in iraq. >> this president was elected to get the country off of war footing. it's not happening. >> 1:00 p.m. on the east coast and 10:00 on the west. >> president obama will confront his plan to confront isis before the anniversary of the september attacks. he announced the interview on "meet the press." >> i'm going to be asking the american people to understand that this is a serious threat. number two, we had the capacity to deal with it. here's how we are going to deal with it. >> before the speech, the president plans to meet with congressional members tomorrow. and the president is getting blow back for the announcement that he will delay action on immigration until after the fall elections. this following pressure with democrat who is think executive

action could be electoral poison, but the move angered a lot of immigration reform supporters. >> it's clear that playing it safe is what is going on at the white house among democratic circles. they say walking away from the values and the principals. >> the president is still going to take action, just not right now. a mystery respiratory illness is sending many to the hospital. doctors believe this illness is a cousin of the common cold. it can be so severe that children end up in intensive care. those with asthma are most at risk. the start of the school year is going to spread the illness further. we are now getting a new perspective on nfl star's domestic violence in february.

the video posted on tmz shows him hitting his now wife twice before dryinging her out of the elevator. the nfl said we requested any and all information including the video from inside the elevator. it was not made available and no one had seen it until today. he was widely criticized for a light suspension after the incident. stick around for a legal explainer in the hour. another sports controversy. the owner of the hawks is voluntarily selling his interest in that team after a racially charged e-mail was made public. in the letter to team executives, bruce levinson was answering to concerns about the nba. those included the majority of the fans being black and cheerleaders and hip hop music at the games. in a statement by focusing on race, they sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable. if you are angry about what i

wrote, you should be. i'm angry at myself too. this follows donald sterling being forced to sell his team and the charges of racism. let's drill down on the address to the nation on wednesday. he is expected to outline the plan for isis that could take years, long after he leaves office, but that won't involve americans returning to war. >> this is not going to be an announcement about u.s. ground troops. this is not the equivalent of the iraq war. what this is is similar to the kinds of counter terrorism campaigns that we have been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years. >> the first phase, the air campaign is already under way it involves more training and armg of iraqi kurdish fighters. as we await the briefing any moment, there is the white house room there, we will take a look

as soon as it begins. what do we know about the consultations the president is having? >> the president is preparing for his address tomorrow. the official said his chance to provide in comprehensive detail what the threat is that is presented by isis and how exactly the u.s. plans to go after it right now. you laid out what the terms will be and the air campaign already under way. one of the next steps will be the formation of an inclusive government. it's unclear as they try to continue that process. who is in and who is out. the toughest part to this is going to be what happens in syria specifically. how they go after what is effectively a safe haven for the fighters. the eastern administration official told me that while air strikes are being considered, the targets would be leadership weapons depots and training center fist that's what they go

forward with. >> the question with the conflict is serious messaging. peter alexander, appreciate that update. >> the president will confront a divided audience and a tough audience in the reluctant to return to war and very vocal hawks on the hill. they meet a member of the house foreign committee. the president is not going to need to accomplish that in that meeting. >> he is going to lay out the agenda coming back from wales. he has been able to talk to allies to make sure they are engaged as well as some of the our allies like turkey and saudi arabia. what role they are going to play and how it comes together and how we will be able to lay out the plan that will be a comprehensive plan with allies and others not bringing troops

on the ground, but getting rid of isis. >> you support air strikes in syria if they were backed by the right coalition of nations. the president has been working on the coalition side. has he rallied enough support? >> i think people were criticizing him, but he was trying to make sure he rallied that support, not making the same mistake george w. bush made. in other words, people that would not lock in and we gave them things to have their names utilize it. what the president has been doing is really engaging and locking in the allies so we will have the appropriate individuals on the ground to do the ground work as we do the air work. i think that's important. likewise, you have to figure out what you are doing in syria. you can't go to any of the groups who may not have the capacity to fight isis. if they do not, you don't want to take the chance that they did

not defeat it and get the equipment they have. that's why the president had been deliberate. that's a good thing. not doing something in the haste and doing something emotionally without well thought out plans and engaging other countries and making sure they are locked in with us as we move forward to get rid of isis. >> you mentioned the comparison, what about the current coalition that this is a different and more substantive group of nations? >> the arms are not being as twisted. the facts are being presented to them as to the danger they represent. it seems that this group is looking to go across these various states to create an islamic state made of individuals who do not practice islam.

it would be a direct impact to them. they should be look locked in also as well as with european partner who is could see that individuals can threaten their country. they can get rid of the group. >> with election season about to hit. do you see more and more relu reluctance because of political risks? >> i think the president had been clear. he is going to do what he has to do to make sure that the american people are protected. it could be a threat to the united states. when the president lays it out, they will make the conversation on wednesday to make the case to

the american people. >> he will have a tough road making that case. thank you for your help to understand the congressional side of the challenge. >> my pleasure. >> tuesday the period goes to toe and faces the american people and still wary after a decade of war on american soil. frustrated with the president who has been criticizing for failing to act decisively. the president for international peace and the national security councilmember. thank you so much for joining us. it's a busy couple of days for the president. listen to him spell out the to do list. we have been able to get that continue. i will meet with congressional

leaders on tuesday and wednesday and describe that. >> putting an iraqi government in place, given the progress in iraq's political turmoil, is that or is it not a realistic goal? >> it's always a question mark when you are trying to get the politicians to form a government. they have a complex difficult process for coming to the agreement on the formation of a government. no ones how close they might be. i agree with the president that reaching that agreement is the number one priority. >> they are having an important arab state.

what are the biggest obstacles going to be to achieve that consensus? >> you have two key states. they have financially supported the kind of terrorism that now they have taken to greater extremes. they start to see the threat. this is the threat to a nation state. those two are critical. iraq itself is critical. the reason why it's so important to get a new government in iraq, prime minister maliki so alienated the sunnis and tortured and left them out of all government services. they were inclined to turn towards them. as they see the full extent, they will only turn back if there is a much more inclusive

government there. lurking in the background is iran. we will not have direct consultations with them about the agreement. i expect there will be some at least exchange of intelligence and through intermediaries and turkey has a common border and is critical. and we have been opposing a government. he holds the title and not the job. >> any intervention requires that. we appreciate breaking that down. >> we are expecting a white

house briefing. we will keep an eye on that and bring in any news. >> the other major headline about president obama today. >> i want to make sure we get it right. i want to make sure that all the ts are crossed. >> the real story behind delaying one of the president's most contentious promises. when we come back.

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>> i have directed johnson and holder to identify additional actions they can take on our own within the legal authorities to

fix as much as we can. if congress will not do their job, at least we can do ours. i expect them to adopt the recommendations before further delay. >> the fixes have been delayed until after the elections. something they were pressed on before this weekend. >> that's in hopes of saving a democratic president. >> i want to make sure the ts are crossed. >> it being looks like election politics. that makes this push too risky for democrats into the mid-terms. pulling back is causing blow

back. joining us now, telemundo anchor and this is so important that we don't lose sight of it. the parents are children born in the u.s. may be deported and maybe those are people that could have stayed if the president had acted. can you expand on that? kids or grant children here today on the show, we spoke to a

reverend in the church in arizona that is housing a young man from guatemala in his church. he has children and he is set to be deported. there is a huge human aspect and you scratch below the surface to bring us the bigger picture. other than colorado, the math does well for democrats to not have orders to deal with immigrations until after the election because most of the states have mall populations. there is a human cost and words matter. on june 30th in that clip you showed, the president said i will not delay my actions and he is delaying the actions.

>> a lot of that is a politically changing landscape. we knew about the influx of minors, but it had just begun and the repercussions were starting to build. hispanics make up less than 5% in eight of the attack ads. >> you worked hard and paid into social security and counted on it being there for you. liberals in washington, they had forged identities and when they needed one vote, they got it from mark pryor. on illegal immigration, he never takes your side. are we are seeing that play

out since new hampshire's scott brown is in a similar one. they are running hard against warning about this coming in executive order. >> they interviewed the white house adviser and why they should wait a couple of weeks before judging. >> he wanted to wait until the season ends because it will be clear to the public and easier to protect the action that he takes. >> why should they fail to meet the deadline? >> there not a lot of allies that we can look to either way. the president has been the only who said he was for immigration reform and who pushed for it.

can i bring you back to the ad? they put that proposal and he was able to be back with the folks on the right of him that were attacking him by explaining. i wish there were political courage on both sides. and why don't we explain if everyone agrees the system is broken, how about dealing with the pacifics of those who want to get it done. that makes those feel they are getting progress and continue to put him up. they would perhaps help the

phenomenon. on the republican side of this. that was something that would benefit from it. i'm surprised there was not more reaction to this. is there any on this side of the debate? >> not before that. after the 2014 mid-terms, you have people represented who know what's best for the party to act and do something bipartisan ahead of the 2016 presidential election. right now playing these ads and races may help them take the majority. to win back the white house, they need a broad coalition that includes hispanic voters. how they can win remains to be seen. >> the voters in the past have turned out for candidates like president barack obama. we will have to see how the

electorate responds. always a pleasure to have you both on. he's on a 10:00 eastern. it's home to a delicious plenty of whiskey and hag us and a theater festival among other things. will the queen be able to call the northern country part of her home for much longer. scotland's call for independence. bl if i can impart one lesson to a

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saturday. it's known as a haboob, a word for violent storm. the british pound slit as scottnd moves towards independence. more are in favor. politicians are pushing back saying they will give more autonomy. a yes vote could plunge into uncharted constitutional and economic loss. the royal couple is expecting baby number two. the royal palace announced that prince georges will be a big brother. last time the duchess was experiencing acute mourning sickness. >> she felling okay. it's been a tricky week or so, but it's great news and early days. we are hoping things settle down and she feels better. >> baby number two will be fourth in line to the throne.

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for example, isolation units and equipment there. >> this as we get word that the latest dr. inflicted is slightly improved. he is being treated in a nebraska hospital. has this administration done enough and how much further is it going go? the administrator for the international development with $75 million. it's always a pleasure to have you here. the president mentioned military resources specifically. what kind of military assets is the u.s. planning on deploying? >> i should start by thanking you for highlighting what a critical crisis ebola represents throughout west africa with more than 3500 cases confirm and 1900 deaths, this is a crisis we are taking seriously and has national implications. as the president noted, the u.s. military is working as part of a whole of government effort to

help support the response. there is already been more than 100 experts including centers for disease control personnel and military personnel and usa and disaster exports working for months in the region and countries like liberia. we are going to accelerate that effort by helping to build out the ebola treatment units in liberia as well as pursue a more aggressive strategy to prevent that. where people are often dealing with dead bodies. that sia point of a lot of transmission. there is a scaled up effort and the president did mention military. i am going to press you more on that. was that remark planned or was it off the cuff? how was it received within the administration? >> the military has been part of the response. they trained hundreds of

personnel, thousands of personnel in liberia on how to use and deploy protective equipment. we have been working with the military to support the liberians by delivering 100,000 protective gears to health workers and officers and there has been a significant effort. the military will expand by building out a 25-bed unit where there can be a higher order provided in a tightly managed environment. that will be particularly important because right now the big gap is getting health care workers who can go and staff ebola treatment centers and efforts. knowing that this unit is going to be in place will help give us confidence to ensure to volunteer workers and nga partners and others that if you get sick, you will get proper care and important high quality

facility. >> emphasizing a lot of nonmilitary actions. it will be interesting to see how they will be in light of the president foregrounding that. pulling back to the bigger picture, they spent $175 million since the start to address this administration. they are requesting $88 million more. yet doctors without borders said the world is losing this battle. why should beginning grant more money if it appears this effort is not working? >> three reasons. the first is we have a clear strategy to get control throughout the region. it starts with building out this capability and enhancing the transmission of disease and improving the ability of them. the second is that we are, wooing with international partners and not bearing this responsibility alone.

the european union announced $140 million of additional aid and assistance. working with the united kingdom with france and norway and germany and others to do more as well. as the president noted, this is a national security priority. we are going to be protecting ourselves and others throughout the region by helping these countries get over this crisis. it will take time. months. it is going to be an important and sustained effort. >> it's a tough fight and we heard over and over that building better infrastructure in places like west africa is preventing future outbreaks like this. appreciate it. >> thank you. that's an important element of this. >> we are expecting a white house briefing. this as president obama prepares to lay out his plan to congress tomorrow and the american people the next day. we are keeping an eye out.

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we are expecting a briefing and expect him to talk about the isis threat and look forward to the president's marks on his strategy. we will keep you updated on that. one of the big costs of expansion, the threat to journalists. a watch dog group is petitioning the obama administration to do more to protect reporters everywhere. the committee makes three demands. president obama ban hacking and surveillance of those journalists and the administration limit prosecutions of reporters and whistle blowers to prevend the harassment at the border. this follows the beheadings of isis militants. they are hmong the 34 confirmed killed in 13 countries just this year. among the 1,074 killed since

1992. joining me is now a journalist with the publication of first look media, a supporting partner of that initiative. thank you for being here. i wanted to talk to you about this right to report. first there reports related to you, reports that edward snowden will receive swiss asylum. anything you can tell us about that? >> i wouldn't get too excited about that report. some politicians high up in the government of switzerland are interested, but it's a far away thing. >> roger that. moving on to the threat of journalists. obviously for 19 is synonymous with james foley. can western governments do more to protect journalists in war zones? >> i think one of the things that we often don't appreciate is how dangerous of a job journalism is when wars are

being covered. i think that every journalist who goes to cover them is heroic. i'm not sure what can be done to decrease the risk of things that have happened to james foley. i think governments can do more to protect them. >> that's the focus here to protect journalists. are you concerned with the isis threat to be outraged. >> we are having audio problems and the white house briefing ongoing. we will take a listen to that. we will see if we can get audio back. >> as the president confronts

the situation and the threat posed, he puts the safety and security of the american people at the top. the actions that he has ordered thus far in iraq to strike is principally motivated to protect the personnel. that's the focal point of the operations. there was counter terrorism as it would be for sometime. when the president is making these decisions, particularly as it relates to an organization, what he is focused on is the safety and security of the american people. the threat that this extremist organization poses to the

homeland is in the form of foreign fighters that traveled and took up arms to fight alongside that. there was concern about the idea to travel back to the west and carry out acts of violence or engage in terrorism here. as it relates to the threat, the president is concerned about the threat of terrorism. that is why the other counter terrorism operations are a relevant reference point. that's thanks to the courage and service and intelligence agencies. we worked effectively.

that is true of the success to decimate the core in the border region. it is true that you have seen the administration and the president order in yemen and somalia. they are trying to illustrate the track record that they can evaluate. they will have to consider each differently, but in terms of evaluating what the thief concern is and what the solution looks like, it had been successfully executed by the military and with the support and in conjunction with the allies and the support of the

intelligence agencies. that tends to be missions shrouded in secrecy and the administration of people who have been acknowledged. >> the president has been engaged in an effort earlier this year. his entire and our effort to try to bring that. >> that's one type of mission. that's not the type of mission they have been talking about here. >> each has their own unique threat. and he is not contemplating the deployment of boots on the ground into iraq or syria. he is talking about building a broader coalition and engaging governments and looking for the

support and the effect iive governance to confront that threat. is it possible there is clan destine efforts. i won't in a position to talk about that, but the president laid out a couple of times. >> has he made a decision on whether air strikes should extend into syria? >> what the president has said is he -- and he said this in the interview he conducted over the weekend. his willingness to go wherever necessary to strike those who are threatening americans. that is true to the extent that there parallels. they ordered this mission to go

after osama bin laden in pakistan. he made that in the summer where he talked about deploying resources to protect the american people. he tried to assess the president's thinking about the issues. >> if he is willing to go after groups that threatened americans wherever they are. >> if the president made that to syria, i'm sure the presidents on the decision.

are he did not believe he needed authorization of this plan, but he has been clear that this is a long-term thing. >> the administration has demonstrated, i think, with -- in a pretty transparent way, our commit to closely consulting with members of congress as we pursue these kind of foreign policy, national security priorities. the president's convened a couple meetings with members of congress to discuss these issues before they went away on their august recess six weeks or so ago. the president has invited the four leaders of congress, democratic and republican leader of both the house and senate, to come to the white house tomorrow to discuss some of these issues and to follow up on the very successful nato summit the president attended in wales at the end of last week. so, the president is committed to intensive consultation between the administration and congress as we consider some of

these very difficult and very high-stakes questions. in addition to that, i think the president has long believed, and this is something the president has articulated in different -- as he's confronted different national security questions. the president believes that when we -- when the american people, through their elected representatives k demonstrate a united front across party lines, that -- that that's beneficial to our foreign policy. that sends a clear signal to people all around the world that the american people are united in pursuing and accomplishing a specific foreign policy or national security priority. so, you know, the president in his interview with chuck todd at nbc was clear that he does believe that he has the authority to, quote, do what's necessary to protect the american people. but he did go on to say, i think it's important for congress to not what the plan is, to have buy in, to debate it.

that's why we've been consulting with congress throughout. so, there will continue to be an effort to keep an open line of dialogue between the administration and leaders in congress that as we move on this important foreign policy priority. >> so, dialogue but no need to ask prior authorization? is that a correct understanding of that? >> the way the president described it, he thought it was important for congress to understand what the plan is, to have buy in, to debate it and engage in the kinds of consultation this administration is leading right now. and that -- >> reporter: i'm just clarifying, that's what -- >> well, the president is not in a position where he sets the legislative floor calendar for the house or the senate. >> reporter: he's in a position to ask for that to -- to authorize -- >> he's just not in the position of asking. he's in a position of consulting. and trying to be as candid as possible with leaders in

congress, what he's contemplating and what the policy implications are of some of the decisions he's prepared to make. and it's important in the mind of the president for congress to be a partner in these decisions. they have a solemn responsibility as elected representative to the american people to be engaged in this process, but ultimately is it is the responsibility of the commander in chief to make the kinds of decisions related to our military that rests on the shoulders of the president. >> reporter: he also said there might be a need for more resources. can you address what kind of money requests or funding requests he might end up submitting to congress as well? >> i don't have any sort of -- any funding requests to preview at this point. i would remind you in a speech that i believe you covered, jeff, when the president traveled to west point, he talked about his interest in the creation of this

counterterrorism partnership fund. this is a core component of the president's strategy for dealing with this and other issues like it around the globe. that is additional resources that can be used by the united states to build up effective partners so that when the united states has to confront threats like this, that we have well-trained, well equipped, effective partners that we can work with to confront these problems. ultimately, we need to get into a position where the united states is not solely responsible for dealing with these kinds of emerging threats. we want to be able to work closely with partners around the globe. partners who have better knowledge of the local politics. who have better knowledge of the local terrain. who, in some cases, can prevent some of these situations from becoming so urgent and so severe. and that is one example of a funding request the president has made to members of congress that i think members of congress have talked about but have not

voted on. and the president would certainly like to see those kind of resources be provided because it would strengthen the hand of this president and future presidents for dealing with urgent situations like this. let's move around a little bit. zeke? >> reporter: you mentioned earlier the president's long-standing commitment to counterterrorism operations. one was the assassination of anwar al alawi and the u.s. citizens fighting alongside isis and the threat if they come back here. i wonder why he didn't consider legal -- whether considering drone strikes on potentially american citizens? >> reporter: zeke, i don't have any sort of policy announcement to make along these lines. i would point out the administration has sought the president's direction to try to provide additional insight to the american public and to working journalists about the

legal justification and the decision that was made to -- to strike, you know, threats in somalia and yemen. but as it relates to isil more generally, we are concerned about the threat that is posed by these foreign fighters. there are -- it is believed by those -- some analysts that, you know, there are dozens of individuals with american passports who have traveled to the region, taken up arms to fight alongside isil. some reports indicate that -- that there is a risk that those individuals could return to the west. whether it's the united states or one of our allies, using the western -- american passport to travel, you know, completely unimpeded or relatively unimpeded in a way that poses a threat to the american people. and the president will not hesitate to take the actions he believes are necessary to protect the mempb people.

. >> reporter: potential legislation on capitol hill in terms of either stripping citizenship or taking action on passports of americans who are serving -- who are fighting alongside isil. is that a measure we expect to hear more from the president on wednesday? >> i've read about some of those proposals. i don't think we've taken a position on them at this point. as i mentioned to jeff, the administration certainly is interested in working in a partnership with members of congress, democrats and republicans, as we confront this threat. >> reporter: josh, the president -- [ inaudible ] but doesn't want to put boots on the ground. >> american combat boots on the ground. >> reporter: yesterday in response to chuck todd of nbc news -- >> i've heard of that guy. >> reporter: chuck asked him, who's going into syria? the president said syrians, like

free syrian army, will occupy that space, assuming the president is -- pushes them back. shoulder launched ground-to-air missiles, some of the equipment that has been transferred to them has reportedly shown up in isis hands in iraq fighting against american, kurdish and iraqi forces. why is the free syrian army now more viable and trustworthy fighting for us than it was just a few months ago? >> well, there's one aspect of your question i want to quibble with a little bit. we have for more than a year now been providing both nonmilitary and military support -- >> reporter: military support? >> wooe've been providing mility support, is the word of art. >> but lethal military support if they're going to carry a proxy for this coalition. >> reporter: i'll get to that. it's important for people to understand that support from the obama administration has been flowing to the moderate syrian

opposition for more than a year now. that includes military support. the president has sought, and this was in the context of the west point speech i mentioned in response to jeff's question, administration has sought additional resources using our title x authority to ramp up that assistance to the syrian opposition. and that certainly would -- we would hope and expect, improve their capacity and success and taking the fight to the assad regime and isil to effectively wage that battle on behalf of the citizens of their country, to try to retake their country. so, there is an effort that has been under way for some time. we have, as you point out, sought to increase or ramp up that assistance. now, the question you're asking, though, is a somewhat more complicated one, the question why? why them, right? >> reporter: why now?

and who else? >> reporter: so, i guess you have three complicated questions. >> reporter: you pointed out there are no american boots on the ground. >> i was. it's complicated but not illegitimate. why them? it's their country. again, the president is -- i think the president, again, in the interview we're all citing described it as a profound mistake to commit american combat boots to being on the ground in syria. this is not a fight that the united states can take on for them. the united states is willing to be supportive of these -- of the syrian opposition as they try to put in place a government that reflects the will of the syrian people. and we're going to continue to support them. >> reporter: their country -- three years later, 162,000 people are dead, millions of refugees all over the region. again, why not then? why didn't -- why -- why didn't this plan --