, you're being security screened.

you're wondering whether your carry-on bag is going to fit. all those kinds of issues. not to mention rising airfares are causing that stress. the real big issue is crowding. crowding seems to be the main stressor in the back of the airplane. and there are a couple of reasons for that. one of them is what they call load factors. the percentage of the seats that are filled are at record level highs. basically they say it's about 85%. what that means is a flight, particularly during the supper, you' summer, you're never going to see an empty seat next to you. the other issue is what the airlines like to call dense ification. which is a great word. basically, it means adding more rows of seats by grabbing a couple of inches from every individual row. it's worked out very well. from an economic standpoint. the airlines are doing a lot better now than they have been. and for the last four or five years, it's been a time of profitability. although they still have a lot

of overhang of debt and so forth. for the passenger, not so much. >> yeah. with regard to an couple of the airlines where you can pay more for your seat, jetblue being one of them, is that a trend that is you think going to go places and it's good for those people, the few that pay the extra, but it ends up cramping more, right, for the people in the back? >> it does. the way you create these little bit of extra space in some of the -- sort of the economy plus, is by taking some space from the folks in back. on the other hand, the airlines will tell you, they've improved the seat cushioning and so forth to add a little more space for people in back. there's a very great popularity of these extra inches kinds of seats. in fact, the most recent incident, the person involved actually was in a row with extra inches. you have to wonder a little bit about what was going on there. >> are the days of travel where it was kind of luxury on these

planes, that over with? >> well, it is. i think that's a source -- well, first of all, it's not really if you're willing to pay for premium travel in the front of the airline. that is getting better all the time. everything, champagne and all that. so that's great. but in the back, those days of luxury are somewhat gone. and i think one of the real stressors here that passengers face, one of the frustrations, is a kind of disconnect between the reality of flying today and their expectations, which are sometimes wildly exaggerated. the fact is, when you get on the airline, the pilot comes on and says, sit back, relax and enjoy your flight. where you going to sit back? >> if you're on spirit or one of those, you can't even recline, right? that does away with any knee protector problems. >> exactly. that might be the future. it could very well be for the airlines to limit the amount of recline and just say, look, we're not going to -- we're

going to avoid these fights by doing that. so might work. >> okay. how about things like paying for every -- like being nickel and dimed to death on all these flights? there's some airlines where you're even paying for water. is that the future? >> well, it is. it means a lot of money for the airlines. it's been something like $6 billion last year in just change fees and baggage fees. there really is -- that's where a lot of the money is. people have started to adapt to it. i have to say. they're sort of, you know, they're shrugging, they're accepting it. you have to believe this is adding to the stress and the feeling of, you know, look this is not a pleasant adventure anymore prp it's interesting. one of the ceos, i think one of the airline's ceos said, look, our job is to get you to your destination safely, on time and with your underwear. it's pretty limited. that's basically where the airline, see their job. >> well, they better not lose

anybody's luggage is all have to say to that. the threat of isis fighters coming to america. how real is it? a former counterterrorism analyst with the cia join us in just a moment. and paying people to vote. is that really a good idea to boost voter turnout? every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day you tap the bumper of a station wagon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. doctors have been prescribingdecade, nexium to patients just like you. for many, prescription nexium helps heal acid-related erosions in the lining of the esophagus. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels.

side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. nexium 40 mg is only available by prescription. talk to your doctor. for free home delivery, enroll in nexium direct today.

welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." it's 35 past the hour. british prime minister cameron says it's no doubt isis is targeting europe. the country raised its terror level from substantial to severe on friday. what are authorities there saying about the threat? >> alex, they're saying the prospect of a terrorist attack here in the uk is highly likely. they're using some pretty dramatic language as well. no specifics on when, where and how. that's because british security officials say they have no intelligence on a specific or

imminent plot. now, this story made the headlines in all of the major papers today. this is the daily telegraph. you can see here down at the bottom the greatest terrorist threat in uk history. sort of paraphrasing david cameron's address yesterday when he said the terror group isis is a greater and deeper threat than we have faced. the "times" focused on the security crackdown. more police on streets, at airports, government buildings as well, security believings at malls and other big public places. and "the guardian," new powers to tackle isis threat. that was the headline. the talk of what's going to be done. the prime minister is in talks with his coalition partners. they're trying to negotiate some tougher laws. stripping jihadis their british passports and restricting their movements within the uk. the prime minister is hoping to announce new measures on monday.

>> i'm curious, i mean you're out and about in london, you're coming and going from work. do you see a difference as of yesterday? were there more policeman to your sense out there? >> i tell you, i spent a lot of time yesterday in some very populated areas. the oxford area. the shopping area which is always just packed with people, with tourists, on all of the very major subway lines, and i didn't see an increased presence. it was sort of business as usual. had you not heard on the news or in the papers that this was going on, you wouldn't necessarily know that there were more officers on streets, that there was any sort of security crackdown in london. >> okay. nbc's kelly cobia in london, thank you. joining me now, former cia terrorism analyst. when the analysts here at home see what cameron did, raising that threat level, what's their

reaction? what's our biggest concern domestically? >> here in the united states, what we're really concerned with are these folks coming back from syria, potentially hardened jihadists, and would come back here to commit an operation. in the uk, it's a lot more severe. at least 500 britons have gone to syria to fight. about 250 have come back. do they come back to commit an operation? it's really unclear. since we can't see into the hearts of men, david cameron and his security service has to take a hard line on this. >> half of them are back, so they know who these people are? they're monitoring them, watching them? if they're doing that in great britain, how are we doing on that front here in the states? >> it's actually difficult. if we have 250 people, how do

you put them all on surveillance? you have to make choices because you have finite resources. we have about 100 individuals who have gone to syria. we know at least three people have been killed, including one florida man would caho came bace united states and then blew himself up in a restaurant. the fbi kind of dropped the ball on that guy. we don't really know how many people have returned to the united states. obviously, this is a major concern for our intelligence services here. >> something that was said by king abdullah of saudi arabia who issued this new warning today saying, quote, terrorism at this time is an evil force that must be fought with wisdom and speed. if neglected, i'm sure, after a month, it will arrive in europe and a month after that in america. give me your interpretation of those comments. is he meaning specifics with a month to a month or is that just j generalities? >> i think he's talking generalities. the king is very concerned. there are several thousand

citizens currently fighting in syria and to a lesser extent in iraq as well. so yes, i think there's a significant threat to the uk, to british, a place like belgium, and further afield to the united states. the king should really look in his own backyard first. >> can you purse isis into perspective for me, how horrible of a group, how frightening of a group and the challenge to fighting it in the united states? put it into perspective overall. >> well, this organization is an organization that actually controlled a huge chunk of territory. some say it's the size of jordan. others say the size of great britain. they have thousands of men under arm. they also have several hundred -- sorry, several thousand individuals with european passports. if these guys were to sneak across the border into turkey and get on a plane, we'd be none the wiser, unless we're really

monitoring them. and it's really hard to monitor several thousand people in any great detail. obviously, people with europe passports can very easily come to the united states. so it is a significant security threat. even if most of these people don't pose a specific threat to these countries. >> thank you very much for weighing in, i appreciate it. it is the talk of capitol hill, even if everyone is on break. kristin gillibrand's new book. that's next. ica 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.

is caused by people looking for parking. in a city s...was... that's remarkable that so much energy is, is wasted. streetline has looked at the problem of parking, which has not been looked at for the last 30, 40 years. we wanted to rethink that whole industry, so we go and put out these sensors in each parking spot and then there's a mesh network that takes this information, sends it over the internet so you can go find exactly where those open parking spots are. the collaboration with citi was important for providing us the necessary financing; allow this small start up to go provide a service to municipalities. citi has been an incredible source of advice, how to engage with municipalities, how to structure deals, and as we think about internationally citi is there every step of the way. so the end result is you reduce congestion, you reduce pollution and you provide a service to merchants, and that certainly is huge.

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. denturthan real teeth.erent they're about ten times softer and have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor-causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture everyday. 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.

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. while meeting with a group of donors in new york last night, president obama did not downplay the current threats the u.s. faces but suggested those threats are being exaggerated by social media and the mainstream press. the hill reports the president saying, quote, the world's always been messy. we're just noticing now in part because of social media. and, if you watch the nightly news, it feels like the world is

falling apart. he also added, we will get through these challenging times just like we have in the past. joining me now, jimmy williams, and republican strategist joe watt kibs. guys, good to see you both. we have the president saying it's social media and the nightly news. but officials in his administration have ratcheted up the rhetoric specifically about the isis threat. that includes secretary of defense chuck hagel. is the president's statement a fair one? >> look, i mean, i think the president's in a very bad spot in this particular issue. he is for two reasons. first, a year ago, he asked the congress to give him the permission to go into syria and to do what was going to be necessary to get assad out. they took -- they punted that. they took a pass on it. in fact, rand paul put an op-ed in-ty "time" magazine that said "why i'm voting no on syria." now we have uk prime minister

cameron, it is a growing threat, it is a problem. they're basically strangleholding northern iraq and western syria. what does the president do about it? go back to congress, ask them again in the middle of an election year? so he's in a pretty bad spot. i guess what he has to do now is wait for the pentagon to give him the pgoptions and then go d that. >> joe, is the president in a bad spot, as jimmy says? >> the president -- i think americans, republicans and democrats, just want the president to be decisive and move quickly on this one. the isis threat is just that, it's a tremendous threat. whether it's overblown by social media or not, you've got king abdullah saying that they could be in europe in a month and in the united states in two months. we've got a brave american who lost his life, was beheaded, by isis, who ran out of time.

we don't have lots of time. think republicans are making the point that senator mccain and senator graham have said it. if the president will move quickly on this, we're prepared to support him but he has to move quickly and decisively on this one. deliberation doesn't help us. >> we've heard drum beats before. it didn't work out so great. >> isis is clearly a threat. look at what we know. clearly, if we do nothing, we do so at our own peril. citizens with american passports coming back to the united states after having fought with isis, we don't know what they'll do in this country. we have to be on high alert. we've got to move quickly to send a message to isis we're not going to stand idly by. >> jimmy, the president also

said this current foreign crisis and all of them around the world, they're not comparable to the challenges the u.s. faced during the cold war. do you agree with that? >> i mean, i think it's a different kind of threat, frankly. the cold war was very much two nations obviously going to the brink. history tells us that. we know that for a fact now. actually, we know how much close we were to nuclear obliteration than we previous knew. this is a very different kind of thing because of the way -- they don't practice warfare in the usual manner, these people, as joe just alluded to, and the world knows. they beheaded an american journalist. threatening to do so with another american journalist. these people don't play by the rules of war per se. i don't think we should underplay or overplay isis. to me, they're nothing more than basically al qaeda on steroids. so i think we should treat them like we treated al qaeda. we should root them out. we should get rid of them. do everything we can. to do that, i don't know what that is, but that's what the

president's for so -- >> let me pick up on that. joe, you've agreed in principle you say we have to act quickly. do you have any appetite for boots on the ground? do you think republicans might want boots on the ground? >> i don't know that republicans are saying unilaterally there have to be boots on the ground but they do want some decisive movement. certainly, some are saying, clearly, a strong and well thought-out air campaign against isis would be helpful. some are saying maybe we have some of our allies there, aid some of the forces friendly to the united states in syria. but not necessarily boots on the ground. >> yeah, jimmy, i want to ask you a question, and it's on a different topic here. regarding senator gillibrand, she's got this new book out, called "off the sidelines," in which she says she endured some offensive comments from older male colleagues in the senate about her weight. i'm coming to you here because you were a senate aide. is that really what the climate is like there, this all boys

club, where some think they can make these kinds of comments about the women? by the way, did you forget the women helped get you into those great offices on capitol hill? . >> well, yeah, listen, i spent almost seven years working as a staffer in the united states senate, and a lot of time on the senate floor. you would be utterly amazed at some of the things that happen on the senate floor and the cloak rooms of the republican and democratic cloak rooms. am i surprised by this? no. should it be tolerated? absolutely not. the senate is a club. it's 100 people. i don't know my math, maybe 20, maybe less than 20 female senators, but the bottom line is, here's what the republican and democratic men who are senators should remember, you can't win an election unless you get the female vote. doing that kind of thing, whether it be on the senate floor or off the senate floor is not a smart way of going about getting the female vote. >> you think? okay, jimmy williams, joe watkins. yeah, not so much. okay, guys, thanks so much.

why is one major american city thinking about paying people to vote? that's next. don't just visit rome. [ thud ] visit tripadvisor rome. with millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. nobody ever stomped their foot 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. that's why verizon is giving you even more.

now, for a limited time, get more data! 1 gb of bonus data every month with every new smartphone or upgrade. our best ever pricing with the more everything plan and 50% off all new smartphones. like the htc one m8 for windows or android. built to inspire envy. come get your more with verizon. this is bill. his doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. peanuts! peanuts! crowd cheers!

so, how would you like to get paid to vote? with just 23% or less than a fourth of l.a.'s 1.8 million registered voters casting a ballot in municipal elections, the city is considering a new incentive to pay people to vote. joining me to discuss this, the president of the los angeles city council herb wesson, and nathan hawkman. mr. wesson, how did this idea come up? >> well, you know what, i have to defer to president hawkman. it was the ethics commission that suggested to me that we'd look at this situation based on the crisis that we're having, where it relates to getting people to go to the polls. >> okay. so this would be a lottery type situation, as i understand it. but i'm going to ask you then,

mr. hochman, you are in charge of the ethics. are there ethical concerns? i would like to think people inform themselves and get out there to vote, not because they want to win money. >> certainly there's ethical concerns, but in los angeles city elections, we have reached a crisis. only two out of ten registered voters are actually meeting, which means effectively that one out of ten registered voters is deciding the election. we have reached that crisis level. so what we suggested is one of the proposals to consider is an innovative out of the box solution of using a voter drawing and using approximately 1% of the $10 million of matching funds, of city taxpayer matching funds that were given to candidates in the last election to establish a prize pool. and from that prize pool, maybe it's 100 $1,000 prizes, or ten $10,000 prizes, but some amount is selected and the only

way you can actually enter the prize is by voting. we don't tell people how to vote, who to vote for, what to vote for, they just have to vote. >> aren't you concerned, though, sir, that if they get out there to vote, they're really just motivated by the money, that they won't have done their homework? if they didn't care enough in the first place to get out there. >> let me jump in if i might to talk about this in a real positive spin. i have been engaged in government my entire life. and in the past 14 days, i have had more substantive discussions about voter turnout than i've had in the past ten years. so what we're getting are individuals saying i'm for it, i'm against it, but we're also getting other suggestions. bottom line, people are becoming aware. this is a fascinating conversation. it's provocative.

it's controversial. it's emotional. and more people are engaged than i can remember. >> well, that, sir, is a very good thing. as a los angeles native myself, i tell you, we're going to follow this issue and see what comes of it and ask you both to come back and return when you have a chance to do so. nathan hochman and herb wesson, thank you very much. that is a wrap-up. i'll see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern. but up next, t.j. holmes. have yourself a good one. latte or au lait?

cozy or cool? exactly the way you want it ... until boom, it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the sleep number bed. right now, all beds are on sale. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60. and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. you can only find sleep number at a sleep number store. right now save 50% on the labor day limited edition bed, plus 24-month special financing. hurry ends monday! know better sleep with sleep number. when your favorite food starts a fight fight back fast with tums. relief that neutralizes acid on contact...

...and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! try great tasting tums chewy delights. yummy. great. this is the last thing i need.) seriously? the last thing you need is some guy giving you a new catalytic converter when all you got is a loose gas cap. what? it is that simple sometimes. thanks. now let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch. hey you know what? i'll drive! and i have no feet... i really didn't think this through. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) 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? what's the next step against isis? president obama says there's no strategy in place now. i'll talk to a member of the foreign affairs committee about how he thinks the u.s. should move forward. a young african-american man simply walking down the street, unarmed, and shot by a police officer. people want answers. and they still don't know why. what did he do so wrong that the police officer had to