Champion today. Sunday, august 10th, 2013. Welcome to today on this sunday morning. Im erica hill. Im lester holt alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. A lot to talk. The president saying the military involve investment iraq may not be over for a few weeks. Could go on for a bit. This as fighter jets spent a second day striking isis militants in iraq. Were live in iraq with the latest. We want to begin with todays top story, that deadly accident involving nascar legend tony stewart. Kristen dahlgren is following that for us. Good morning. Reporter good morning, lester. It really was a frightening scene for onlookers on saturday night. The Sheriffs Department says a sprint car driven by tony stewart hit and killed a fellow competitor who had gotten out of his car and was standing on the track after a crash. Hes one of nascars most wellknown drivers tony stewart. A threetime champion and a regular at local sprint car events. This morning, hes at the center of an investigation after a fatal car crash that took place at a race track in upstate new york late saturday night. Official with the ontario Sheriffs Department say stewarts car struck another driver who was walking on the track moments after spinning out. The Sheriffs Department has said this is not a criminal investigation at this time and that stewart has been fully cooperative. A second sprint car operated by driver tony stewart, age 43, of columbus, indiana, struck the operator of the sprint car that was on the track. Reporter this is stewarts third crash in just over a year. In july of 2013, stewart was involved in an accident that injured a 19yearold driver. On the same track as last nights fatal accident. Weeks later, he broke his leg in a crash in iowa. Something he tweeted about just last week. Writing, one year ago today may life changed. Thank you to everyone that worked so hard to get me back to where i im at today. Its your life. Live it and stewart is still set to race later today at an event at Watkins Glen International in central new york, guys. All right. Thank. Thank you. Turning now to the crisis in iraq where there was a third humanitarian aid drop overnight for refugees trapped by isis militants. That same group the u. S. Military is targeting with air strikes. A mission the president has warned will not be over quickly. Chris jansing is traveling with the president. Good morning. Reporter good morning. Yes, this is not going to be a mission of week. In fact, the president said it is going to take some time. Those humanitarian air drops not just the u. S. Now but British Forces also did an air drop, and the french are expected to join, as well. But as far as the air strikes themselves, the u. S. Is going to alone. Just before leaving for a long planned Family Vacation in marthas vineyard, the president acknowledged intelligence underestimated the danger posed by isis in iraq. There is no doubt that their advance, their movement over the last several months has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates. Reporter military action now underway. More air drops of tons of food and water to address a humanitarian crisis the president describes as genocide. And for the first time, talking about creating a safe corridor to try to help stranded refugees get off a mountain. And more air strikes. Just the start of what the president says will be a longterm campaign. I dont think were going to solve this problem in weeks, if thats what you mean. I think this is going to take some time. Reporter already shaken by the skriex, the rebels removed signature black flags from their vehicles which had made them easy targets. So far these strikes have successfully destroyed arms and equipment that isil terrorists could have used against irbil. Narrator marking as their own isis largest capture, the mosul dam, essential to the entire infrastructure of iraq. The bigger question is if the iraqi political system gets the house in order, whether or not the president will commit far greater force that would absolutely be required to push isis out of the areas it currently controls. Reporter the president made it very clear that the continuing air strikes are contingent on the iraqis forming a more inclusive government, and in that regard the next 24 hours are critical. Theres a midnight deadline in iraq for choosing a new Prime Minister. Erica . Thank you. Meantime, its a desperate situation near the mountain where members of an iraqi Minority Group are trapped. Theyre cut off by the advance of islamic extremist fighter. We are more from erbil. Good morning. Reporter lester, good morning. Isis fighters have been bearing dunn on this city. In fact, it was the threat to erbil that in part prompted president obama to act. This morning, bloodcuddling stories of isis even burying people alive. No wonder wherever isis goes, civilians flee. A frantic scene atop a mountain in northern iraq. Dozens of refugees grasping for aid from a kurdish helicopter. One boy clings on. 20 made it on board. Thousands are still cut off by isis. Families are fleeing any way they can. In temperatures of more than 110 degrees, this child, just five days old, 4 how it have taken refugee in a church. There are just crowds of families here. People just carrying their children right the way down the side of the church. Parents struggle to hold it together. Nidal holds her 10monthold baby. Isis told her to wear an islamic shawl or be killed. They wanted you to convert. Please, they beg, help stop issues sis. Army, army american. Reporter the president s promise no boots on the ground is not what they want here. Not only a plane, okay, to bomb from the sky, okay . We need army. Reporter but of course washington has made clear that they will not send in ground forces. There are, though, were hearing, battling between kurdish fighters and isis a short distance from this city. Erica, the question is if that doesnt work, if that doesnt hold back isis, what does the west do then . That is a question many people in the u. S. Have, as well. Thank you. We turn to David Gregory who is moderator of meet the press. We know obviously this will be a main topic for you this morning. That question that keir raised, the president admitting that the intelligence really didnt see isis advancing quite this quickly. And yet they were caught a little offguard. Now we find ourselves in this position in a mission that were told will last for some time. How much focus is does the administration have on that end game or on the what if this doesnt work . Well, theres several different things. Youve got the threat from isis that could become a bigger threat to america than even al qaeda. You have a threat to americans on the ground in iraq that harkens the images going back to libya and benghazi which, of course, the president wants to avoid at all cost. And the future of iraq. Not just protecting the kurds in the north which are a bright spot of the war in iraq in terms of their selfgovernment, their unity, and their jefoverall success. Now a political operation to try to force iraq to deal with the problem itself. The president adamant america cant solve this problem. He want us to be more limited in duration, but degrading isis is something nobody can put a timeline on because of how much its grown. Its not just iraq, its syria, as well. You mention the political initial iraq. The president saying we cant do for them what theyre not willing to do for themselves at the same time, completely pulling out and not supporting whats happening there and the refugees who need the help is obviously a fine line. Its a more limited mission right now. Thats the reality. There is the religious minority, its protecting the kurds. But the president also has an obligation, as hes talked about, to deal with a terrorist threat that grew in syria, that spread to iraq, and is only getting stronger. And how long that mission goes is what is not clear right now. Some of that is breaking down. What it takes to actually defeat the enemy in the form of isis right now, whether its a real threat to the government or of iraq or something even wider in the region. Well, there is talk, too, we saw a report in the Washington Post about al qaeda sympathizers from other countries moving to iraq and syria to join the fight. Theres a separate issue for the president. We know his Approval Rating is very low with americans. And there is the simple question of optics. After he makes this announcement yesterday, he leaves on vacation. We see pictures of the president playing golf. And many ameran asking if there is perhaps a disconnect there. Look, its always a problem for any president taking a vacation, as president bush did during iraq, and there were similar questions raised for him. Yeah, its difficult. I mean, as the is the president as dialed in . Of course he is. He has the ability to follow every second of whats happening from wherever he is in the world. Yeah, there are going to be pictures of him on vacation, playing golf. Its not going to look good to a lot of americans who think how are you doing this when were refighting a war in iraq and when the middle east is coming apart. Thats going to be a political problem just to add to the list. David, nice to see you. Well check in with you for a bit for a closer look at meet the press. Thank you. We want to look at other top stories with jenny. Good morning. A narrow escape on a runway in san juan, puerto rico, last night. One of the engines on the jetblue a320 caught fire as it was heading for takeoff. 192 passengers and crew slid down emergency chutes. Nbc news spoke with one of the passengers who described the panic. All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion. In fact, so strong, the spare plane shook when it happened. People started screaming. They were saying that the smoke of coming into the cabin, there was flames. The flight was headed for new york. There were no serious injuries. The airline did not say what caused the fire. The faa will investigate. Reports from irans news agency say nine people have survived the crash of an iranian airliner this morning. But at least 40 are dead. The turboprop plane slammed into a residtiin tehran. Irans aging fleet of planes have suffered numerous crashes over the last five years. Israeli Palestinian Peace talks are in jeopardy. Palestinian negotiators are threatening to walk out until israel returns to the talks in egypt. Both sides attacked each other overnight. Hamas leaders demand that israel end its blockade of gaza. Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu insists israel will not negotiate under fire. There is growing anger over a Fatal Police Shooting near st. Louis, missouri. Authorities are asking the community to remain calm after an officer shot an 18yearold man outside an apartment complex in ferguson, missouri, saturday. A large crowd reacted in protest. Anger grew into the night. Ferguson police did not provide any details of the shooting, but they do plan to hold a News Conference later today. Eight firefighters are recovering this morning from burns suffered in a california wildfire. An intense effort to control the large fire in Northern California is paying off, and hundreds of residents have r being allowed to return home now. The injured firefighters have been released from the hospital and are said to be in good spirits. And since this weekend is all about challenges, ice bucket and otherwise, heres another one for you. The first lady of maine, ann lepage, had to overcome a fear of height had she agreed to sky 4 is skydive with sav sergeant mills. She challenged him to jump to raise money for a veterans zero. What could she do . What could she do . The first lady, clearly a gamer, did it. She says there is no way she will ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever bungee jump, where sergeant mills goes or not. Apparently thats where she draws the line. Jumping out of a plane, ill do. That bungee bungee you have to have boundaries. Those are interesting boundaries. But give her credit. The ice bucket, of course. Thats where jenna draws the line. Lukewarm water, yes. Icewater ooh. Dylan the forecast. I have skydived twice, ill never bungee jump. Bungee jumping is fun. Im challenging you now. Only if it goes to charity. We are looking at hurricane julio becoming less and less of an issue for hawaii. Here is category one julio. Here is hawaii. And you see its well to the northeast were not really going to see a whole lot of wind and rain. But we are still looking because it is close enough for some rough surf. There are surf advisories along the coast of hawaii because this category one storm will stay well to the north and east. It will take until about tuesday night before it downgrades to a tropical storm. But we do have high surf warnings all along the northern facing beaches with the surf rising up to around 10 to 15 feet. We could see some of those rip currents also an issue. So thats going to be the concern as things clear out. In the lower 48, we have a couple areas where we could see stronger storms. In red, including southern tennessee, northern alabama and mississippi, also northern texas ahoma. Biggest threat not so much for tornadoes but large hail and damaging wind gusts and well see just scattered showers and storms through the plains and into the southeast. Thats a look at the weather across the country, a peek out your window. Good morning. Im storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. Were off to a beautiful start. View from Prince George county over the river into Fairfax County this morning. A beautiful day. Downtown alexandria swimming in sunshine this morning. Current temperatures 75 downtown, 67 now at fort belvoir, 68 in Andrews Air Force base. Its going to be a nice day. Plenty of sunshine and warm. Just the slightest chance for a shower today. Todays high mid to upper 80s. Better chances of rain arriving late tomorrow. Thats your latest forecast. All right. We turn now to the ebola crisis. So much fear, so much frustration growing this morning over the crisis and how its impacting some nations in west africa. Nearly 1,000 people have r care confirmed dead as the countries involved take steps to try to contain the outbreak. Gabe gutierrez has more on that and an update on the two u. S. Aid workers being treated for the disease. Reporter this morning, dr. Kent brantly and nancy wrightbal are said to be improving in an atlanta hospital. Reporter while liberians here in this country came to show their gratitude, the largest Ebola Outbreak ever is growing more desperate. Can the world do more, yes. Should they do more, yes. Reporter in nigeria, travelers are being screened at airportsment guinea has closed airports. Guinea has closed fleasing it borders with sierra leone and liberia where police tried to control protester whos said the government is leaving dead bodies in the streets. C. A. R. E. Is an Aid Organization that serves the poor in africa. I think the Ripple Effect of what it does to communities, what it does to peoples ability to earn an income, those are the things that are going to have the bigger impact. The economic and overall social impact of the Ebola Outbreak. Reporter we spoke with one of the groups workers in sierra leone. Dr. Tom cairns of minnesota knows that fear welfare reform as a young missionary 40 years ago, he came down with ebola before it even had a name. I was acutely ill before gradually starting to recover. Reporter four years later, he says doctors found he had developed antibodies resistant to the virus. So i appear to be the first non africafrican ever to have the disease, much less to have survived it. Reporter he now hopes others can win the same fight. For today, gub gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. Weve got a lot more ahead. One of the breakout stars on the Little League field and this fastball pitcher is not who you might expect. Were back to tell you more about it after this. When a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a holeinone, quicken loans will pay your mortgage for an entire year. That is how its done. Truly amazing get in the holeinone sweepstakes. Enter today at pgatour. Com quickenloans and you could have your mortgage paid for an entire year. Cmon, you want heartburn . When your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast, with tums. Heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact. And goes to work in seconds. Tum, tum tum tum. Tums thover 65 million years ago. Rth like our van. Yeah. We need to sell it. Hi. Need an appraisal . Yeah. We do. Vo when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. Carmax. Start here. With c® multi correxion® 5 in 1. Proven to hydrate dryness, illuminate dullness, lift sagging, diminish the look of dark spots, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. High performance skincare™ only from roc®. Were back with a star player of a philadelphia Little League team in a game largely dominated by boys. The team is led by a 13yearold girl. Yeah. This pitcher says she doesnt want to be known for his gender. She wants to be known for her fastball. Again, kristen dahlgren. Reporter the time when growing like a girl was an insult. Meet monet davis, a 13yearold pitching phenom, who just happens to be a girl. Are you as good as any boy here . Yes, no question. Reporter no question. Her confidence has been earned with her 70 mileperhour fastball, leading her team to the Pennsylvania State championship. And now with a shot at making it to the Little League world series. Shes just a great player. One the curiosity, whatever, it wears off quick. They just recognize her as a very good baseball player. Is that the reporter davis tried to play softball with the other little girls but found it wasnt for her. She switched to baseball. While she says the boys have never given her a hard time, davis doesnt mind making sure they respect her as a player. I end up striking them out, and then i look at my teammates, and theyre laughing. I just laugh with them. Reporter of course, there is goodnatured teasing all around. When she hit a home run, we like to say she, you know, hits like a girl. Reporter davis cant stay in the dorms with her teammates, but on the field, theyre all the same. Mon