♪ good morning everybody. it's monday, october 12th and i'm amy holmes. this morning, president obama is acknowledging mistakes were made by his former secretary of state in how she handled her private e-mail server. >> did you know about hillary clinton's use of private e-mail server? >> no. >> while she was secretary of state? >> no. >> do you think it posed a national security problem? >> i don't think it posed a national security problem. i think it was a mistake that she's acknowledged and you know, as a general proposition, when we're in these offices, we have to be more sensitive and stay as far away from the line as possible when it comes to how we handle information, how we handle our own personal data,

and you know, she made a mistake. she's acknowledged it. i do think that the way it's been ginned up is in part because of politics, and i think she'd be the first to acknowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly. >> what was your reaction when you found out about it? >> you know, this is one of those issues that i think is legitimate but the fact that for the last three months this is all that's been spoken about is an indication that we're in presidential political season. >> meanwhile a former staffer on the benghazi select committee has come forward saying the committee became a partisan investigation of hillary clinton. major bradley podliski was fired in june. he claims he was kicked off the investigation for taking leave for annual military service and resisting pressure to focus on

clinton. >> did he accidentally tell the truth about the committee that in recent months its focus has been on trying to bring hillary clinton's poll numbers down? >> yes, i think it was a slip of the tongue. his reasoning was wrong, as i explained earlier, i do not believe the investigation was set up to go after hillary. i believe it shifted that way. >> the chairman of the committee trey gowdy sought to dismantle the claims piece by piece last night even calling podliska a lousy employee. >> it's a damned lie and not a word i often use but rarely is it so easily proven. he never said a word about hillary clinton until it looked like he was going to lose his mediation, and then he went on another television show and made this allegation, but he never said a word about it and june, july, august, september, or october despite having ample opportunity to do so. >> the republican says the staffer was fired for cause and

that his claims about the focus of the committee were brand new and that he'd never raised them before. podliska's lawyer plans to seek reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages. congressman paul ryan spent the weekend in his home state of wisconsin under pressure from republicans both in and out of congress to make a bid for speaker. bloomberg's mark halpern reports top republicans are offering to make it easier for ryan by assumining the fund-raising and day-to-day responsibilities of the speaker while john boehner is promising him that his job will largely be crafting a policy agenda and public message serving as the face of conxwr s conxwregsconxwregs

conxwregsal republicans. mcconnell says it would enkanger his party's chance to hold the senate. republican charlie dent warned there are still some hurdles. >> the underlying governing and political dynamic of the house has not changed. if paul ryan becomes speaker, i hope he does, el' have to make accommodations and collaboration with the democrats to present an omni bus appropriations bill. if he does those things he'll have his legs taken out by some of his members. we know that. if he chooses the status quo, then the house will continue to be mired in this paralysis and the institution will be weaker, the speaker would be weeker. he will have the same problems john boehner had and kevin mccarthy was about to experience. >> ryan remaining steadfast when nbc news caught up with him yesterday in kenosha, wisconsin.

>> my answer is still the same and i have nothing more to say or nothing new to add. >> you heard from a lot of your colleagues. >> i have but haven't changed my answer so i have to leave it at that. a verdict has been reached in the case of "washington post" reporter jason rezian. according to iranian tv he's been convicted but few other details other than that. the paper calls it an outrageous injustice. he was charged with espionage and jailed in iran since july of 2014. it's not known when the verdict was reached or when a possible sentence will be announced. "the post" fiercely denied all accusation that reaian was a spy. following this weekend's deadly bombings in the capital city 95 people were killed and hundreds injured after two bombs believed to be suicide bombers

exploded at a peace rally in ankara saturday, being called turkey's deadly attack in years and compared to the 9/11 terrorist attack in the united states. at this point the turkish government says kurdish rebels or isis militants were most likely responsible. no one is claiming responsibility. thousands of people gathered for a memorial in ankara yesterday to begin three days of mourning. the fate of the self-practice proclaimed leader of isis al baghdadi is in question. iraq's air force carried out a series of air strikes over the weekend. military officials claims one targeted baghdadi's convoy. hospital sources told reuters several senior commanders of isis were killed but baghdadi was not among them. syrian troops backed by russian air cover advanced on isis controlled territory in northwestern syria sunday, the first territorial began against

opposition fight fighters in months. last night on "60 minutes" president obama discussing the failed plan to train 35,000 moderate rebels in syria. >> i want to talk about this program because it would seem to show, i mean, if you expect 5,000 and you get five, it shows that somebody someplace along the line made some sort of a serious miscalculation. >> you know, you see, let me just say this. >> it's an embarrassment. >> look, there's no doubt it did not work and one of the challenges that i've had throughout this heartbreaking situation inside of syria is that you'll have people insist that all you have to do is send in a few truckloads full of arms and people are ready to fight. then when you start a train and equip program and it doesn't work, people say why did not tea work or if it just started three month earlier, it would have worked.

in the race to the nomination, donald trump's momentum shows no sign of stopping. the latest national poll of the republican primary field has him winning by six months over ben carson, 27% to 2 1% and more thn tripling every other rival. ted cruz gained the most at 9%, marco rubio at 8% and jeb bush with 6% tied with carly fiorina for fifth place. republicans think an outsider is the best chance to win the location, 35% behind trump, 18% carson and 7% picking fiorina. as for candidates' favorability, jeb bush has a net negative rating of 6 points with republican voters. we're a day out from the first democratic presidential debate and new polling suggests that while her lead has slipped

somewhat in recent months, hillary clinton will take the stage in las vegas with a solid advantage over the rest of the pack. that new cbs news poll showing clinton leading bernie sanders by 19 points nationwide but down 12 points since august while sanders is up ten and her favorability rater is underwater, 20 points in the new poll as well. 53% is the highest her unfavorable number has been since cbs news began asking about her on 1992. yesterday senator sanders said voters have to contrast his consistency with hillary clinton on issues like the transpacific partnership. >> why should that matter to a voter that you've held this position for much longer say on tpp than secretary clinton? >> i'll tell you why it should matter and let me be very clear. i happen to respect and like hillary clinton, so i don't get into personal attacks but are there differences of opinion that should be discussed? of course. that's what that election is

about. i believe our trade policies going way back when, i voted against nafta and cafta, so people will have to contrast my consistency and my willingness to stand up to wall street and corporations, by corporations with the secretary. >> vice president joe biden is having the same effect on the numbers in the new cbs poll as he has in other recent surveys, when he's included, he takes a majority of his support from hillary clinton, with biden in the race, clinton's lead is 19 and when he's not her lead widens to 24 points. let's turn to business. lot going on in the markets this morning. gold is nearing a seven-week high and looks like dell and emc are on the verge of the largest ever technology merger. cnbc's steve sedgwick joins us live from london. >> the asian indices having a good time of it, the shanghai

composite in china up 3.3%. the nikkei, the japanese blue chip stocks had a good run. msci, asia-pacific x japan is up 11% this month. gold is moving to $1,157 per ounce, it was up 1.6% on friday, as you mentioned seven-week high there is. those looking more attractive, the fed isn't moving yet on interest rates a comparative instrument looks more attractive. data out of the u.s., inflation, retail sales and industrial production more of a fix on the fed update and dell could be on the verge of a $53 billion emc purchase. dell specializes in it services and pc services and so very interesting to watch that space. back to you. >> thanks a lot, steve sedgwick from across the pond, we appreciate it. >> still ahead on "way too early" a photo finish weekend in

the nfl. we'll have the highlights including a spectacular ending on sunday night football, proof odell beckham jr. isn't the only one who can catch for the giants. dangerous base running or part of the game? the mlb success spends chase utley. those stories and a check on the weather when "way too early" comes right back. before earning enough cash back from bank of america

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>> pressure coming, he gets rid of it, it's interseptembered! alford, it's going to be a victory for the falcons! >> he dropped the ball. he gets it back and throws for a touchdown! >> faking one way, come back the other way, and that's off inside the 20 and to the end zone. >> foles, tipped off for the fourth time today. >> second and six. dalton end zone. >> second and 13, and he's got an open edelman. look at that on the break two tackles and edelman is home for the touchdown. carr over the middle, intercepted! by chris harris jr., and there he goes. >> those were some of the best highlights from around the nfl yesterday. now to east rutherford, new jersey, for sunday night football, the giants trailing the 49ers by four points with 26

seconds remaining in the game. >> to the right side, one on one, eli the back of the end zone and it is caught for a touchdown by larry donnell! >> giants tight end larry donnell makes a spectacular catch, hauling in the eli manning pass, over two san francisco defenders for the go-ahead touchdown. the giants hang on to win it 30-27. to playoff baseball and a pair of alds games. arlington, texas, the blue jays facing elimination against the rangers in game three. troy tulowitski coming up about igwith four rbis in the game including a three-run homer in the sixth inning. toronto lead the best of five series 2-1 games. george h.b. bush tossing out the ceremonial first pitch before the astros hosted the royals in their game three

matchup. the 91-year-old threw from his wheelchair position a short distance from the home plate by has been in recovery since fracturing a vertebrae in his neck during a fall in june. another outstanding performance in houston a's dallas keikel who allowed one run over seven innings of work. chris carter first three-hit game of the year and astros take a 2-1 series lead after beating the royals 4-2. chase utley of the dodgers will appeal a suspension handed down by major league baseball for what the league is calling an illegal takeout slide during game two of l.a.'s post season matchup against the mets. utley's late slide while attempting to break up a double play resulted in a broken leg for rube. tejada. if the succespension is upheld he'll miss game three and four of the series currently tied at 1-1 apiece. let's get a check of the

weather with raphael miranda. >> we're looking at a hot and dry pattern for this monday, thankfully for this holiday lots have it off. steamy weather across the southwest, temperatures 5 to 15 degrees above average, up to 96 in l.a. today, feeling the heat in san diego. and phoenix and las vegas also well into the 90s to near 100 and not just the desert southwest, it's also portions of the south, look at austin today, near 100 degrees, temperatures again that we typically see in the middle of summer, we're seeing them today in the middle of october. 96 in dallas and tallahassee in the 80s. here in the northeast it's also warm, temperatures in the 70s, that's above average from boston down toward d.c. but it's comfy. temperatures in the mid-70s in places like roanoke and raleigh. 77, temperatures trending five to ten degrees above average. here comes a cold front moving through the region, monday night into tuesday, you could see detroit tomorrow for tuesday, down to 61 so cooler weather is on the way. we have another warm day though from d.c. to boston tomorrow with temperatures about five to

ten degrees above average. gets cooler around here in the northeast probably wednesday and also thursday. look at the national picture, warm weather is dominating but look at all of that sunshine, it's hard to find rain today, maybe some showers, coastal north carolina and also in the pacific northwest. but look at the temperatures 94 in dallas. 96 in l.a. a beautiful day in northern california, near 80 in san francisco, and again enjoying a fantastic stretch for the big cities of the northeast, boston down towards d.c., temperatures in the 70s. the only concern we have today, high winds in the plains, places like north dakota into minnesota, watching out for winds that could be gusting between 60 and even 70 miles per hour at times so that's a problem that we have to watch out for, otherwise lucking out on this columbus day. >> comfy, i like that word, you never know it's the middle of october. still ahead marijuana sales in one western state are off the charts. president obama weighs in on the political question of the season, should kanye west run for president in 2020? "way too early" is back in a

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now let's get a check on the morning's other headlines and for that we head to the control room and louis bergdorf. what do you know about pot? >> cannabis sales in colorado, sales have skyrocketed, soaring

past the $100 million mark for august. since the start of 2015, marijuana sales set a new record every month with recreational sales consistently outpacing ones for medical use. as of october the 1st, oregon is the third state to join the legalization of pot. now the first week sales totaled $11 million being the first week that only reached about $5 million. let's go to late night, "saturday night live" weighed in over the debate on firearms with a public service announcement starring host amy schumer. >> whatever you're waiting for, whatever you face, whatever you're looking for, there are things we all share. family, connection. >> hey. >> hey. >> a sense of purpose.

and also guns. guns are there in little moments and big ones. they unite us, comfort us, bring us joy and strength. wherever life takes you, guns, we're here to stay. >> aim ye schumer did a nice job there on "snl." kanye west auditioned for "american idol." before that, west performed at a dnc fund-raiser where presidentby ma was in attendance. it seemed the president heard about west's interests in the oval office. >> in case kanye is serious

about this whole potus thing, or as he calls it peezy, i do have advice for him. there's some stuff that i picked up on the way. first of all, you've got to spend a lot of time dealing with some strange characters who behave like they're on a reality tv show, so you've got to be cool with that. >> president obama also joked that west is think being running for speaker of the house. that's all i got for you. >> maybe he could draft taylor swift as his running mate. >> maybe. >> thanks so much, louis. that does it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe" breaking news this morning, a verdict reached in the case of a "washington post" reporter jailed in iran. plus he's been at the back of the pack but new jersey's governor is starting to show an uptick in the polls in iowa. chris christie is here on set, that and much more, coming up

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what's the weirdest . what's the weirdest thing about you? >> that i don't sweat. >> you guys are the first to realize i'm not a human being. >> i was constructed in a garage. people think bill gates and steve jobs, they created it. a man to remain nameless created me in his garage. >> welcome to morning joe on columbus day. >> with us on set we have msnbc. >> ask me a question about columbus day this weekend. >> well, it's a holiday.