test. good thursday morning. right now on "first look," the justice department maps to launch a civil rights investigation in the fatal shooting of michael brown. can president obama unite nato against russia and isis. meet an american who joined isis and find out why. also, a fighter jet goes terribly off course and the nfl on nbc kicks off tonight. good morning, and thank you for joining us. later today, the justice department is expected to launch a civil rights investigation of the entire ferguson, missouri police department. the new investigation will be broader because it looks into the conduct of the embattled

police department over the past several years. the justice department with the help of the fbi already begun investigating the fatal shooting of unarmed michael brown by daren wilson. meanwhile, a missouri court official says broup was never kigted as a felony as a child and did not have an adult criminal record, but it never means he was not charge with lesser crimes. they are deciding whether or not to release the full record, juvenile records are sealed, but five news organizations filed motions to force the court to rerelease any records he might have had. president obama in wales for a high stakes nato summit. they are encouraging the draw down in afghanistan as well as the threat of isis. president obama and british prime minister david cameron are scheduled to speak within the hour. we'll bring that to you live when it happens. in the mean time, though, vowing

vengeance. biden taking direct aim at isis. >> the gates of hell, until they are brought to justice. because hell is where they will reside. hell is where they will reside. >> but the u.s. warning comes with another one, an alarming trend. meet an american who joined isis. >> reporter: isis militants are brutal killers whose victims include americans, yet there are americans in unknown number who are isis recruits inclu. what attracted to isis? >> somebody has to defend muslims and innocent muslims. >> reporter: we interviewed him in beirut. he did not hide the intention to hide isis calling itself the

islamic state. >> i purchased the ticket with the intent of entering the syria, joining up with medical and food aid convoys or theed food state. >> reporter: don mori gap, now 44, educated in a military academy, a member of the national guard, a deputy sheriff, a body builder, raised catholic in north carolina. morgan had been in trouble with the law and served time on gun charges. colleagues and law enforcement officials describe an angry man struggling to fit in and finding a cause in radical islam. >> this is the path and the way to go. >> reporter: morgan says the change came two years ago, spending hours on the internet following wars in the middle east he was sucked in tweeting red call messages under an arabic pseudonym. >> a push came from being mistreated from people around me

who didn't share the views i had. >> reporter: he decided to join last june and began to make his way from beirut to syria, but he was stopped on the way by authorities in turkey and sent back. soon after the interview, running low on money, mori gap returned to the u.s. knowing the risk. >> i think there's a strong possibility that they'll charge me with supporting terrorist organizations and participating in terrorist activities. >> reporter: but does he think he's participating in terrorist activities? >> based on the definition, yes. >> that was richard engle recording. morgan returned, arrested not for terrorism, but allegedly trying to sell a rifle on line. he was executed in front of the world, and now the family of steven sotloff has a message for isis. >> we will emerge from this ordeal, our village is strong. we will not allow our enemies to

hold us hostage with the weapon they possess, fear. >> a vigil held for sotloff in university of central florida wednesday. this video is heart stopping, take a look at it. shocking really, a libyan fighter jet fell from the sky tuesday slamming into a neighborhood. five people were killed. this morning the crash is blamed on a technical problem in an event honoring the pilot of another crash. well, the wait is over for football fans. the super bowl champion seattle seahawks take on the green bay packers tonight marking the start of a new nfl season here on nbc. jay has more from seattle. good morning. >> reporter: hey there, good morning, still dark here now outside centurylink field, but that changes in several hours as the season kicks off here in the

home city of the super bowl champs. there is a unique sound, style, and scene that defines seattle. the space needle, the market, and now include the lombardi trophy. >> the game has never been stronger, and here we are with the game, the season kicking off tonight, this is a huge, huge night. >> reporter: the nfl celebrating the newest champion right here on nbc. behind the scene, miles of kale and mobile control rooms in place and ready for kickoff. >> couldn't be better. you want that atmosphere, the championship banner will be exciting. the fans are into it. >> super fan right here. >> reporter: the party actually started this week when downtown was turn eed into a playground r little kids, big kids, and even these kids. flag teams have. practicing their steps on the field while just outside

seattle's own sound garden and pop sensation ferrel got in a practice before the teams take center stage. a full evening of fun and football, and for nbc sports, a season that starts with the first game tonight and enz with the last one. super bo super bowl in arizona. >> drum roll, 5:30 pacific time, fire up the grill. speaking of firing up, a round of severe storms? >> same areas, minnesota, wisconsin, that's the target zone. reverse of the spring. in the fall, the cold air comes down, hits the warm, humid air, storms in the fall. yesterday happened, large hail, areas of north dakota and minnesota. the hail turned apples, as the

farmer said, into apple sauce. pushing it a little, but the hailstones crushed through. he lost, unfortunately, most of the crop. that's sad. you know, ruining the apple picking and his income. as far as the storms overnight, the dots, that's the severe storm reports, green dots are large hail. there was a round yesterday and new storms rolling through the midwest. one strong line crossed lake michigan, up into the upper peninsula, other additional very strong storms. look at the lightning strikes, those white dots, fargo area, i bet the dogs are under the bed right now. extreme weather over fargo, north dakota as we speak. additional strong storms this afternoon. wind damage and large hail again, minneapolis to duluth and waterloo. the forecast, again, it is a

steamy day. it is hot weather. the eastern two-thirds of the country, but that's going to change. the cool air that's now in montana and south dakota moves into denver tomorrow, minneapolis friday afternoon, and sunday, that cool, fall-like air mass goes to the east coast. >> bring it on. >> it's going to feel like summer for three more days, so if you want to swim and enjoy it, better go. >> do it now, all right. it is big, happens in hours, and could affect millions of paychecks. up next, is yours at risk? a fire fight in overtime as flames jump from building to building. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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12 past the hour. business today, tesla motors building its first lithium ion battery plant in nevada. the bank in charge of china's alibaba's ipo, and billionaire

carl icahn dumped his entire stake of family dollar stores and profited a cool $200 million. bloomberg is back at bloomberg. the billionaire, former mayor of new york city, returns to the company that made him the 15th richest man on the planet according to forbes. the wall street journal says france is threatening delivery of a warship to russia's navy. the change of heart stems from the situation in ukraine. aaa expects gas prices to drop this fall suggesting another 10 to 20 cents per gallon nationwide happens by november. fill her up. home depot is hiring two firms to invest gait the breach, and it's not clear how unusual the activity was, but they are offering free id protection services to people who may have been affected. later today, fast food workers across the country are expected to walk off the job.

it's part of the campaign aimed at increasing minimum wage to $15 an hour. mcdonalds, wendys, burger king, and kfc are among those affected. >> okay, folks, that is a stadium roof at the vietnam open crashing down. there were badminton players on moments before, but a ref saw the ceiling moving and cleared everyone away, thankfully. the building is almost 30 years old and was awaiting major reconstruction. remarkably, no one was injured. boy, that was a close call. took 150 firefighters to wrangle this enormous massachusetts apartment fire. five injured, everyone okay, but that eight unit complex? yep, it was destroyed. and look at this newborn white rhino in israel, look at it go. the species is classified near threatened thanks to poaching.

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was not invited, then putin said, has that ever stopped me before? hello, boys, nice meeting you here. was i supposed to wear shirt? >> from fallon to your first look at scrambled politics, a major shakeup in the kansas senate race, chad taylor, a little known democratic nominee, officially withdrew has candidacy. the contest pits republican senator roberts against orman. it's unclear if orman wins, which he'll party. perhaps this is an attempt for new hampshire senator to distance herself from president obama as she tries to hold on to her senate seat tweeting yesterday, quote, do not believe isil is, quote, mangle, agree the terrorists must be chased to, quote, the gates of hell.

the first part is a play on obama's remarks, and the last part, a phrase vice president biden used vowing justice will be serve. the republican challenger, scott brown, has a plan to get americans back to work. this is what he told residents in a town hall. >> here's the thing, when folks say, you know, what are you going to do to create jobs? i'm not going to create jobs. it's not my job to create jobs. it's yours. my job is to ensure government is out of your way so you can grow and expand. the number one job right now is obamacare. what do we do? repeal it. >> a very explicit analogy by debbie wasserman-schulz saying, quote, scott walker gave women the back of his haptd. it is stark and direct, but it

is reality. what extremists like scott walker are doing is they are grabbing us by the hair and pulling us back. it is not going to happen on our watch. the dnc chairwoman made the comments in milwaukee. there are reports that hillary clinton will be in the country tomorrow attending an event hop norring scholarship recipients. what are the chances of the two presidential candidates bumping into each other? i don't know. outgoing reporting congressman is looking for interns, but don't bother applying if you fit these characteristics. granolas who fear guns, hate babies, ashl shame of america, and think islamic terrorists are just misunwill not be comfortable here. that's part of the ad listed in the gop website, and that, my friends, is your morning dish of

scrambled politics. i'm joined by "politico" reporter, kevin, and we are waiting for the president to speak in wales, but he said all along, though, that nato must strengthen its alliance, but begin one in four meet their spending for nato defense, how strong is the alliance in the face of a situation of ewe cruk and isis? >> it's a recuring problem for ni nato that it's just the united states covering everyone else. britain contributes, france in some ways, but they are not a full member of nato. this is something where, you know, i would not be surprised to see president obama put pressure on other nato countries to step up their defense spending since they are the ones more concerned with reason to be more concerned about russia because they are directly threatening europe in a way they can't and are not directly threatening the united states. >> you talked about that today

in the op-ed today. they say, quote, countries like britain and america will not be called by barbaric killers, but forthright in the defense of our values. what do you think of that, forthright in the defense of our values? >> i think they are trying to start laying the case for some action against isis. the administration criticized for not saying what the action will be, but, clearly, this is a case where cameron and obama are united in their desire to do something. whether or not they'll have support from congress and parol limit to do something is another question. last year was syria. cameron did not get support from parliament and obama didn't get support from congress to do what they wanted to do. this another case to lay case for action. it's not clear what the action might be. >> seems vice president biden is ready for action using chilling

words yesterday saying the u.s. will follow isis to the gates of hell to find justice. is he saying what president obama cannot say on a world stage? >> could be, or biden just getting ahead of the president a lig little bit. it's not something the comments planned, but something he spun off on his own, but he's going further than the president has. the president said yesterday, you know, simultaneously said we have to destroy them and then make them a manageable problem, so it's not clear exactly what the administration wants to do here. >> strong words indeed, though, thanks, kevin, for joining us. we do appreciate it. >> good to be on. >> first buzz is ahead including amazing dunks. plus, forget your drier's black hole, why this x-ray could hold the key to all those missing socks. go! wow! go power oats! go! go power!

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all right. it's that time, first buzz. bill and richard is here, and it's going to the dogs today. >> oh, really? >> everyone has a gopro including animals. >> strap is on the back. this is a labrador in sicily headed strait for the ocean. starts on top a mountain or hillside, cutting through backyards, down through the bushes and the yards, and finally over the rock, which is bumpy, goes straight true the beach goers and, oh, relief! >> a nice, cool ocean. >> amazing the camera was stable, and, you know, that well attached too. >> we're going to go from that dog to this dog. you know, every time you wash

clothes, you lose a sock or two in the drier with no idea where it goes. apparently, we found them. 43 to be exact. right there in the belly of a dog in port lan, oregon. >> look, none of them match. >> none of them match. >> not one match. ? they had to have surgery to get all the socks you see this, and this happen earlier in february, but the doctor who did it wanted to submit it. >> how big is the dog? great danes are huge, 150 pounds. >> the owners do not want to be identified or the dog. the dog is okay. >> what did you do know? throw the socks away? >> or wash them in. >> we have a drawer of singles waiting to be matched. >> soften up a little. comfortable, smells probably, who knows. >> you're going dunking? >> even though the nba is over, hey, this is amazing video from an amazing viral video producer, and this came out yesterday.

200,000-plus views. lords of gravity from hungary do amazing tricks. >> from hungary, huh? >> they are using trampolines. is that cheating? >> a little of cheating. all right. "way too early" starts now. >> as a nation, we're united. when people harm americans, we don't retreat. we don't forget. we take care of those who are grieving. and when that's finished, they should know we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice. because hell is where they will reside. hell is where they reside. >> a firy vice president biden vowing to follow isis to the gates of hell. how does the u.s. eliminate the threat of isis? what's the real strategy for

american justice? the department of justice expanding investigation in missouri, not just focusing on the death of michael brown, but a look into the history of police culture there. two characters just making political headlines. president frank underwood makes a swing by the colbert report, how to get things done in washington, d.c. this is "way too early." welcome to "way too early," it's september 4, a show afraid of an american that would elect a president frank underwood, a tiny bit freeway, and we have news this morning to share in the cooler, something close to the family here at morning joe on "way too early" makes big news. that's coming up. starting off this morning with the latest on the united states' efforts to defeat islamic state