>> not exactly. as the house of representatives plan to make another move against obama care, two champions of the cause backtrack in the senate. we hear from senator z cruz and lee. not sure what else i'm going to say about that until you see it. the pope has a lot to say and he's certainly stirring the vatican city pot. what he's saying about gays, contraception and abortion. and two teams celebrate clinching a playoff spot, but one of them took it too far. we'll explain on this friday edition of "way too early." good morning. brian shactman here. september 20th. other things we want to talk

about is another foreign leader writing an op-ed in a major u.s. paper. a hidden ball trick works in the major leagues. and mayweather makes more money in a night maybe all of us make together in a lifetime. we want to begin with the navy yard shooting. law enforcement officials trying to piece together the motive behind aaron alexis killing 12 people. while they say he shot indiscrimina indiscriminately, "the washington post" is reporting that he headed directly to the fourth floor of building 197 where he allegedly targeted former co-workers. investigators are probing whether a workplace dispute was at the center of the rampage. now new questions about the police response time. it wasn't until nearly half an hour after the shooting began that first responders had aaron alexis in their sights. a navy police union says they were understaffed and some police and fire crews complained of radios not working on site.

another strange twist in the story pointed out by the "new york times." the same company that did aaron alex alexis's background check he worked for also performed background checks on edward snowden. let's get to the pope now. pope francis continues to break away from predecessors and in a big way. blunt comments by the pontiff signaling what could be a new era for the catholic church. pope francis says the church has become "obsessed with preaching about gays, abortion and contraception." ann thompson has the story. >> reporter: in his short pap si, he's preached loudest with gestures drawing tens of thousands to his weekly appearance in the vatican. and millions in rio, his first overseas trip. he spells out his vision of the catholic. in a frank interview published

in "america requests. we cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contra september ive methods. the church must not be obsessed with the issues. we have to find a new balance. otherwise the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards. this pope is focused on peace leading a prayer vigil for syria. highlights the plight of immigrants. this interview follows his press conference in july on the flight from rio when he said who am i to judge when asked about a gay priest. now speaking about all gays, the pope said "when god looks at a gay person does he endorse with love or reject and condemn this person? we must always consider the pers person." few expect radical change. >> that was ann thompson report

i ing. looking to usher in a new era of diplomacy between washington and tehran. according to "the new york times," the iranian is looking to make a "swift agreement" over its nuclear program and a number of sanctions against the country. he was encouraged by a letter from president obama which promised relief in exchange for more transparency with its nuclear ambitions. in an op-ed this morning, he writes in part "i urge my counterparts to seize the opportunity presented by iran's recent election. i urge them to make the most of the mandate for putin engagement that people have given me and to respond genuinely to my golf's efforts to engage in constructive dialogue. most of all, i urge them to look beyond the pines and be brave enough to tell me what they see. if not for their national interests but for the sake of their legacies and our children and future generations." they will both address the general assembly on tuesday.

later today the house will vote on a spending bill that will fund the government beyond the september 30th deadline and defund the affordable care act. the decision by house speaker john boehner to move forward with the resolution even though it it has no chance of survival in the senate is sparking a feud between the tea party and establishment of the republican party. the backlash against the two senators behind the defund obama care movement has been so strong they are now accepting the fact that the issue of fund iing the affordable care act is off the table for now. >> look, shut downs are bad. shut downs are not worth it. this it law is not worth causing a shut down over. >> as soon as the house passes this into law, it's going to be in harry reid's court. and he may well be able to hold his 54 democrats to not listen to the american people. >> senator cruz actually later said to reporters he believes it

will take another election for a full repeal of obama care. the republican-controlled house just passed deep cuts to the nation's food stamp program. the bill slashes $39 billion from the program. about 4 million people would lose benefits next year. critics of the program said food stamp spending is out of control. they say it's because of the great recession. since 2000 the number of households on food stamps has more than tripled hitting $6.4 million households in 2011. in terms of the vote in the house it was 217 to 210 but largely along party lines. >> if you're a healthy adult and don't have someone relying on you to care for them, you ought to earn the benefits you receive. look for work. start job training to improve your skills and do community service. you can no longer sit on your couch. >> the fact we're considering this legislation makes me request whether the republican

leadership even wants a farm bill. the counterbill guts nutrition for those most in need and says to the poor, to hungry children, to the disabled, seniors and our veterans, you don't matter. >> the white house has threatened to veto the bill. it cuts nearly ten times more than a bill that the senate passed back in june. this morning tens of thousands of tourists are looking for a way out of acapulco after hurricane manuel. that includes a lot of americans. the u.s. embassy dun have an exact number. tourists have been lining up for seats on military planes to get out of the country. as of late night, more than 15,000 tourists were flown out. all of the main roads, you can see the damage there, are still shut down. transportation officials say they will reopen later today. at least 97 people are now dead from the flooding and mud slides in mexico. more gun violence in chicago

where one person is dead and a dozen others hurt including a young child. two teens and a 3-year-old boy were shot when gunfire broke out at a basketball court on the south side. all the victims take on to a local hospital. three of them in critical condition including the child. investigators say the motive is gang-related. no arrests have been made as of yet. chicago, we have had serious issues, the fbi's crime report said chicago had 500 homicides in 2012 up from 431 in 2011. this year they are down but it's still 309, which is still a huge number. the rally on wall street snapped yesterday as the dow and s&p backing off their highs. the dow eked out a gain after hitting fresh new highs. want to get to a few headlines for you. mortgage rates easing up a bit. the 30-year rate.

rates have risen more than a point since may. that's when the federal reserve signalled they may cut back on the buying program. you learned this week they are holding off on that so you can probably kpp the mortgage rates to come down a little more in the coming week or two. finally, we have a better look at how airlines are making a praft. a survey of six north american airlines find 58% of all on board revenue is from booze, baby. selling beverages. 38% comes from food sales and 4% from everything else like head phones and movies. that's no surprise. the biggest revenue are the ones to vegas. shocker. twitter, binge viewing. it's not new but it's more popular than ever. 88% of netflix users and 70% of hulu users stream three or more episodes of the shame show every day. we have all been there. don't lie to yourself.

we have all been by ourselves with some time to kill. whether the family is away or we're single and got nothing to do. we want your most embarrassing binge-watching stories. maybe you didn't shower for four days. ville my own story. use #waytooshutin. the best answers later in the program. still ahead, michael vick welcomes andy reid back with a heck of a run. he still can be electric. reid may have had the last laugh. jimmy fallon, give me the wheel of fortune guy. we're giving him a chance at redemption. how he did at his fabulous prize. that's when "way too early" comes right back.

>> cal ripkin who hasn't missed a game in 16 years surprised everyone by pulling himself out of the opening line up. >> at some point it was going to end. i thought it was going to take care of itself. it basically took care of itself. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning for his daughters' future... mike opened a merrill edge investment account

and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the here and now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. time for sports. former eagles head coach decked out in red. the they gave him a standing ovation. first quarter, derrick johnson, interception of michael vick. that's a pick six. chiefs lead 10-0 early on. philly creeps back within 7. in the fourth, kansas city holds on for the victory, 26-16. five sacks of michael vick. the gatorade shower. >> good for andy reid. >> listen, he won a lo the of games there. couldn't win the big one and

that's why he left. but he's obviously a good coach. the chiefs are 3-0. college football, number 3 clemson at nc state. their quarterback is talented. 26-14. they beat the wolfpack. check this out. this is not a classy move. >> upper cut. look at that. >> i mean these are college kids so you treat them differently. >> kicked off the team maybe. >> he got ejected. their coach at clemson is a great coach. he's an amazing coach. that's just bad news. baseball, sox leading the orioles in the ninth. jon lackey gets adam jones to fly out to right. jones had a home run. the only run. that's 3-1 win for the sox. they clinch a berth in the playoffs since 2009. one of the worst teams in baseball last year so worst to first.

i love this. goes in foul territory. >> no way he's getting there. >> he might not be getting that. but he's getting something else. hello, mr. nacho. >> i like when there's some interaction with the fan. they win 5-4 over seattle. texas back in a tie for the top wild card spot after beating tampa. >> can you take the yankees off this list please? >> cleveland beat houston. they are a half a game back. orioles, 2. i don't want to call them out because someone will keep the clip. dodgers leading the diamondbacks in the ninth. dodgers clinch the nl west with the 7-6 win. the celebration afterward raises a few eye broups after fans left they went in the chase field pool in arizona and celebrated. basically players and management were not too happy about move.

now continued in the locker room. he wasn't even born when that was popular, but he's doing a pretty good worm. >> if i looked like that, i would never wear a shirt. >> let's go to denver. cards and rockies. i'll leave that one alone. throw to first. todd helton takes the throw. tags him out with the hidden ball trick. are you kidding me. this is major league baseball. >> it's disrespectful. >> you cannot fall for that. >> you shouldn't do it. >> why not? people steal sines. want to get to this story. no one cares about boxing but numbers tell a story different. floyd mayweather, the highest grossing fight of all time. more than 2.2 million homes paid an average $70 to see it.

that's more than $150 million in tv revenue alone. regulators say the match also had a record for on site revenue for $20 million. that breaks down to an average of $1200 per seat. >> i thought boxing was dead. >> i did too. the big fights, it's a bucket list thing for me. i would like to see a prize fight in vegas. . >> i'll go with you. >> weekend forecast. unfortunately, we have a lot of wet weather. manuel is the hurricane in mexico. that remove has moved up in texas. all the green is the rain. you're going to have a wet morning commute. we're going to see the rain traveling through the southeast. we have had some really rainy friday night football games in the deep south. this saturday college football games will be a mess too especially from louisiana and mississippi and alabama. today we're great in the northeast. we're going to hold on to a decent day on saturday. from atlanta to d.c., some storms and heavy rain. especially the gulf coast. by sunday the rain will be exiting the east coast.

>> yesterday was unbelievably gorgeous. >> president -- the east coast will have another great day. the pope looks to change the priorities of the church. his latest message and how catholics are reacting. and we'll huddle around the cooler. how you can own a piece of the series and how much it could set you back. run, go, go! did he just fumble? "i" formation! "i" formation! we have got to get the three-technique block! i'm not angry. i'm not yellin'. nobody's tackling anybody! we got absolutely... i don't think this was such a good idea. i'm on it. if we can't secure the quarterback center exchange... you're doing a great job, coach. well they're coming along better than i anticipated. very pleased. who told you to take a break? [ male announcer ] want to win your own football fantasy? just tell us. then use your visa card for a chance to win it.

this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light. 100-calorie progresso light soups.

i really thought the "wheel of fortune" guy got a raw deal. we have an update on his situation. >> i couldn't agree more. let's start with the followup story we brought you yesterday. you remember the "wheel of fortune" contestant who choked at chance to win a million bucks. jimmy fallon gave him a shot at redemption. >> i'm going to solve. >> i'll solve. corner curio cabinet. >> i just want to give you the chance once and for all to show that you can pronounce this correctly. whenever you're ready. >> corner curio cabinet.

[ applause ] >> take that, pat sajak. it's not $1 million, but we want to offer you your own corner curio cabinet. >> he got $2,000, a corner cabinet and a spot on fallon. i think it's pretty good. i feel good for him. it's good news if you're a fan of "breaking bad." you can bid on 200 props from the series. what's on the auction block? walter white's tighty whiteys. the starting bid is $250. that's a deal. you can also bid on walter white's hazmat suit from season one. the starting bid is $1,500. i like that one. if you want something more recent there's the hello kitty phone.

the starting bid is $100. it doesn't come with the phone plan. the auctions begin on screenbid.com on september 29th. that's the day the last episode airs. speaking of "breaking bad", jimmy kimmel is considering a spinoff. >> a high ranking health official is take iing a strong stance against sugar. i know sugar isn't good for you but can you call it a dangerous drug? in the netherlands people do -- and you can see it many some of their popular tv shows. >> you want to cook -- >> that's right. >> actually it's just basic chemistry. >> we're pretty much going there. baking bad, coming this fall to the netherlands. >> for anyone that gets up as

early as we do, we know that baked goods are a dangerous drug all around the office. we're going to end the week with a feel-good story. the manager of a dairy queen in minnesota is drawing praise for his good deed. he was outraged when he saw a blind customer drop a $20 and another woman put it in her purse. the woman proceeded to place her order but was in for a surprise because joey took a stand. >> i'm not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you. you can either return the $20 bill and i'll serve you or you can leave. she goes it's my $20 bill. then you can leave. >> good for joey. the money dsht woman refused to give the money back so he took it out of his own pocket. i don't know if you have ever had a blizzard, that's the best fast food delicacy. >> everyone here has an answer. okay. i'll have to get there some

time. maybe not. lewis, thank you. big show planned for today. we'll hit some major topics including the new strategy from the pope. why he says the church needs to take its focus off abortion, contraception and gay marriage to keep it it from falling like a house of cards. also senator ted cruz is back in the headlines. could he be backing down in the fight to defund obama care? and how it will affect the party's stance. mitch daniels and chuck schumer will also be here. and onset mark halperin, and john meech um. "morning joe" is a few moments away. >> you have him in the bullpen. he's the closer. still ahead, what's your most or embarrassing binge-watching story? "morning joe" just moments away. my name is lee kaufman. married to morty kaufman. [ lee ] now that i'm getting older some things are harder to do. this is not a safe thing to do.

be careful babe. there should be some way to make it easier [ doorbell rings ] let's open it up and see what's cookin'. oh i like that. look at this it's got a handle on it. i don't have to climb up. this yellow part up here really catches a lot of the dust. did you notice how clean it looks? morty are you listening? morty? [ morty ] i'm listening! i want you to know is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. ♪ [ dad ] jan? how can i be a more fun mom? hmmm. can you dance? ♪ bum ba bum ba bum ♪ bum ba bum ba bum no. no? can you make campbell's chicken noodle soup? yes! [ wisest kid ] every can has 32 feet of slurpable noodles. now that's fun. mom, you're awesome.

oh yeah! ♪ bum ba bum ba bum [ gong ] [ wisest kid ] m'm! m'm! good! thank you. thank you. i got this. no, i'll get it! no, let me get this. seriously. hey, let me get it. ah, uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call an allstate agent and get a quote now. just another way allstate is changing car insurance for good. call an allstate agent and get a quote now. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. nobody likes to miss out. that's why ally treats all their customers the same. whether you're the first or the millionth. if your bank doesn't think you're special anymore,

you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. we're all embarrassing sharing our binge-watching stories. >> judy says, watched first season of