backtracking on her facebook comments about the first daughters being dressed for a bar. why her verbal assault on the teens caused an outrage. this is "way too early." hey, hey, everybody. good morning. where does the time go, jen? weekend flies by. we got a little house keeping to do here. i'm thomas roberts. it is monday, december the 1st. welcome to "way too early" where it's way too early to be december the 1st. this year's flying by. you can officially put up your christmas tree now. straight to our top stories today. we begin with continued fallout with the death of michael brown and the ensuing protests in ferguson, missouri. later today president obama will hold a number of ferguson-related events as the white house looks for ways to handle the nationwide response. it comes two days after darren

wilson, the officer who fatally shot the 18-year-old, resigned from the ferguson police force. according to his lawyer, wilson tendered his resignation following "credible threats" to the police department and other officers. ferguson mayor james knowles says wilson will not receive severance or benefits as part of his resignation. the mayor also announced a civil can review board to monitor police conduct, as well as to recruit more african-american officers. the events in ferguson have crossed over into the world of sports. yesterday during a pregame display five players on the st. louis rams roster used the hands up, don't shoot gesture that we've seen so often by protesters. the st. louis police officers association is condemning the players' actions, calling the move "tasteless, offensive, and inflammatory." the group is calling for the players to be disciplined and for the team and the league to apologize. former baltimore ravens running back ray rice is free to

play football again. friday rice won his appeal of indefinite suspension and was reinstate by the nfl. he's eligible to sign with any team in the league that will have him. in july, commissioner roger goodell suspended rice for two games for a domestic violence incident. in september rice was suspended indefinitely after dprafrk video surfaced showing the full extent of the assault that happened in that casino elevator. during arbitration the nfl argued goodell was misled saying he didn't have all the information when he first learned of the incident. but former district judge barbara jones serving as arbitrator wroteness, "i'm not persuaded rice lied to or misled the nfl at his june interview. i find that the indefinite suspension was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated." the "new york times" juliette macard asking, did goodell know all the details in the case when he gave rice the two-game suspension?

did goodell backpedal in september when the graphic video of rice's punch was made public? did goodell unfairly blame rice saying rice misled him by playing down the elevator encounter? jones certainly suggests so. the nfl wrote in a memo this weekend to club own there's no part of the arbitrator's decision "questions the commissioner's honest yes, integrity, nor good-faith consideration on the issue when he imposed the indefinite fit suspension on mr. rice." matt lauer spoke to janay rice about her emotions in the the direct aftermath of that incident. >> i was furious. we came home and we didn't talk the entire ride -- i didn't speak to him the entire ride home. he tried to talk to me. i didn't want to hear anything. i just knew he hit me and i was completely over it. i was done, didn't want to hear anything. i just didn't even want to entertain it. entertain him, anything that he had to say, any explanation. of course in the back of my mind

and in my heart i knew that our relationship wouldn't be over. because i know that this isn't us and it's not him. >> espn is now reporting at least four teams have expressed an interest in rice, including the colts and the saints, though neither necessarily expected to pursue him. the ohio state university community is grieving this morning after the body of a missing football player was found on sunday night. police say that costa karageorge died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a five-day search his body discovered in a dumpster not far from his apartment. family members had reported him missing on wednesday and his pom had her son saying he texted her that morning to apologize for embarrassing her, blaming concussions that he had suffered. fellow osu students held a visible jill in his honor on sunday evening. the athletics department said it was shocked and saddened to hear the news of his death. cos kosta karageorge was 22 years old. we focus attention on

business news now. and cyber monday. the holiday sales numbers are in and it seems like a lot of shoppers may already be a little bit swiped out in advance of the full swing holiday season. steve sedgwick joins from us london with more on that. good morning. >> yeah, very good day. really interesting looking at this. you and i have discussed how the national retail federation said this is the year when the consumer is back in the states. the figures they told us to recap was 4% increase they think we're going to get in holiday season sales into december. to $617 billion. what we had was a damp squibb. the figures weren't great for the first weekend of the holiday says. for instance, 11% drop to $50.9 billion spending in stores and online, down from $57 billion the same time last year. people per customer were spending $381 dollars over the four-day period, as opposed to $407 a year earlier.

that's down. so there's a lot of sales going on before black friday. obviously thanksgiving now, they started early, and expected to continue on this week. but very interesting that so far, those nrf expectations just haven't happened yet. despite the fact that we've got oil prices going lower, gasoline's cheaper, people can spend more money on consumer gifts. one very good area was in consumer electronics. they said about drive% of shoppers bought electronics. that is more than in any of the last three years. so it's still to play for for those consumer companies over the next month or so. >> everybody's always looking for those electronics deals no matter what. they always get everybody's attention. the new big flat screen tvs. everybody wants them cheaper. what other big headlines are you watching? we closed out the holiday week a mixed bag with red and green arrows. >> i want to carry on with those streams. the red arrows were in the energy stocks, under so much pressure. i was talking to viewers from

vee yain that last week. opec, the group that controls around one-third of world oil, didn't cut production. energy companies in the u.s. who are producing shale, they were hit very hard. and that is a continuation we expect again this week as oil prices continue to fall. the other side, i want to recap the big movers to the upside over the last month. consumer staples, consumer discretionary, were some of the best performers. the best performer in the dow was walmart up 15%. s&p, whole foods up 25%. i think it's the retail and energy themes which are going to continue as well this week. have a look at airlines, they've done really well in the cheaper aviation fuel. and the nonfarm payroll end of the week. >> appreciate it, good monday to you. according to a new report, secretary chuck hagel's departure from the defense department is the latest example of an increasingly strained relationship between the white house and pentagon. the am reports the president's desire to micromanage all aspects of its national security

team has hurt its relationship with the pentagon, the ap says the obama administration is seen as overly suspicious of the military's desire to use force. the pentagon views the president as cool and detached compared to president george w. bush. the report says the obama administration's reputation when it comes to these matters is impacting the white house's ability to find a replacement for hagel who gave his resignation as defense secretary last week. still ahead on "way too early," could the chiefs hold on to the lead against the broncos? we've got all the highlights for you in "sunday night football." pope francis leaving turkey, now headed back to rome after calling on muslims to take a sharper tone against terrorism. we're going to have his message to muslim leaders after this. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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rodgers connects on a big play with jordy nelson. 45-yard touchdown pass, rodgers' second of the night, helping green bay to a 23-14 lead at the half. patriots making asomeback, down five points on a big third down play at the end of the fourth. but the green bay defense gets to tom brady for the sack. the packers hold off new england for a 26-21 win. atlanta, another battle between first place teams as the falcons host the cardinals. a big game for atlanta receiver julio jones who caught 10 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. falcons remain atop the nfc south after a 29-18 win over arizona. to pittsburgh. steelers hosting saints. new orleans quarterback drew brees spread out the football, throwing five touchdowns in the game. the saints edge out the steelers 35-32. charm city. baltimore and the ravens hosting

chargers. baltimore leading until the fourth quarter. philip rivers to eddie roil gives chargers the lead with 38 seconds to play. the bolts hang on to win this one 34-33. the ravens, tool penitentia man. next to buffalo. cleveland's johnny manziel in for brian hoyer. early in the fourth after the browns go down 20-3, look at that impressive manziel rushes for his first nfl touchdown. it can't change the game's outcome. buffalo remains in the playoff picture after a win over cleveland. texans leading the titans. tennessee quarterback jake locker is stripped by the texans j.j. watt who scoops the loose ball, makes a nice 14-yard return. two plays later, watt in on offense, catches a one-yard touchdown pass. his fifth of the season. they win 45-21. look at that guy, that's huge. huge. to jacksonville.

the giants hang on to a depleting lead. tight end larry donnell fumbles the reception which is picked up by the jags, returned for a touchdown, jacksonville lead. a final shot, less than 30 seconds to play, quarterback eli manning was sacked, fumbles the ball. yeah. they hang on to win that one, a tough one, 25-24, giants loss there. to st. louis, raiders coming off their first win in over a year. but the rams -- >> you're showing highlights of this game? >> st. louis scores 38 points in the tures half. >> is it a slow news day? >> go on to shut out oakland 52-0. yeah. just want to test my abilities after taking some time off for thanksgiving to see if i can still do sports. >> we spich gears to the nba. they're really testing me. the lakers get 129-122 overtime win against the raptors. kobe bryant notches his 20th career triple-double and his 6,000th career assist.

bryant is the first player in nba history with that many assists and at least 30,000 career points. 6,000th career assist. i feel like christopher walken. coming up in "peter pan live" playing captain hook. anyway. let's go to weather, yeah. go to weather. >> wrap it up. >> i mean, that was a lot of sports. >> good effort. yeah. >> wasn't that a lot of sports? >> it was a ton of sports. >> viewers at home, tell you what you think. >> it was a big sports weekend. the alabama/auburn thing was a big deal. >> yeah, movement in the ap poll, alabama's on top now. we'll get to that in "morning joe." >> that's all everyone wants. >> read it for yourself, people at home and on the treadmill, i'm tired. >> you should be, that was a lot. >> tired. >> a lot of football. happy december. you ready?

>> back atcha, december 1st, here we go, locked and loaded. >> let's get it on. deck rating the tree, the house, it's on. >> i don't want to, no. >> go back to bed and rest. >> bah, humbug. yesterday, very warm. it was a beautiful day for everyone returning, we had that miserable storm on the east coast on that wednesday before thanksgiving. yesterday was a nice day for everyone to return home. it was in the 50s. we're still very warm. that cold front is coming. it was frigid yesterday in the middle of the country. it remains very cold. look at the windchills. they're in the negative 30 range in north dakota. so that cold air will eventually work its way into buffalo, pittsburgh, the northeast. it's a very warm morning. a few showers, not a lot of troublesome weather. if we're going to have issues maybe tuesday night in new england. we could be looking at just a little bit of a wintry mix changing to rain. so for your first day of december, minneapolis, a high of only 6 degrees. it's a lot colder today. yesterday was near 80 in dallas. today's about 41. the biggest weather story this

week is going to be the west coast. this is a good story. we of course still have this historic, one of the worst droughts in history in california. significant rain late tonight, all day tomorrow, even as far south as the mountains around los angeles. this is exactly what we wanted to see. this is the beginning of their rainy season. it really starts in november, peaks december, january, february. so thomas, this is what we need. big rains for california. it's a start. they need like ten of these storms. >> then we get into the mudslide issue. >> yes, but we need water. >> water's good. thanks so much. i won't be such a debbie downer for this monday. >> you're struggling. >> perk it up. i know, we need more caffeine. >> a red bull funnel. on "morning joe," more from janay rice's interview with matt lauer. what she has to say about her husband ray rice. did he mislead roger goodell, the nfl commissioner? she answers that question. plus the first daughters insulted on facebook. the heat is intensifying on this

gop aide who posted these disparaging remarks saying that these teens belong ponied up to the bar. we're going to explain exactly what she meant, why she said it, and basically how she had to apologize for it. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ to help spread some holiday cheer. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time; and 2% back at the grocery store. thank you! even before they got 3% back on gas, all with no hoops to jump through, a couple was inspired to use their bankamericard cash rewards credit card to throw the ultimate ugly sweater party of the season.

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welcome back. let's catch you up on other stories making headlines this morning. and this one's a big one. a republican aide on capitol hill is apologizing for controversial statements about the first daughters. following the ceremonial pardoning of the turkey, an annual white house tradition, lit beth lauten took to facebook to post her opinion of sasha and malia's appearance during this event. "dear sasha and malia, i get you body in those awful teenage years but you're part of the first family, try showing a little class, at least respect the part you play, then again your mother and father don't respect their positions very much or the nation for that matter so i'm guessing you're coming up a little short in the good role model department. nevertheless, stretch yourself, rise to the occasion, act like being in the white house matters to you, dress like you deserve respect. not a spot at a bar. certainly don't make faces during televised public events." so that got out, got a lot of

steam on social media. she later apologized saying in part, after many hours of prayer, talking to my parents, and rereading my words online, i can see more clearly just how hurtful my words were." she went on to say," pledge to learn and grow and i assure you i have from this experience." pope francis wrapped up a trip to turkey where he met with the leader of orthodox christians. the pontiff didn't mince words when it came to the threat of isis calling their pursuit of "grave sins against god." richard angle has more on those details. after three days in turkey the pope left for rome. there were no security incidents, no major protests in a country that is 98% muslim. so the visit can only be considered a success. the pope left sounding more convinced than ever that isis must be stopped, stressing it to reporters on his plane. "i won't soften the phrase, they are forcing christians to flee

from the middle east." on his last day in istanbul the pontiff met with the leader of the world's 250 million orthodox christians. for over 1,000 years, relations between the two churches have been tense, at times descending into war. but now they both face isis, which has given christians in iraq and syria a stark choice -- convert to islam or be killed. pope francis and bartolomeo say they cannot resign themselves to a middle east without christians. "some neighboring countries are scarred by inhumane and brutal war," calling it a profoundly grave sin against god. pope francis met with a small group of refugees, including some of the 1.6 million syrians here, now safe from the war zone where the u.s. launched 17 air strikes against isis around the syrian town of kobani.

the pope has been outspoken about making the church more welcoming to a wide array of catholics. in turkey he was far more political. >> that was richard angle reporting. now on to the university of virginia where an independent investigation is under way into the university's handling of sexual assault claims following a story of alleged abuse in "rolling stone" magazine. we won't be hearing from uva president teresa sullivan as planned today. the school released a statement saying she has canceled her scheduled appearance this afternoon at the national press club reading in part "during this extraordinary and difficult time for uva, president sullivan's energies are best focused on our grounds where she can speak directly to and hear directly from our university community, participate in the healing process, and work to find answers to the many questions that deserve attention." our "sound smart" today, it was earlier we told you sales were down on black friday this year. fewer shoppers are expected to participate in cyber sales

today. cyber monday. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends despite the sales slide, over half of all american holiday shoppers were in stores or online over thanksgiving weekend. this is according to the national retail federation. the average amount spent by each shopper, $380.95. i was out on black friday. i was. i was out on black friday, yeah, tearing it up! i was out there. 10:00 a.m. it was a good time. i was burned by noon. coming up next on "way too early," looking for the stories you'll be talking about on the day ahead. "morning joe" moments away, stick around. for most people, earning cash back ends here, at the purchase. but there's a new card in town. introducing the citi® double cash card. it lets you earn cash back when you buy and again as you pay. that's cash back twice. it's cash back with a side of cash back.

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the supreme court is going to hear arguments testing the limits of online threats. it's a very interesting case. we'll hear more from pete williams later this morning. "morning joe" starts right now. good morning. it's monday, december 1st. with us is mr. mark heparin and wes moore. we'll talk about ferguson, missouri, and later today president obama will hold ferguson events as the white house looks at handling the nationwide response. it comes after darren wilson resigned from the ferguson police force. >> what are you doing? >> you know what happened? you guys weren't