barbaric acts by islamic state militants. two iraqi political leaders confirm a police chief's report of isis having burned alive nearly four dozen people in the town of el baghdadi just outside of bagdad. some are believed to be members of iraq security forces. it comes as iraq's ambassador to the u.n. says the militants may be harvesting organs amid allegations they're doing this to fund their terrorist activity. meanwhile nbc news has confirmed the u.s. will begin training and equipping moderate opposition forces in syria. some would say about three years late. the official says they're going to be fully vetted first and also says no decision has been made about allowing rebels to call in air strikes. back in washington a spokeswoman for the state department is defending comments she made on "hardball" about how the united states can beat islamic state militants with jobs programs.

>> we cannot win this war by killing them. we cannot kill our way out of this war. we need in the medium and longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it's lack of opportunity for jobs. >> we're not going to be able to stop that in our lifetime or 50 life times. there's always going to be poor people, poor muslims. as long as there's poor muslims, the trumpet is blowing. we can't stop that. >> we can work with countries around the world to improve their governance help them build their economy so they can have job opportunities for these people. >> we cannot kill every terrorist around the world nor should we try. how do you get at the root causes? it might be too nuanced an argument for some like i've seen the commentary. but it's the smart way, democrats, republicans, military commanders, our partners in the arab world think we need to combat. >> we'll have marie harf live on "morning joe" to continue the conversation.

a big development with one of the top tools used against isis and other militant and terrorist organizations. the obama administration's approved the sale of u.s.-made drones to american allies. that's a big change. so far america has only sold armed drones to the united kingdom. the sales will be approved on a case by case basis with assureses they'll only be used for legal purposes. officials say this give greater control over how and when they're used. the president said the united states would need to slow the use of drones because americans would be targeted without due process. day two of the white house summit on violent extremism will begin. a lot of people are talking about it. vice president joe biden had a busy day yesterday, and he kicked off the event which more than 60 nations are attending. the obama administration is

rejecting concerns that they teamed up with boston-based muslim organizations that had past connections with terrorism. the white house is also defending its decision not to focus on radical islam during the event. the debate over islamic extremism left outgoing attorney general eric holder to call out fox news for their coverage of the controversy. >> we spend more time more time talking about what do you call it as opposed to what do you do about it you know? really. if fox didn't talk about this they'd have nothing else to talk about, it would seem to me. radical islam, islamic extremism, i'm not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that. it doesn't have any impact on our military posture, doesn't have any impact on what we call it, on the policies that we put in place. what we have to do is defined

not by the terms we use but by the facts on the ground. >> regardless of the attorney general's arguments there, the fact is that "new york times" columnists "washington post" columnists "wall street journal" columnists and "time" magazine columnists are all be critical of the white house's refusal to use those terms. let's take a look at some of the front page stories across america. we go far west t seattle time. vaccine data missing for 300 schools in tape. suicides by iowa men 75 or older raise concerns. charleston south carolina's carolina post and courier, stand your ground applies in stabbing. judge rules decision to confront boyfriend was legal. in the middle of the country, the "kansas city star," immigration plan halted after texas judge rules. the "dallas morning news," migrant fight goes to the next

level. they have two stories. local advocates says preparation remains on track and obama vows to appeal the rejection of executive actions. and "usa today" leads with immigration as well. that brings us to the next story. president obama's immigration action has been stopped dead in its tracks for now at least. today thousands of undocumented immigrants were to begin applying for legal protection and work permits. but instead the white house has been forced to postpone the launch of its plan indefinitely. on monday a federal judge in texas sided with a coalition of 26 states that filed a lawsuit opposing the president's executive action. now administration officials say they have no choice but to comply with the order. president obama in the oval office on tuesday said he will appeal the ruling. >> with respect to the ruling i disagree with it. i think the law is on our side

and history is on our side and we are going to appeal it. and we will be prepared to implement this fully as soon as the legal issues get resolved. >> jeb bush jumped into the fray. he, of course is a likely 2016 presidential contender and a long-time advocate of immigration reform in a way that's upset a lot in the republican base. he used the ruling to take a swing at the president in a facebook post. he wrote this. quote, the last year the president overstepped his executive authority and in turn hurt the effort toward a common sense immigration solution. that's not leadership. similar herring beneath the immigration back and forth is the impending shutdown of the department of homeland security in the age of isis. republican congressional leadership dug in their heels tuesday saying the court's injunction reinforced their belief that senate democrats need to move forward with a bill that would both fund the dhs and stop the president's immigration

action. house speaker john boehner again called on senate democrats to take up a house bill echoing a sentiment he laid out over the weekend. >> the house has acted. we've done our job. senate democrats are the ones putting us in this precarious position. it's up to senate democrats to get their act together. >> and what if the department of homeland security funding runs out? >> then senate democrats should be to blame, very simple. >> you're prepared to let that happen? >> certainly. the house has acted. we've done our job. >> there is a new poll out that shows if the department of homeland security is indeed forced to shut down most americans would point the finger at the republican party with only 30% saying they'd blame the president, 53% saying they would blame the gop. this is an interesting story. i don't know if you read about it or not, but hillary clinton and elizabeth warren got together. it's a sure sign that hillary

may be trying to keep a friend senator warren a bit closer. "the new york times" reports clinton met with the senator at the clinton's home in september. she was reportedly seeking policy ideas and didn't ask elizabeth warren to endorse her campaign. while some have called on warren to run as a liberal alternative to clinton, senator warren has so far insisted she's not doing it. sources tell "the new york times" that senator rand paul could announce his intentions to run for president, and this is very specific, on april 7th. i'm not sure what's up with april 7th. the times is reporting the junior senator from kentucky would be the first republican candidate in the 2016 race. that would give him a head start on raising money. paul, whose senate term is up in 2016 is not supposed to be able to run for both president and senator at the same time. there's a state law in kentucky

just like florida called resign to run. it bars candidates if seeking two offices at the same time. "the new york times" is reporting that paul plans to make his case to state republicans in march in the hopes that he can do what congressman powell ryan did in 2012 when he ran for vice president at the same time he ran for re-election for his only congressional seat. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is facing a spending scandal with just a few weeks to go before israel's elections. a report by israel's state comptroller is accusing netanyahu of excessive spending at the official prime minister's residence and at his private home. when netanyahu took office in 2009, the expenses were about $500,000. it doubled two years later, and that included more than $122,000 on food and hospitality expenses and about $24,000 on takeout food even though they have an in-house chef.

the report also found nearly $70,000 were spent over two years on personal grooming. i'd say quite a lot in that category, for netanyahu and his wife. and housekeeping problems are bad enough for netanyahu, of course, over there. but he's also having problems speaking before the united states house of representatives. that speech is coming. it's been controversial in washington. and a new poll finds 63% of americans believe it is wrong for netanyahu to come here and was wrong for house speaker john boehner to invite him to address congress without notifying president obama furs. that's a pretty wide gap, 63% say it's the wrong thing to do. 33% say it's the right thing to do. only 3% have no opinion. this got awkward, jim. did you see it? did you see it? let me ask you this if you just

slipped on ice outside the pentagon, would you want some old dude coming up right behind you grabbing your shoulders and whispering in your ears? come on. i love you, joe, and we don't like to criticize you, but that is a little creepy sir. anyway, you probably saw this. if you didn't the vice president is known once in a while to commit a gaff here and there. tuesday was a really awkward day even for our friend joe biden. it began yesterday morning when the vice president was swearing in new defense secretary ashton carter. he put his hands on mrs. carter's shoulder leaned in for a bit too long and whispered in her ear. you know what he said? that "fifty shades of grey," it's a great movie. you should go see it. [ laughter ]. >> what's he doing, barnicle? what's he doing? anyway, a few hours later, it was something he said during the summit on violent extremism that

turned heads. he was trying to draw a parallel between the somali communities in minneapolis and his hometown of well ming ton, delaware, but then he started to vam and joe probably shouldn't vam. >> i might add if you ever come to the train station with me you'll notice i have great relationships with them because there's an awful lot of them driving cabs and are friends of mine, for real. i'm not being slis us to. i'm being serious. >> mike didn't he do this in the campaign talking to an indian about like 7-eleven or something? >> yes, he did. joe is a hands-on guy literally. he knows everyone and he's friendly with everyone. >> let me ask you about this. >> if somebody did that to ann at a press conference, she'd turn around and punch him in the nose wouldn't she. >> depends on who it was.

>> i can't believe i'm saying this to a man who wears sunglasses and goes to central park to stare at women. now to business another record day on wall street. the rich get richer as we learn about which banks the government says are the greatest threat to the global financial system let's bring in cnbc's carolyn ross. we'll get to that in a minute. first, big news is happening in greece. what's happening about the exit from the euro? are they going to stay or are they going to go? >> who knows at this point. if you're looking for a quick resolution of the greek debt talks you'll be very disappointed. this is as messy and complicated as it gets. remember on monday the talks with the finance ministers broke down. today the government in greece has confirmed they're asking for an extension. here is where it gets really tricky. they're asking for an extension of loans, not for an extension of the bailout because the bailout comes with very strict conditions. this is the only thing that

eurozone finance ministers want to grant to greece. it's really about the wording at this point and the deadline for the extension of the bailout is of course on friday. in other news coming back to what you just said about banks, according to a report a failure by jpmorgan would pose the biggest threat to the international finance system according to the office of financial research. they looked at 33 banks. jpmorgan was given the systemic risk score of just over 5% the second most systemic bank that is citigroup and the third is bank of america. >> all right. thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. coming up next on "way too early," a-rod, alex rodriguez continues his apology tour with a handwritten note to fans. the scandal-plagued yankee has to say for himself. and i wonder do fans care at this point? later, we have new details

on this week's explosion out of west virginia. that was huge yesterday. what officials are saying about the damage from the blast. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. earnhardt hit the wall at 180 miles per hour. his teammate michael waltrip won the race in a car owned by earnhardt and his son, dale earnhardt, junior, finished second.

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now it's time for sports. a-rod issued a five-paragraph handwritten letter to fans yesterday apologizing for his takes over the last couple years. the last couple years? how about the last couple

decades. rewrote this i take full responsibility for the 34is takes that led to the suspension in the 2014 season i agreed my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. he said it was gracious for the yankees to make the stadium available to me to apologize, but next time i should be in pinstripes doing my job. we'll see if he's worth $6 million over three years. mike barnicle here is what the post sports headline says don't accept your apology. daily news dear alex disgusted fans pin letters back to a-rod. is he going to win the fans back? >> no no. >> did he ever have the fans? >> yes, when he was alex rodriguez on steroids, yes, he did have the fans. he can't do what the yankees wanted him to do which was to

have a press conference at yankee stadium prior to the start of spring training. he couldn't do that. >> why not? >> because he might say something that would get him in legal jeopardy. >> he's still in trouble. >> is he going to be able to produce at all for the yankees off steroids? >> they doubt it. >> what's the history of guys being off steroids for so long getting off steroids and doing well? >> it's not good joe, especially when you've taken a year off. he's 40 years old. >> i was going to say, the guy is not 25. let's get a check on your weather with nbc meteorologist domenica davis. so it ooes going to be 75 80 over the next week or two. >> yeah by friday we should be up to 75 just for you. >> that's the type of meteorologist we like. >> i wish. we can all dream. we're talking bitterly cold record breaking temperatures. we say it every week. we keep challenging these records. that's what we'll have by thursday and friday morning.

we'll show you video from brookline, massachusetts where they had the national guard come in to shovel believe it or not. snowshowers in the forecast but the good thing, no accumulating snow. this is a burst of snowshowers we'll have due to the cold air coming in. we could have another storm though by the weekend. we'll talk about that in a second. here is a look at storm track. you can see snowshowers going through the ohio valley. this is the second time in lieu veil they've woken up to snow in the morning. look at the cold air in canada no 75-degree readings. below 24 in churchill, that air is coming our way. record breaking temperatures once again. we keep saying it every day. sick of it. >> that looks miserable. barnicle you're used to it you're from boston. >> i'm not used to this no. >> thank you so much dominica. still ahead, we'll try to get mike barnicle to put his sunglasses on. best in show.

this pup on the fru fru at westminster and we'll introduce you to that winner ahead and mika is going to be here i think, to tell us what's going to be going on in "morning joe." ♪ ♪ng you and a lot helping you. technology that's with you always. this is our promise. it's never been better to wander because wherever you go, you'll find us doing everything we can, so you can.

so that train carrying 3 million gallons of crude oil is still burning this morning nearly 48 hours after it derailed in west virginia.

now we're learning that the tanker cars that were on the train were newer models that had safety upgrades. the upgrades were voluntarily adopted by the industry four years ago. while ntsb investigators try to determine the cause of the accident, the national guard is taking water samples from a nearby river to see if it's contaminated. water treatment plants are back online and most of the residents that were evacuated have returned home. mike one of your favorite movies ever? >> "best of show." >> we go to the best of show. an underdog has been named this year's top dog at westminster's dog show. her name miss p. she's a beagle from canada and she beat out strong favorites to win the best in show prize including a portuguese water dog that's a cousin of president obama's dog sunny. miss p comes from a powerful family herself, a grandniece of

the winner from 2008. >> you have like 87 dog, don't you? >> trying to make the transition from the dog show to me. >> that's the best i have. your dogs are all rescues, right? >> rescue. he would win. cajun would win. >> with that tail, that cork screw tail? >> exactly. hurricane ka treentrina dog. a bigger conversation with the head of icy with former head of nsa michael hey dan. connecticut senator richard blume men shall joins us. and representative peter king. we'll have a discussion about the funding of department of homeland security. has the candidate pool for 2016 expanded this week? "the washington post's" robert costa has a look at john kasich the ohio governor who might give

jeb bush and scott walker a run for their money. elizabeth warren and hillary clinton met, too. talk show legend larry king will be here for his take on the week's headlines. that should be interesting. and in the 8:30 half hour i'll speak to chef tom colicchio, a big announcement coming up. we'll talk about the importance of educating the public on the food movement. >> that does it for this edition of "way too early." "morning joe" now just minutes away.

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