Save them. A special forces troop was sent to syria earlier this summer. He was part of a secret mission to save hostages like foley, but the hostages could not be found. Meanwhile, the u. S. Continues air strikes against targets in iraq and vows to be relentless to do what must be done to protect americans. Brian mooar is in washington, d. C. What more do we know about this secret mission that youre hearing. Richard, were learning that commandos slipped over the border engaged in a bloody firefight with isis troops. One american was injured but none of the hostages were anywhere to be found the four radical islamists executed james foley. His participants had pleaded with the u. S. Government to save him and others held hostage by the terror group isis. Jim was a great american. And he believed in the very best of our country. Reporter but president obama told the grieving family the pentagon is now revealing to the world American Special forces try and failed earlier this summer to rescue foley and other american hostages. The United States of america will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. We will be individual lent. This is james foley, an american citizen of your country. Reporter in the same video that showed foleys beheading, they promised to kill another american. Youre going to see a lot more air strikes than you would have had this not happened. Reporter meanwhile, celebrating the life that died while trying to ease the life of others. His parents are calling him a martyr for freedom and are praying for the safe return of other hostages. Thank you so much for that. More now from nbcs chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel on the isis threat beyond iraq and syria. Reporter Security Officials say isis has between 7,000 and 12,000 foreign fighters. Hundreds from europe and one known american. We are coming for you. Mark my words. Reporter he died carrying out a suicide bombing for a group considered more violent than al qaeda. Even a group like al qaeda which has purpoerpetrated aroune world, theyre far too brutal. Reporter its so easy to get there. Young men from all over the world come to turkey. They make their way to the Border Crossing and simply walk in. And turkish authorities are making no real effort to stop them. That was Richard Engel reporting from turkey for us. Just two hours ago, encouraging words from captain ron johnson in ferguson, missouri. 11 days after the death of michael brown. During his briefing he said while one officer was hit with a bottle last night, they responded to only a few incidents and made only six arrests. The quieter night perhaps because of stuff like this. The weather. Lightning you see near the st. Louis gateaway arch. Nevertheless, wednesday was a big day. Eric holders visit began with a group of college students. Then onto meetings with congressional lawmakers and the parents of michael brown. Also the Justice Department confirming browns parents were able to see his body for the First Time Since his death. Then a grand jury meeting for the first time to hear evidence. The office saying it could take until the middle of october to present all of the evidence to the grand jury. All of that yesterday. Nbc news jay gray is in ferguson for us. As we look at some of these mixed reviews, what will you hearing . Reporter well, richard, i think there are some mixed reviews. When you talk to a majority of the people on the ground here, they say they like the idea that the voices from the protests and people that are concerned are being heard. And that somethings being done. So all in all i think it was a positive effect on this community. I know from a police standpoint, theyre glad that the attorney general is here. Only six arrests overnight. Thats the least weve seen since last saturday. So thats a positive step in the right direction here. And it all comes only hours after holders visit. And our first brief glimpse into the civil rights investigation and the criminal investigation here. Lightning and rain slowed but didnt stop the protest overnight in ferguson. Hands up dont shoot reporter earlier wednesday the cry came from outside a courthouse where a grand jury met for the first time to hear evidence in the case. I understand the public needs to know whats going on. Reporter as the criminal investigation moves forward, attorney general eric holder traveled to ferguson yesterday to check on the civil rights investigation that already includes more than 100 witness interviews and an independent autopsy. My hope is that will give people some degree of confidence that the appropriate things are being done by their federal government. Reporter holder met privately with Michael Browns family after talking with members of the community, elected officials, captain ron johnson. The officer charged with trying to keep the peace along the front lines of the protest. I think itll have a great impact. I think it will show the people of st. Louis, the people of our nation that their voices are heard. Reporter voices in this grieving, angry community. We are one we are one reporter that refuse to go silent. As they march, they continue to call for the arrest of the officer involved in the shooting here. As you said earlier, it may be the middle of october before grand jury makes a decision on that. We also know the Ferguson Police department now facing two civil lawsuits from the death of another person here in ferguson two years ago that officers used a taser on. So a lot going on down there and a lot to deal with. Jay gray, thank you so much. Bank of america is paying over. Its a recordbreaking deal to tell you about. 17 billion. The Justice Department accusing them of giving out shoddy home loans in 2008. It will pay in assistance for homeowners. It was a messy marriage. Thats what virginias former governor wants a court to believe. Its always better to be on offense than defense. Bob mcdonnell testifying in his corruption trial wednesday and he blamed his wife maureen saying she turned on him after he won in 2009. He also added they became so estranged they could not even have collaborated together to get thousands in gifts from a businessman for promoting his company. If convicts, the mcdonnells could face decades in prison. Lets get you to sports right now. A scary moment in boston is where we start. Angels pitcher awkwardly falling trying to cover first base. He was on the ground ten minute before being taken off on a gurney. The angels did go on to beat boston. More than 34,000 fans at the Little League world series wednesday. Many eyes on philadelphia pitcher mone davis. She struck out six batters in just over two innings. But the play of the game, this right here. A big hit to right field in the first. Nevadas alex barker makes the diving catch. They dont look back. Nevada dominates 81 advancing to the championship game saturday. Pennsylvania faces illinois thursday. The winner there also goes to the championship too. And intense fight to tell you about breaking out at Buffalo Bills training camp. Yeah, theyre on the same team. Brian johnson ripping off center eric woods helmet. Then playing two punches on him before the team intervened. The head coach, not so happy. It hurts the integrity of our game the more we talk about it. Thats how i feel about fighting. No words on any potential penalties or punishment. The entire Tennessee Titans team taking on the als bucket challenge. Jim shaw nominating all of them. Shaw, by the way, revealing just tuesday he was diagnosed with that disease. Michael jordan also taking the challenge. Not only nominated phil jackson and his dream Team Teammates to take that challenge, but to donate some cash. Donations to the Als Association have topped 32 million. And a lot of ice cubes rolling off a head just like that. Nba teams taking to twitter with the nba movies to spoof movie photos. The philadelphia 76ers with beetlejuice. A lot of creativity on the internet. A woman taking pictures of a storm is nearly zapped by a lightning bolt in idaho. It missed her by just a foot. The woman and her daughter who was also outside lost their hearing for about a minute. You can hear the microphone zapping out there. Both are okay there. Dont do that. Get close to a tree. No, youre not supposed to go under trees either. Indoors. A lot of storms yesterday. Especially in areas of the northern plains, down through chicago. That continues this morning. The northeast isnt so bad. We still have some showers to deal with. New york is getting it right now. Out in minnesota thunderstorms are big and a ton of lightning early. Mankato into st. Cloud, into the minnesota area. Hot weather conditions all day today right into the weekend. It was 101 in san antonio. Kansas city to st. Louis, 95 to 100 today. Notice the northern states are warm with thunderstorms. The southern states, its plain old hot. And if youre lucky youll get storms there. 97 is hot for atlanta. Really toasty. The other story out there is whats going to happen through the upcoming weekend. Were watching the tropics carefully. This will be between florida and the bahamas some time tuesday to wednesday next week. The gulf coast is looking a little bit safer. For the southeast coastline, we still have to watch this for the beginning of next week. A lot of questions on what the intensity will be. But its still five, six days away. Thanks, bill. Still ahead, a warning for some u. P. S. Customers. Bowe bergdahl says hes ready for the next chapter of his life. Plus a deadly cash caught on camera. Nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. Theres a reason its called an all you can eat buffet. And not a have just a little buffet. Because what we all really want is more. Thats why verizon is giving you even more. Now, for a limited time, get more data 1 gb of bonus data every month with every new smartphone or upgrade. Our best ever pricing with the more everything plan and 50 off all new smartphones. Like the htc one m8 for windows or android. Built to inspire envy. Come get your more with verizon. Lets show em what a breakfast with whole grain fiber can do. One coffee with room, one large mocha latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. Make one a double. Shes full and focused. [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos one with a double shot. Heh, heh. Thats not the coffee talkin. [ female announcer ] start your day with kelloggs frosted mini wheats cereal. With whole wheat goodness on one side and a hint of sweetness on the other, its a delicious way to get the nutrition you want. Yeah . Then howd i get this. [ voice of dennis ]. Safe driving bonus check . Every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. Silence. Are you in good hands . In business the stock market rising for the Third Straight day. It shows a growing core of officials willing to raise rates sooner. Some users of the u. P. S. Store may have had their info stolen. It includes credit card numbers and email addresses. A new report shows a growing number of car and truck owners struggling to make their monthly auto loan payments. Experian says the rate of repossessions jumped more than 70 in the second quarter. Some other stories were following, new video of the brazilian plane crash that killed president ial candidate eduardo campos. The black box was recovered but didnt record any of the data. Right now Bowe Bergdahl is being investigated. The army wants to know how he fell into the hands of the taliban in 2009. Seaworld has decide not to appeal a ruling there after a trainer was pulled under and died. Get ready, set, wait. Thats the word from aaa. Over 34 million will hit the roads and skies this labor day weekend. Sarah palin wants snl royalties and bush royalty and rob forward get in on the ice bucket challenge. Scrambled politics coming up. Will mean making it lighter. One day, factories will work with the cloud. One day. Is today. Now heres your thursday morning dish of scrambled politics. Governor rick perry has formally pleaded not guilty to felony charges against him. This a day after taking this mugshot. A spokesperson says he will now be paying for his legal fees with campaign funds. His use of taxpayer money is legal since his actions in question occurred during his time in office. Samesex couples wanting to get married in virginia were supposed to start applying for licenses this morning. Theyll have to wait awhile longer. The Supreme Court has agreed to delay an Appeals Court ruling striking down the gay marriage ban. The justices are expected to take up the issue next year. Can you believe sarah palin wants comedian tina fey to compensate her for portraying her on saturday night live . You bet ya. In her book she says fey should at least pay for her kids braces or something after playing her. To you all who have challenged me, i do not think its president ial for me to be splashed with ice water, so im simply going to write you a check. George w. Bush getting dumped with ice water there by the former first lady. Who did he challenge to get in on the event . President bill clinton. Rob ford also taking the challenge this week. And thats your scrambled politics. Were joined by bob franken. Good morning to you. Lets talk about what we just learned about. That is the efforts by u. S. Special forces to recover some americans from isis who are being held captive. One of the questions that bubbles up here, why release information on this secret mission that was not a success and then release it the day after that that video of american james foley came out of him being killed . Wheres the sense in that . Whats the strategy, do you think . Well, politically it could be a reaction to criticism that the white house had not cared enough about the capture of james foley and the other americans. And had not gotten as involved as it should. So that might be a response. In addition to which, why not release it . Its the kind of thing that quite frankly there should be more of from an administration that promises transparency. Youve got u. S. Special forces and the data being released. Theyre the countrys elite, we both know that. The reports are they sustained some injuries decide being well armed. One has to ask, is the administration understanding how daunting isis actually is as time goes by . Well, certainly by putting the special forces into very, very Difficult Missions of course we all remember osama bin laden, that is what special forces are trained to do. The injury to the one american was fairly slight. But of course that is a very potentially deadly situation. Now, whats been talked about since the story came out about foley, the unfortunate situation that it is, we not only have other americans that could be at risk. Isis asking for millions in ransom, evidently the New York Times reporting that. But the u. S. Saying no. Then youve got europeans saying yes. And some opeds saying did this asymmetry in policy cause or help to lead to foleys death . Well, certainly the inconsistency in responses would probably have contributed to it because as the times article points out, the isis people are extremely aware of other ransom situations and how they were resolved. But the United States rationale is all you do when you pay these big ransoms is encourage the hostage takers and terrorists to pursue that as a line of way of making money. And they are earning a lot of money through this ransom strategy. Hundreds of millions, yeah. Bob franken, thank you so much. Thank you. First buzz just ahead, but first some breaking news. Were hearing the ft. Worth doctor who became infected with the ebola virus will be released from an atlanta hospital later today. Thats according to the hospital itself. Dr. Kent brantley was given an experimental medicine that had never been been tested on humans. He then showed a remarkable and sudden improvement. Well have the latest on his statement when that happens. Hard it can be. How. To breathe with copd . It can feel like this. Copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Spiriva is a oncedaily inhaled. Copd maintenance treatment. That helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. You know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. Stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells,. You can get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Sfx blowing sound. Does breathing with copd. Weigh you down . Dont wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. Well start looking for an suv. Fire by firenze sir . Start your Search Online with over 35,000 carmax quality certified used cars. Carmax. Start here. Nervous whitening will damage your teeth . Introducing new listerine® healthy whitetm. It not only safely whitens teeth, but also restores enamel. Lose the nerves, and get a healthier, whiter smile that youll love. Listerine® healthy whitetm. Power to your mouthtm all right. Time for first buzz. Stories that we are kind of finding interesting. Bill kairns. This is a cringe one. I have a fear of the whole public spaces and not so much germs but bugs. This is lodi, california, in a movie theater. Theyre closed because of a bedbug infestation. That is just horrendous. The lodi stadium 12 theater there. Now, reportedly they were told about so they knew about this. They were told about it beforehand, didnt deal with it immediately. But now they have closed down to exterminate and clean. How many people is the question. There are cloth seats in a lot of places. When you go to the movies, are you conscious of this . You travel a lot. Im always worried about that. Thats why in some mass transit systems here in new york they dont have cloth seats. Great gopro video here. Folks that are actually trying to get down into a drainage ditch. They are kayaking down this. This is in british columbia. You know this is not in Southern California because theres actually water in it. And they are going about 45 miles an hour. How do they go up on the edge with that . This is first look on msnbc. Way too early with Thomas Roberts starts right now. The entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of jim foley by the terrorist group isil. Appalled and now just learning that president obama did approve an operation to save james foley. The Details Behind the failed mission. Fewer arrests in ferguson overnight, but if the officer is cleared of wrong doing by the grand jury, will it just reignite the suburb with more dire consequences . And weve all watched as the ice bucket challenge has grown. Now its a president ial situation. This is way too early. Now, that is a classy ice bucket challenge. Im Thomas Roberts. It is thursday, august 21st. Welcome to way too early that is not over the ice bucket challenge videos. And wait until you hear who president bush has challenged. Well wait to see if that person accepts within the next 24 hours. We want to start off with the developing news we have overnight in the american murdered, james foley. Troops unsuccessfully tried to rescue foley and other u. S. Hostages earlier this summer in syria. Foley and the other americans were not at the targeted location. Officials say one u. S. Commando was injured and several militants were killed. The u. S. Had refused to pay a ransom for foley