flatrock, michigan. now they make the iconic mustang here that i drove in on and soon they'll add more than 1400 jobs to make this car, the ford fusion. it's right now being made in mexico but they are expanding it because it's so popular and they'll make them here. we'll talk a lot more about the auto industry here in detroit and the impact of motown music on the city. all that in a few minutes. but first, the latest on syria. the white house is forging ahead with preparations to launch some sort of attack and believes the assad regime is behind the chemical weapon as tack. president obama made strong statements during an exclusive interview on pbs's newshour. >> we have looked at all the evidence and we do not believe the opposition possessed nuclear weapons -- or chemical weapons of that sort. we do not believe that given the delivery systems, using rockets that the opposition could have carried out these attacks. we have concluded that the syrian government, in fact, carried these out. and if that's so, then there need to be international consequences. >> the president also expresses concerns over chemical weapons being used against us here in the united states. >> their control over chemical weapons may erode where they're given to known terrorist organizations that in the past have targeted the united states. then there is a prospect, a possibility in which chemical weapons that can have devastating effects could be directed at us. and we want to make sure that that does not happen. >> president obama insisted that no final decision has been made on a military strike against syria. at the fort hood trial, a military jury sentenced nidal hassan to death for murdering 13 unarmed soldiers at the fort hood military base. the sentence was handed down by a panel of senior military officers after less than two hours of deliberations. death sentences here are very rare in the military. no active duty service member has been executed in the united states since 1961. hassan will be flown to a u.s. military prison in kansas where he will join five other inmates on military death row. hassan faces death by lethal injection pending an automatic appeal. well, the dream, it does live on and it's strong. president obama along with former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter and thousands of people descended on the national mall to mark the 50th anniversary of dr. martin luther king, jr.'s march on washington. president obama took the opportunity to remind the nation that our work on civil rights is far from over. >> but we would dishonor those heros as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete. the arch of the moral universe may bend toward justice but it doesn't bend on it's own. to secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance. >> president obama said that while no one could match reverend king's brillance, the spirit from 50 years ago still lives on. yesterday was a testament to that. fast food workers from across the united states set to strike today, this after an almost yearlong campaign to raise wages in the service sector. this isn't the first protest by the workers but it's expected to be one of the largest. thousands are set to stage walk outs in 35 cities around the country as part of a push to get chains such as mcdonald's, taco bell and wendy's to increase pay. they're demanding the right to unionize and also at least $15 an hour. more than double the current national minimum wage of $7.25. back here in detroit, the latino review saying the motor city could sub for gotham in man of steel 2. the motor city experienced a production boom right now as a result of the generous tax incentives offered to film companies. transformers 4 is here now and disney's need for speed was here earlier in the summer. morocco is also scouted as another alternative. it's very early. we're still talking about ben afleck in that movie. since we're talking about detroit, let's get back to ford. we all know it's an iconic american brand but one thing coming in the company's turn around and the time i've spent here is the pride. the pride of making the mustang at this plant and the new pride in working in the auto industry. >> it's easy to see the headlines and think detroit is a city in ruin but there's also imagines of this. new jobs in what once made detroit great, the auto industry. a job at a place like ford is not about being on the line or punching the clock. it's about one thing, opportunity. >> this is a career. when you come into ford you're guaranteed. you've got your life set out ahead of you. >> i knew how hard the work was here and i was like i'm an academic and i don't know if i can handle it but i went for it. >> vanessa who got her degree in literature now work with her mother laura, a 23 year ford vet that couldn't be happier. >> ford is it. ford pays your bills, you support ford. it's a great thing to have and pass on to my daughter. >> a few years ago things didn't feel so good. vehicle sales dropped by more than a third and the auto industry shed about 200,000 jobs. >> everybody was nervous. everybody didn't know what was going to happen. you had three choices, stay, stick with it, you could go or you could take the buyout. i took to stay. >> ford is a family affair. his son is getting a job here but it all started with his father, a person he worked right next to for more than two years. >> a lot of people say you have a lot of firemens, this is my best friend. >> and now the legacy of ford is passed along to a new generation. >> dad, ford made you a better man. you have a better life. i want the same thing. >> let's bring in my old colleague at cnbc. good to see you, phil. >> good to be here. >> compare now, the auto industry to what it was like in 2005 or 2006. >> it's different. this is a more lean and efficient reviable of the american auto industry. they had to go through the bankruptcy where, unfortunately, because the planlts closed were here in the michigan area, a lot of the plants had to be let go. you now have plants running on two or three shifts. must have more productive. >> people talk about detroit and ford is bringing back 1400 jobs. they're not doing it in mexico. how much can we expect this to expand from a labor perspective. it won't go back to what it was in the 50s but what can we expect? >> small gradual growth from here on out. you have the auto makers here in the united states running on two and three shifts in their plants. there's not a lot of room on growth from here. >> they're not going to build new planlts here. >> and they don't want to go back to the days of saying let's put down billions of dollars and build a plant we'll have to close. you'll see gradual growth but what you won't see, which is important, you're unlikely to see huge job cuts that we saw back in the early 2000s and when we went through the recession. >> you have been coming to detroit for years to you have a great perspective. the auto industry can't save detroit. >> no. >> so talk about what, in your opinion and personal perspective, detroit needs to come back and thrive? >> i like what i'm seeing with small -- i'm calling shoots of growth. small industries and small companies that are starting operations either in downtown detroit or in the suburbs. now, are any of those small industries going to grow into the size of the auto industry? no. but that's what the city needs. it needs to diverse beyond that. >> thank you. we'll see him all day. we're all about detroit today. what do you think detroit's best export is? music, cars, hockey, all kind of stuff. tweet us #waytooearly. we'll have the best ones later in the show. i have one i love coming into my inbox. can you say inbox on twitter, jen? still ahead on "way too early." shocking revelations and a new report about aaron hernandez. the alleged drug use and which specific drug he was using that may have played a part in the downfall. >> also the sound of detroit. it's fantastic. we'll take you to the motown museum to show you how one man's vision turned into the musical revolution of an entire country. that when we come back. [ male announcer ] come to the golden opportunity sales event to experience the precision handling of the lexus performance vehicles, including the gs and all-new is. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. ♪ [ dad ] jan? it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. you were optimistic that a football team can make a difference. tell me why? >> i've seen it happen before. the most recent one that stands out was new orleans and what they did when they won a super bowl. katrina hit that city so hard and football became a way for people to escape reality. >> after hurricane katrina, we were able to lift the city up, so to speak, with the way we played football and winning the games and wins the super bowl made a big difference but also just being involved in the community. >> on many occasions i met with people and they told me they don't have much money. but the money they do have is spent more on their family. as long as i can give people something to smile about on game day, especially here in michigan, it means it's all worth it. >> hopefully those detroit lions with get to the playoffs. let's get to sports headlines here. let's leave detroit for a second. johnny manziel will sit out the first half of texas a&m a season opener versus rice this saturday. a little slap on the wrist. a&m and the ncaa released a joint statement saying the suspension is because manziel did not take the proper steps to ensure someone doesn't profit off his name but there is no evidence that manziel was paid for autographs, at least at this point. a new report, this is pretty amazing, says drug use may have played a major role in aaron hernandez's alleged murder of odin lloyd. the former patriot's tight end used pcp almost nonstop since last summer, including last season. the drugs made him paranoid and delusional. he was even carrying a gun on him all the time. he is facing life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder and weapon's charges. let's get to a few highlights here. indians at the braves. straight to the 9th. game tied at 2. chris johnson. gives jordan schafer a chance to score. he barely beats it. i love the walk off. braves walk off with a 3-2 win. i hope there's no shirt tearing on that one. derek jeter on the field, up in toronto, nice diving play and throw from his knees but it wasn't pretty last night unfortunately. ugliness started earlier with a passed ball. two runs would score off of that. take a look at the diving catch. the blue jays will end up topping the yanks 7-2. they need to start winning if they want that wildcard. l.a. dodgers, the season may have hit a thump in the road. the rookie senation pulled from last night's game. after the game the knowleddodge manager who i love now, he did not comment on the specifics of the decision but he knows what he has to do to stay in the line-up although he has been a troublemaker for awhile now. l.a. shut out the cubs 4-0. detroit tiger's ace justin verlander using $1 million of his own money to launch a charitable venture called the wins and warriors initiative. it will support the wellbeing of veterans from iraq and afghanistan along with their families. verlander grew up in richmond and went to college at old dominion university and plays here in detroit. he'll join us live on morning joe a little later this morning. let's get a check on your weather with dillon dreyer. i had a terrible time getting out of new york because of the rain. but i'm here and it's lovely and humid here in new york this morning. >> it is hot. torrential downpours. we had the pop up thunderstorms in the city yesterday off and on. today it will be much drier. back to the west, though, especially in minneapolis. we're talking about the heat wave continuing. once again it's going to feel like it's up around 100 degrees when you factor in the humidity. we have rain out there. most of the heavy rain falling across north dakota where we have downpours north of bismark. our biggest threat of thunderstorms, especially early this afternoon, will be across parts of minnesota into northwestern wisconsin. not tornadoes but the risk of large hail and gusty winds out of the thunderstorms. it's staying hot. 10 in dallas, 94 in kansas city but clouds and off and on showers especially later on today and tomorrow it will start to warm back up to 77 in boston. chicago is hitting 91. the heat wave in minneapolis should come to an end by sunday. highs up to around 80 degrees or so. brian. >> all right. thank you very much. coming up at the top of the hour on morning joe, we'll have our coverage continuing from outside of detroit where on the assembly line they're about to get going here. we'll have the ford ceo join the discussion and the man behind the bankruptcy. kevin orr will be with us. when we come back here we're going to take you inside the motown museum. how they changed american music and the identity of the city of detroit. we'll be right back. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent 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[ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] it's a reality check. i had my reality check when i'd be sitting there with my friends who had their verizon phones and i'd be sitting there like "mine's still loading!" i couldn't get email. i couldn't stream movies. i couldn't upload any of our music. that's when i decided to switch. now that i'm on verizon, everything moves fast. with verizon, i have that reliability. i'm completely happy with verizon. verizon's 4g lte is the most reliable and in more places than any other 4g network. period. that's powerful. verizon. get the nokia lumia 928 for free. if all of us are doing our part, then this restructuring as painful as it will be in the short-term will mark, not an end, but a new beginning for a great american industry. an auto industry that is once more out competing the world. a 21st century auto industry creating new jobs, unleashing new prosperity and manufacturing the fuel efficient cars and trucks that will carry us toward an energy independent future. i am committed to working with congress and the auto companies to meet one goal. the united states of america will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars. >> today, of course our show is focused on the city of detroit. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends the population of detroit reached it's peak in the 1950s at 2 million people. since then the loss of swrjobs d to a decline. the population is less than 700,000. we have been listening to motown sound all morning long. so we with want to check out the revolution of one of the city's greatest experts. now that's my car. this is not your car. >> this is my car. look at this thing. 2013 ford shelby gt mustang. >> if we only had this in high school. >> if we did. >> i don't know if you ever made out with your girlfriends to motown. >> if i had this car i would have. motown was founded with an $800 check in 1950s and converted a house in downtown detroit to one of the most successful recording studio after time. they preserved the place where all the magic began. studio a and hitsville usa. take a look. >> manufacturing maybe the heart of detroit but motown is it's soul. with $800 and a dream he created an empire that changed music forever. the jackson 5. the supremes. the miracles. and stevie wonder. all among the legendary acts responsible for the motown sound. i went back to where it all began. you're here at the motown museum in studio a at hitsville usa. >> since the 1950s, studio a is guaranteed to transport you to a historic moment in time. >> every place you lay your eyes is a part of history. where ever a detroiter goes, they still talk about motown. we all feel a sense of pride about what was accomplished here. >> i heard it through the grapevine. [ music playing ] >> when i came in this door, i felt magic and i knew this is the place i wanted to be. you could see where, in the studio a, where the tile is off the floor from the musicians and the producers keeping that steady beat. it's a heartbeat. it's the sound of young america. that's what barry gordy referred to it as. i have a lot of sweat and blood and tears in this building. standing at these microphones and pouring my little heart out. the pulse has been very, very strong for the love of music right here in this building, in this studio a, motown, my town, my home. >> brian, thousands of tourists travel there every year. it is an unbelievable experience to be there. it's literally unchanged since the 1950s. >> i think about that first room where johnny cash did his first recording. mack wh imagine what it was like. >> you get such a great vibe when you walk in the studio. it gives you the chills. >> you have to get out of the car. >> do you think they would let me take it for a test drive. >> the clutch is temper mental. >> still ahead, what's detroit's best export. your tweets and texts and e-mails. morning joe just moments away. ♪ nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. 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[ doorbell rings ] ...and let the good life in. ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. i'm walking down the line and heading to where joe and mika are going to start morning joe. quickly, natalie has your tweets. >> thanks brian, well, we have john who said axel foley so from beverly hills cop and then we have francis ford copola. he was born in detroit. best export, >> yeah. we had madonna from detroit and also tons of votes for kid rock. i mean music is a huge, huge part of detroit. and, of course, that's it for "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> good morning, everyone. welcome to a special edition of "morning joe." it's thursday, august 29th. we're going to have a great time here in detroit. we're live from the ford flat rock assembly line. just outside of detroit in flat rock, michigan. and this is an active assembly line, about to getu