we'll tell you this. it's "way too early"! hey, everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is monday, september 8th. welcome to "way too early." the show that needs a new alarm clock. we have all decided that. i just got up about 45 minutes ago. anyway -- nothing like -- ba-boom, ba-boom, when you realize you've gotten up late. a lot to get to over the weekend. catch up on nfl sports. a lot to catch up on that front as well as the u.s. open. what president obama has had that sap in his plan to rid the middle east of isis and could that plan last beyond his own term in office. that's the big question everyone is asking and the "u.s. times" reports the plan could last three years come in three phases using air strikes to halt isis an protect civilians. securing iraq's government and training its troops and finally flushing isis from syria.

in an exclusive interview on "meet the press" president obama made the case for the newest action. >> the next phase is now to start going on some offense. we have to get an iraqi government in place, and i'm optimistic that next week we should be able to get that done. and i want everybody to understand that we have not seen any immediate intelligence about threats to the homeland from isil. that's not what this is about. what it's salve, an organization that if allowed to control significant amounts of territory, to amass more resources, more arms, that over time, that can be a serious threat to the homeland. >> still, some arab nations in the region would be expected to join in, and are said to be in tepid without specific plan in front of them right now. late on saturday, the u.s. deepened its involvement

pounding suni fighters in western iraq in an effort to save a critical dam. suni tribes are beginning to join iraqi forces to help beat back insurgents. a good sign if a unified country will work out in the future. president obama faces strong criticism over his decision to delay executive action on immigration reform. the president said he will not take action until after the mid-term elections despite previously promising he would address it before the end of summer. chuck todd said it looked like election year politics. president obama denied that's the case. >> nome do i want to make sure the ts are crossed, the is dotted. i'm being honest, chuck, about the politics of it. this problem with unaccompanied children that we saw a couple weeks ago, where you had from central america a surge of kids who were showing up at the border, got a lot of attention.

and a lot of americans started thinking, we've got this immigration crisis on our hands, and what i want to do is, when i take executive action i want to make sure that it's sustainable. i want to make sure -- >> the public's not behind you it sounds like you're concerned the public wouldn't support what you did? >> no. what i'm saying is, that i'm going to act, because it's the right thing for the country. but it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children and why it's necessary. >> the lawmakers from both sides of the aisle argue president obama was worried about costing democrats control of the senate including democratic congressman luis gutierrez. >> first of all, it's clear that playing it safe is what is going on at the white house, and among democratic circles and playing safe means walking away from our values and our principles. you know, george, playing it safe might win an election. sometimes you use an election

playing it safe also, but it's almost never leading to fairness or justice and to good public policy you can be proud of. >> in eight out of nine states with competitive senate races, hispanics make up less than 10% of the electorate. colorado is the sole exception in that. sticking with the fight for the senate, marist polls show republicans make significant gains in two closely watched contests. arkansas, republican congress tom cotton opened up a five-point lead against democratic senator mark pryor. candidates tied among registered voters and senator pryor had an 11-point lead in may. look at kentucky. republican mitch mcconnell leads democrat allison grimes by eight points with likely voters and the senate minority leaders holds a similar vote in may separated just two points. better in colorado. mark udall ahead over cory

gardner by six points with likely voters. the lead expands to eight points among registered voters unchanged from july and in all three states president obama's finds his approval rating sitting below 40%. health news. doctors are trying to get a grip on what's believed to be a respiratory virus that sent hundreds of kids to the hospital. so the cdc is saying ten states asked for help figuring out exactly what they're dealing with. colorado reported about 900 of these cases in the past month. the virus is described as a distant cousin to polio with flu-like simp fops that appear worse in children with asthma. doctors say the best defense against the illness is practicing good hygiene. the nba's atlanta hawks up for sale. bruce levenson announced he'd sell his controlling interest amp admitting he'd sent a racially sensitive e-mail in 2012 written to three team executives.

lists his kearns about the cheerleaders being black and hip-hop music played at the arena. my theory, the black crowd scared away the whites and simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base. the league was investigating the decision to sell. in a statement levenson said in part "by focusing on reece i sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than black fans. if you're angry, you should be. i'm angry at myself, too." adam silver said in a statement, "as mr. levenson acknowledged the views that he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the corr principles of the national basketball association." this follows donald sterling's lifetime ban by the nba. breaking news to pass along from buckingham palace. the palace announces prince william and the duchess of

cambridge, kate middleton are expecting their second child. our congratulations to them. we know there, that's the image of their first child. their son george, who is about a year old, i think he just celebrated his first birthday earlier this summer. there we have -- a picture there from july 23rd. yes. celebrated his third birthday, in july. that's great news. for them. congratulations to their ever-growing family. when's harry getting married, though, jen? when? we switch gears and on to business news. on wall street a lot of focus on smartphones. not only a business wireless convention in vegas, apple is expected to take the wraps off its brand new iphone. joining us live from london where the anticipation is building. we won't talk about the royals. just talk about apple. jeff, hi. >> reporter: you know what, we'll get to the royals later on. i wanted to talk about this scottish referendum. you know what? >> perfect. >> reporter: the royal family might end up no longer ruling

the dominion of scotland, depend which way that referendum goes. don't steal the apple thunder. as you say, anticipation is building. in 24 hours' time we'll find out exactly what new products ap hall to offer the market. a lot of talk about a new iphone 6. tough screen, larger body. new features. we'll be waiting and watching there, but what about a new product line? a lot of analysts think apple needs to give us something new and it could be the iwatch. people speculating there will be some kind of smart wristwatch keyed in to apple's health ecosystem. seems about filling in the blanks in the ecosystem at the moment. this larger phone is going to be a bit like a fablet. about 5.5 inches, possibly 1.47. we'll watch the story closely. clearly, mr. cook needs something to come back at the opposition with.

apple needs to be more competitive. talking of which, we've now seen overtaken in the sportswear market, adidas, by under armour. fascinating story. 23% decline over the period sales for adidas. 20% upside for under armour pushing adidas into number three with nike number one. back to you. >> and so, jeff, so everybody knows. that's adidas, right? "adidas." >> yes. that's -- well, that's how i'd say it here, but it a german brand. i guess you call it "adidas." >> we do. part of our, put the emphasis on the wrong syllable all the time in this country. back to royal news. talk about this independence, the push, anyway in scotland to gain independence from the uk? that really is a big development, potentially? >> absolutely. one of the uk newspapers did a

clever thing, on the front page said, will she be the last queen of scotland? obviously referring to elizabeth ii ruling monarch. and that is a big question, because the latest survey has those who would like a split in the ren ren dumb in ten days' time, 51%, the first time we've had a survey that's indicated there may actually be a "yes" vote here. i can tell you what the brave hearts are beating a little faster on this latest poll. so keep your eye on this story. we're ten daps away from the ren rendom itself. if a "yes" vote could mean scotland steps a way from the united kingdom and we have to talk about two separate countries. back to you. >> thank you, geoff. just as requested, sunday's memorial for joan rivers was

hollywood all the way. fashion and media came together to remember the trailblazing 81-year-old. nbc's ron mott ta details. >> reporter: the comic legend joan rivers got the final punchline she wanted. a roster of a-list guests from whoopi goldberg and barbara walters to sarah jessica parker, rosie o'donnell, even a musical number from hugh jackman and the show-stopper himself howard stern. >> howard stern gets up unannounced. opens with a line that brought the ho us down, but, boy, was it risky. >> reporter: risky in the way rivers delivered her humor to america for 50 years. >> grow up. can we talk. she was a tramp. >> reporter: raunchy and wild. no holds barred. >> gwyneth paltrow, the world's most beautiful woman. >> reporter: in her 2012 book "i hate everyone starting with me" rivers joked about her sendoff. >> i want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights and cameras and action. i want it to be hollywood all the way.

don't give me some rabbi rambling on. ♪ >> reporter: outside, throngs of fans applauded daughter melissa rivers and her son cooper as he left the service led by a band of bagpipers. >> obviously, you consider yourself a fan? >> absolutely. >> you could really feel her energy every time. never mailed it in. always athantic. >> reporter: hoda kotb shared many a giggle with rivers on and off camera. >> we love you, joanie. >> seems weird to be smiling after a memorial service, but that's sort of what this entire afternoon was. it was full of laughter and joy, and it was also full of tears. >> the service in one word was irreverent. it was fabulous. joan rivers would have loved it. ♪ >> reporter: a farewell far from fun, though heavy on levity for the queen of comedy. >> i'm sorry happy to have people i can laugh with.

>> what do you think she would have said for some of the things certain people wore? looking at some of the outfits. from the queen of fashion police to a fashion trend possibly on its way out, the ap headline caught our eye this weekend. look at this. jeans face an uncertain future amid yoga rage? that story interesting here saying sales of iconic blue jeans fell 6% during the bast year after deg kads of almost steady grown. the decline driven by women. men's interest mading. why? people more often are sporting yoga pants, sweatpants and other athletic wear instead of traditional denim. are you a jeans or yoga wear person? how does this make you feel as new casual wear trend on the way, taking root in your closets? tweet us with the most creative answer, the best ones coming up on the show later today. jen has on her jeans today. it's a monday on "way too early." sunday night highlights, broncos could hold on to their lead

against the colts and imagine feeling the effects of this volcano eruption while on jakz look at that thing. a check of weather when "way too early" comes on back. you're lucky you didn't get me in my sweel pants today as i was racing in here today! anyway, back after this. all offenses against the united states which richard nixon committed, may have committed or may have took part in during his term as president.

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so i call in our access ge engineers, and together with columbia, we work backwards. from the cabinet factory, to the place they peel the logs. we find the source and help replace the machine. problem solved. if you just need a loan, just call a bank. but at ge capital, we're builders. what we know, can help you grow. hello everybody. time for sports. kicking off the first nfl sunday of the season. the late game in denver. peyton manning and the broncos hosting his former team, the indianapolis colts. denver races out to a lead after manning connects with tight end julius thomas three times in the

first half. they hang on to beat indy 31-24. manning joins brett favre as the only quarterbacks to beat each of the current 32 nfl franchises. to miami. the dolphins trailing patriots 20-13 when the tide starts to change. mihm scores another 20 unanswered points to upset new england. >> what happened to the new england defense? >> i don't know. may not have shown up. so to houston. the redskins off to a rough start against the texans. >> uh-oh. >> special teams blunders came early. hust's blocked a washington field goal and later in the quarter blocked a punt that is returned for a touchdown. rg 3 threw for 276 yards but the redskins were done in by two second half fumbles. texans end a 14-game skid notching their first victory since last december 15th. steelers up in the second quarter.

antonio brown returning a punt. end of the return, brown drop kicks the punter there. >> only fun you because he didn't get hurt. >> yeah. no one lost an eye. it appears he tried to hurdle a landing but catches a cleat in the face mask there. yeah. stealers are penalized 15 yards for unnecessary -- >> he planted that like right on the dude's face. not like he was trying to raise his foot over it. >> how many more angles do we have of that? >> only four more. go on to win after a field goal in the time seconds of regulation. lie ins host the giants tonight and chargers visiting cardinals. everybody up to speed on tennis and the u.s. open. serena williams defeated caroline wos wozniacki. 18th grand slam title, a record $4 million for the victory and the first female athlete to top $60 million in on-court earnings.

amazing. all right. then we send a big congratulations to retired tennis superstar martina navratilova, proposed to her girlfriend, while the two were at the u.s. open on saturday. so a big weekend for them. >> martina is always going to be the best. >> she was my favorite. >> congratulations to those two. fantastic. a check on your weather. meteorologist bill karins. derek jeter day over the weekend. a little celebration. >> ended yankee season yesterday, too, with that loss. besides that, a nice moment by the captain. >> and a beautiful day for it. >> yes. sunday was fantastic in the northeast, but not the case in the deep south. this little weak storm continues to plague us. over georgia and north florida over the weekend. lots of clouds. lots of rain. cooler temperatures. now a soaking rain through the raleigh area through eastern north carolina from myrtle beach to charleston. some tries to move into virginia today. not so much into the northeast. it lingers right along the mid-atlantic about two days.

could pick up about four inches of rain from wilmington to the outer banks. some cloud and showers drift up to d.c. not like last week. remember how hot it was? upper 70s, low 80s, d.c. area. definitely a change in the weather pattern out there. i have to leave you with one shot. cue up the haboob that happened. the dust storm in arizona. >> haboob? >> haboob called. a technical term for it. the time lapse video of the sandstorms coming in, pretty cool stuff. >> really? >> yes. >> it is really cool. >> don't trust me it's call add haboob? >> it got my attention. i was looking down at my twitter. someone saying i forget to to change my pajama top before whisking off to work this morning. haboob. appreciate that, bill. coming up on "morning joe" -- can you believe that, jen? someone thinks i wore my pajama top today. difficult. breaking downing the news for president obama on confronting the threat of isis. when we come back, huddle around the water cooler for big news on

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okay. around the water cooler, check

in with louis. >> it could fit. denzel washington, added to his bucket list. oscar-winning actor participated in ask me anything promoting his new movie "the equalizer." asked in being interested in becoming the next james bond. of course he said yes. who wouldn't? said everyone to start a new denzel is new james bond on twitter. surprisingly, never hosted "snl." told fans to call nbc and lobby for that role, and i think he'd be a very strong host on "snl." they should get on that. >> would be great. do a great job. >> pretty funny. put this next video under the category things you'd only want to see from a distance. an australian couple boating around mount guinea, an eruption right before the their eyes in a thick plume of ash shooting into the sky even moving clouds out of the way. check out what happened next.

>> that sonic boom was so intense it rocked think boat. the volcano destroyed the nearby town. 20 years ago when it erupted simultaneously with mount vulcan. we should make sure we bring our natural disaster kits with up next time we go to papua new guinea. >> people, capturing it on film but don't know how quickly that would reach them. >> scary. i'd be motoring out of there. >> cruising out of there. responses. question was about casual wear. jeans or yoga pants? is this trend taking root? what are we getting? >> we have burton who says i prefer suit and tie. slacks are casual. jeans only when necessary. yoga pants? what's next? leisure suits again. horrors. >> horrors. >> dwayne says, oh, no. never give up the 501s.

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you went and golfed. do you want that back? >> you know, it is always a challenge when you're supposed to be on vacation. because you're followed every where and part of what i would love is a vacation from the press. there's no doubt that after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through, after the statement that i made, that i should have anticipated the optics. you know, that's part