wrong? that does it for us tonight. that does it for us tonight. have a good night. tonight from new york, there were more intense negotiations at the white house today. "first look" is up next. taking heat. the death toll rises as an oppressive dome of heat grips more than half the nation. end of an era, the space shuttle "atlantis" prepares for its historic journey home. and seeing is believing. dramatic video shows a car being lifted by flash floodwaters in canada. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we begin this morning with a summer scorcher. across the nation, well over 100 million americans are under a heat alert, during what's being called a heat dome, which has brought triple digit temperatures to many areas. warnings have been issued across the eastern half of the country from kansas to massachusetts. the national weather service says about two dozen deaths in recent days are potentially heat related. extraordinary temperatures are expected in the east throughout the weekend with cooler weather than for the midwest. nbc's meteorologist bill karins is going to have much more on the heat wave coming up in just a few minutes. but first, within the hour, the three-decade-old shuttle space program will come to a close, with the landing of space shuttle "atlantis." for more on that, we go to nbc's jay gray. he's outside kennedy space center with more. jay, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. weather conditions here, perfect

along runway 15 as "atlantis" begins the last trip home. >> for what is expected to be the final time in orbit, the bay doors are closed and latched. >> reporter: nasa prepares for not only the end of a mission but the close of an amazing era. >> it's been the heart and soul of the human space flight program for about 30 years and it's a little sad to see it go away. >> reporter: an emotion shared by the support team on the ground. >> they have a lot to be proud of in terms of the many accomplishments of the space shuttle. >> reporter: construction of the international space station, the launch and repair of the hubble telescope, support missions and so many experiments stretching the bounds and knowledge and now stretching the emotions of those who made the program their life's work. >> it's going to be tough. it's going to be an emotional moment for those who have dedicated their lives to the shuttle program. >> reporter: and watched in awe, this morning provides one final glimpse of history. >> take a good look at it and

make a memory because you'll never see anything like this again. it's been an incredible ride. >> reporter: and when that ride is over, there will be one special honor for members of the support team here on the ground and their families, a ceremony along the runway where they will get one last up close look at the shuttle. at kennedy space center, i'm jay gray. lynn, back to you. >> a nostalgic morning. be sure to stay with msnbc later this hour for live coverage of the shuttle landing, that's hosted by peter alexander. the landing is scheduled for 5:56 a.m. eastern time. now to the rapidly approaching deadline of the nation's debt ceiling. yesterday president obama held more meetings on the issue as the push intensified for lawmakers to many kcome up withl before it's too late. we go to brian mooar. he's in washington for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.

the one thing president obama said he would not do is sign a short-term deal. but now the white house is signaling that he may do just that because time is running out. congress has to hammer out some kind of plan before that august 2nd deadline, but getting a deal done, written up and voted on is going to take some time. so president obama is now saying that he will basically sign off on something that could delay a debt ceiling raising for a couple of days, but not much more than that. the so-called gang of six, the bipartisan group of senators, is working feverishly to get a plan together and to get people on board. it looks like right now they're headed in the right direction toward a big plan, exactly what the president wanted. lynn? >> brian, thanks so much. well, last night on "chris matthews," chris asked gang of six senators, mark warner what sets their deficit reduction plan apart from other proposals put forth by republicans? >> this is the first time we've seen a bipartisan plan that

includes revenues, that, it really is comprehensive, it's bipartisan. it isn't perfect. but when the alternative is we're going to drive this country over the cliff, i think we've got to start with something that actually gets the job done, that gives us that comprehensive approach, and the fact that we had a whole lot of democrats and republicans yesterday saying, yeah, i'm ready to at least move to the next step, was a good sign. we've got to realize we're 13 days away from a default. we're 13 days away from an indirect tax increase with every american where their interest rates skyrocket and the government can't pay its bills. we've got to be responsible and get something done. if we can build some of this into our process of the debt ceiling, this ought to be a starting point for the conversation, remember, this has got revenues, it's got an approach that says defense spending has to take its hits as well as just hitting domestic spending, and i think it's a good starting point. >> lean forward with "hardball" week nights at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern only on msnbc, the place

for politics. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a police chase in arizona ended with two suspects receiving quite a jolt. the brother and sister duo suffered the shocking repercussions after refusing commands to surrender following a 30-mile pursuit. police tasered both and arrested them without further incident. texas police are working around the clock to catch an armed bank robber dubbed the hand some guy bandit. he's robbed six banks wearing a life-like facial mask made of latex. investigators have gathered surveillance of the bandit but not have been able to identify him. just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, for one florida family it was anything but. a four-foot gator got in a few laps before an animal control officer showed up and removed him from the family pool. they believe it came from a

canal located just across the street. and finally in minnesota, soaring temperatures have created a cause for concern, but they've also created a new way of cooking up some treats. a minneapolis news producer transformed one car into an oven on wheels, making the interior hot enough to bake a batch of cookies and to provide some with a sugar fix in this sweltering heat. now for a look at your national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you. gone is frying an egg on the roof of a car. come on. >> you cook cookies. >> this is a new age of local news. >> i probably would have had the raw dough before it being cooed. >> it's a little raw still. >> still, yeah, kind of mushy. well, good morning, everyone. the heat, as advertised, has arrived on the eastern seaboard. you'll feel the humidity, too. caught a break with the sea breeze in new york city, broke

our streak of consecutive high days with a high of 89. we didn't quite get there in chicago, 99 was the high. almost to 100. and today probably a couple degrees cooler. minneapoli minneapolis, you're 96 and much cooler today. we've got a dip in the jet stream to the north, that's why minnesota, the dakotas, wisconsin, your heat wave is over with. but it's peaking with the humidity in the midatlantic, up into new england, and it won't be probably until saturday night or sunday when the next cold front will come through and cool off new england. so the worst of it, everywhere in orange is under an excessive heat warning. that's where you check on the elderly, the kids, you don't want to spend a lot of time outside today. kansas city, st. louis, all of indiana, all of iowa, and most of michigan, too, all of kentucky, and right along the midatlantic. from everywhere from about north carolina right up i-95 into boston we're under those heat warnings. as you walk outside this morning, you'll notice the temperatures are very warm.

typically most locations go below 80 degrees at night. we're at 82 in chicago. we're at 81 in washington, d.c., and look at our friends in dallas at 85 to start your morning. this map shows you the humidity. the darker the green, the more humid you are and the more uncomfortable it will be. these are the dew points. when you get something like 76 in d.c., that's a very humid air mass. that's more humid than new orleans, more humid than miami. even areas in the gulf have the humidity we have in d.c. and that means it's going to be a very uncomfortable afternoon. current heat index, 88 new york, these are temperatures not heat index, but the temperatures alone are near 100 in the midatlantic, 101 in dallas. today and tomorrow is the peak, and then we'll get a -- it will die off towards the weekend.

>> way to go, bill. thank you. wall street worries, an airline goes on a shopping spree and the end of a long successful partnership. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, a pair of black eyes for the white sox. the mets stand their ground and quite possibly the worst first pitch ever. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. five democratic congresswomen are calling on alan west to apologize after an e-mail tirade against a fellow florida lawmaker. he called debbie wasserman schultz, quote, vile, despicable and kour ardly after she criticized his stance on medicare. a man convicted of killing two men and wounding a third as part of a shooting spree he said

was meant to target muslims after the wake of 9/11, mark stroman died by lethal injection. georgia delayed the execution of a convicted murderer, after the supreme court denied andrew deyoung's appeal. it will be the first videotaped execution in nearly two decades. new york city is warning swimmers and kayakers to stay out of the hudson river after a fire at a waste water treatment plan forced officials to pump raw sewage into the river. officials say it would take at least 48 hours of continuous dumping before there's any significant impact on the area's beaches. sorry about that. in montreal, the rear end of a car was hurled into the air after floodwaters blew open a manhole. parts of the city received nearly a foot of rain in less than an hour. and this will leave you laughing, animators in taiwan

from done it again. they recreated the dramatic scene when rupert murdoch's wife, wendi, leapt to the aid of her 80-year-old husband as an attacker tries to throw a shaving cream pie at him. the dow opens at is it,571 after losing 15 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq fell 12. in tokyo, the nikkei added four points, but in hong kong, the hang seng dipped 16. wall street was slightly lower wednesday as pressure builds for washington for seal a debt deal. apple hit another all-time high, attracting a host of brokerage upgrades, but overall, investors sat on the sidelines, nervous about this debt ceiling impasse. that, plus euro debt concern had

traders stuck in the mud. there is an emergency summit on greek debt in brussels this morning. aside from apple, techs fell wednesday, led by yahoo! tumbling over 7.5%. microsoft also dropped ahead of its quarterly report today. zillow jumped 79% on its first day of trade. in deal news, commercial aviations biggest-ever order will transform americans' fleet from one of the oldest to youngest. the airline will buy 460 new aircraft over the next decade from both airbus and boeing. however, the undisclosed but no doubt huge price tag left analysts and industry analysts pretty concerned. ecolab is buying water treatment company nalco for $5.4 billion. intel dropped after trimming its personal computer sales forecast. also after the bell, american

express nudged up on better than expected profits. a recent acquisition that cut profits clouded ebay's after-hours results. and finally the end of a very successful business partnership, saying it's time for change after 12 years, tiger woods fired caddie steve williams. williams says after working through woods' scandal, he's shocked and disappointed. the mets make the call, wild walkoff winners and home run that made a real splash. plus, throwing out the ceremonial first ball turns into a wild pitch. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. here's a myth: you get nothing for driving safely. truth: at allstate, you get a check in the mail

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. jose reyes is a potential free agent, having the best year of his career. that leaves the new york mets with a big decision to make. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. if you're a mets fan and you like jose reyes you probably woke up with a pretty big smile on your face. the team says they will not deal their all-star short stop at the trade deadline. the same cannot be said for carlos beltran. he'll likely be dealt, stayed that way until the tenth with a walkoff home shot, 6-5 win.

astros and nationals tied in the 11th. michael singled in the game, and houston walked off with a 3-2 win. and throwing the first pitch at wrigley, the windup and watch out. it sailed over the catcher into the back stop and only got worse for the cubs. rawlins homered, and phills won big 9-1. boston hit a pair of homers. beautiful day in san francisco, great conditions to break out the old kayak. just make sure to watch out for flying baseballs. the dodgers got one in the seventh, a flash shot into mccovey voev. man overboard. that was a souvenir worth swimming for. he got the ball and dodgers got the win over the giants. and tough day for guillen, a foul ricochetted off the net. it nailed him right in the face. they say you're supposed to keep your eye on the ball.

i don't think that is what they had in mind. he was all right, and knowing guillen, this hurt even more. tied with the royals in the 11th, a wild pitch, in came the winning run. a pair of black eyes for the white sox. they lost it, 2-1. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather, let's check in with bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. bill, the countdown is on. >> it's sad, isn't it? >> it is. it's nostalgic. >> we're a half hour away from watching the shuttle in action for the last time. it's going to be landing shortly, "atlantis," and unlike the takeoff which had bad weather forecast, this is a simple forecast. it looks good. there's no turning back, the shuttle has to land at the kennedy space center. it's mostly sunny and the winds are very light, so it should be a beautiful scene as "atlantis" makes its approach. as far as the forecast goes today, well advertised heat wave, 77 in philly, 81 d.c.

even buffalo was warm this morning at 80 degrees. the cities will have a chance of hitting 100 degrees, especially with the heat island in effect, with all the pavement. 99 in new york, 100 in d.c., and even new york and philly have an outside chance of hitting 100 today. even our friends in albany will be in the upper 90s, along with boston, hartford and providence. as we look toward friday, we could easily see that hotter, 103 potentially in d.c. that's why this is dangerous. think of anyone without air-conditioning in heat like this. overnight lows are very warm, too. new york city sunday down into the upper 80s, monday definitely a break, even washington, d.c., sunday into monday will cool off. so unlike texas, oklahoma, lynn, they won't get a break. it looks like the midatlantic and new england, our break comes at the end of the weekend. well, kanye west gets a

handful of chances to show he's learned a little about good sportsman ship. plus, jennifer lopez takes care of hers and her business as a wedding singer. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and it's time for entertainment news. when it comes to this year's mtv video music awards, so far a notorious sore loser is a winner. kanye west notched seven nominations which means seven chances for him to make news if

he loses. katy perry snagged nine nominations to lead this year's field. "entertainment weekly" reports in whatted could be her sixth time collaborating with johnny depp, helena bonham carter is scheduled to star in "the lone ranger." and a creative hacker who posted a coming out note claiming to be by brass saying he was gay. as of this morning it has been reported. days after announcing the seven-year marriage to marc anthony, jennifer lopez was reportedly paid 1 million bucks to sing at the lavish wedding of a son of an uzbek oil tycoon. the wedding itself was said to cost $15 million. note to self. uzbek oil tycoon son, good to get on the speed dial. >> so does marc anthony get half

of that million? the divorce happened to be announced before the wedding. >> stay tuned, "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. in this game of chicken, both sides are beginning to blink as president obama may be open to a short-term deal and republicans are indicating they may be open to including some new revenues. the question is, are we starting to see some compromise here or are these just more political games? prime minister david cameron fighting for his reputation in front of a raucous british parliament. and rupert murdoch returning home, the question is could murdoch coming back to the states prescription the problems here? and the end of an era today, history will happen live here this morning on "way too early." the final landing of