can't ever actually ever really be in for. you can follow me at mharrisperry on twitter. you can follow me at mperris. "first look" is up next. john boehner wastes precious time running up support for his doomed debt limit plan. so what's next? torrential rain leaves dozens dead in south korea. and cosmic tagalong, a massive neighbor in earth's orbit. good morning, i'm amara sohn. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we begin this morning with the debt scramble. house speaker john boehner's debt ceiling proposal will be put to the test today with an expected vote in the house. but realistically it's going nowhere fast. the president has vowed to veto the plan. so where do things go from here? tracie potts has more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it's a vote on a plan that democrats say will never reach the president's desk. budget officials found another $50 billion in savings, so house speaker john boehner is putting the plan to a vote today. >> the speaker's plan is on life support and it's time for him to pull the plug. >> never let them see you sweat. >> reporter: $1 trillion in cuts. it's no slam dunk, his own party wants more and complains his plan would add $7 trillion to our national debt. >> that is unacceptable and

unsustainable. >> reporter: house republicans say they'd like to cut more, but democrats won't budge. >> we'd love to just go for it, but you have need a partner to dance with in the senate and we don't have one. >> it will not pass. every democratic senator will vote against it. >> reporter: democrats argue the boehner bill doesn't cut enough, so our credit rating could suffer and interest rates may go up anyway. >> that's $100 billion out of the pocket of the american taxpayer so that's an enormous flaw in the boehner plan. >> reporter: the white house is trying to keep focused on the deadline. >> you are running on fumes. >> reporter: democrats have an alternative but it hasn't even hit the floor for a vote yet. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. one of the many ways of tackling the debt problem could be through entitlement reform, so should that approach be altogether the top of the list? a former member of president obama's debt commission weighed in last night on "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >> we do have to slow the growth of medicare.

we can't have it go on this way, because it will eat us all alive. we have more and more old people, and we have more and more expenses, medical care. so we have to find a way, and there are ways, to slow the growth of medicare. but nobody's talking about doing that immediately. we're talking about doing it out some years from now. maybe changing social security rules, tweaking it a little bit to put the system back on a firm foundation. but those things sound scary to democrats and similarly on the tax side we need to reform the tax code, lower the rates, broaden the base, and make it more efficient. but we don't need to do that right away. all of these major tax expenditur expenditures, the things that are spending through the tax code, would have to be phased out gradually over time.

>> lean forward with "the last word" each night as lawrence o'donnell takes on the day's most compelling stories. it airs week nights at 8:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc, the place for politics. new census numbers show small town america is slowly disappearing. rural america now accounts for just 16% of the nation's population. that's the lowest level ever. in comparison a century ago, about three quarters of the u.s. population lived in rural areas. but small towns have been turning into ghost towns with more and more residents heading to larger metro areas and cities. the share of americans living in the suburbs has climbed to an all-time high of 51%. cities have increased their share to 33%. a tropical storm is barreling toward texas at this hour, and for once that's being greeted as good news. tropical storm don is in the gulf of mexico tracking toward the southern part of the

lonestar state. it's expected to make landfall tomorrow. fortunately, forecasters don't expect the storm to strengthen into a hurricane, but the area should get some desperately needed rain, up to 1 or 2 inches. nbc meteorologist bill karins will have much more coming up shortly. some of the other news going on around america today, mother nature brought some rare unwelcome storms to upstate new york tuesday. officials have confirmed at least two tornadoes touched down leaving trees uprooted and downed power lines in their wake. the unusual twisters measured as ef-0s but they did produce strong enough winds to cause structural damage. there was a cause for concern in southern california after a train derailment led to the evacuation of over 250 homes. at least 21 cars derailed, some carrying hazardous materials which prompted the evacuation order. investigators checked every car and didn't discover any leaks or

spills. the maiden voyage of an unmanned blimp took a nosedive in western pennsylvania. a technical glitch caused the expensive air ship to go awry, crashing in a wooded area two hours after takeoff. fortunately it was filled with nonflammable helium and no one was hurt. and finally competitors in wisconsin looking for wiggle room on the way to the winner's circle. over 60 teams of kids hoped to pick a winner at the great worm race. the event has been around for over 20 years. the only competition where worming your way to victory is the only way to win. now for a look at the national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> worms, creepy or not creepy? >> creepy. i'm sure this was the only time some mothers allowed these children to get down and dirty

and even keep their worms as pets. >> you haven't done a lot of fishing before with worms. >> no, i don't profess. >> that's a shock. well, good morning, everyone. tropical storm don formed quickly in the gulf and that kind of got everyone's attention. the gulf of mexico, warm water, we've had some huge storms in the past. this is not going to be one of them. this is a very tiny storm. it's not very organized. it is going to head, though, for the drought-stricken areas of texas, so that's a little piece of good news with this storm. this is what we wanted. we wanted a tropical storm to head into texas. not do do devastation, but to drench the soil. we'll get a bit of that, but probably not as much as they would like. it's even hard to figure out where the storm is on this map, but this bright orange area, this shows us where the thunderstorms are. this is the top of the thunderstorms and this is just north of the yucatan. it's heading in the general direction of the south texas coast. you're safe in florida, you're save in louisiana, mississippi

and alabama. this is heading to the southeast. here's the track just in from the national hurricane center. you notice the timing of it, it's going to take it today into the center of the gulf, and then towards the texas coast late friday night into early saturday morning. there will be a landfall, it's not a big deal, with a weak storm system you're not going to have the eye of the hurricane or anything like that. it's just, that's when the center will cross. we'll watch that on radar. it looks like, houston, you're out of the cone of uncertainty. that's this yellow cone. it should come onshore around corpus christi or brownsville and then it will dissipate as it moves into the mountainous terrain. here's how the computer models, each of these squigly lines represents each computer, and an almost unanimous decision, it will take us south to corpus christi. only one of our computers is hinting on a northward's track. in the dark red, this is where we need the rainfall the most, so it's actually going to head for a beneficial area. the problem is, it's such a small tropical storm that it's

not going to be a widespread, it's not going to hit a large area. it's only going to have a small impact. and ed why, talk about -- they would just like the clouds from this storm. with 101 in san antonio, 104 in dallas, 100-degree heat all the way up to kansas city. we now have a heat warning still in effect from kansas city to the st. louis area, but now advisories from memphis all through much of kentucky, indianapolis is under a heat advisory, too, and even areas around raleigh. so that's where the hot air is. the other story is a lot of heavy rain through the great lakes last night, and that will continue during the day today. we'll take an updated look for the forecast coming up later in the show. back to you. >> bill, thank you. stocks tank, oil tumbles, and pristine italian sports cars discovered in texas. your first look at the business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, a no-hitter, a big trade, and a wedding. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

welcome back to "first look," i'm amara sohn, and here are some of the top stories making news this morning. at least 44 people are dead and five are missing in south korea in the wake of torrential rains, landslides and flash flooding. more than 16 inches of rain fell on the capital of seoul in 24 hours. south african health officials on wednesday described as, quote, appalling, the case of a man rescued from a morgue refrigerator after he was presumed dead by his family and an undertaker. officials seiche the man was locked in a morgue drawer for hours before he awakened and screamed for help. authorities are investigating the incident. russia's space agency says the international space station will be sent plunging into the ocean as early as the year 2020 when it stops operating. the original plan was to bring

the space post down in 2015, but the european space agency has extended its life. and astronomers say they've discovered the earth's first trojan asteroid, a 1,000-foot wide space rock that dances 50,000 miles in front of our planet along its orbital path around the sun. now the first look at wall street, the dow opens at 12,302 after tumbling 198 points. the s&p sank 27 points, and the dad's plunged 75. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 145 points, but in hong kong, the hang seng added 29. down data, weak earnings and no movement in washington sent wall street reeling. the major indexes all gave up their gains for the month.

the index of small companies lost just under 3% in one day. wall street's so-called fear index rose over 13%. techs had been the market main stay, but a profit warning from juniper sent stocks tumbling. staggering order that emerson electric sent shares down almost 7%. in data, new orders for durable goods fell unexpectedly in june. the release of a fed survey showing slower growth around most of the nation led to nearly half the dow's losses in the last two hours of trade. pessimistic speculators sent oil futures plunging $2.19 a barrel. investors did gobble up shares of the duncan brand's ipo. the stock soared over 46%. amazon was up after tuesday's posting of higher than expected earnings and revenue. after the bell, visa reported

better than expected quarterly results and plans to buy back $1 billion in shares. also whole foods reported beat the street profits and it raised its full-year forecast. and call it the ultimate barn find. the website jalapnik unveils gems that will be auctioned in california next month, after spending more than 30 years in a texas storage shed gathering dust. and that's going to be one expensive auction. the pirates and braves go extras again, the mets play let's make a deal, and the los of shuffling on the first day of moves in the nfl. plus, why is irvin santana celebrating like he just won the world series? your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

welcome back to "first look," i'm amara sohn. ervin santana put an explanation on the season yesterday, throwing the first no hitter by an angel in nearly 27 years. here's fred roggin. >> good morning. you know it's not how you start it's how you finish, that summed upper v ervin santana's game perfectly. an error, stolen base and this led to an unearned run.

from there, santa in a cruised, struck out ten, had a little help from his friends. kendrick, great diving stop to get the runner at first and preserved the no-hitter. deep shot to center, but not deep enough. third no hitter this season. about the only thing that could cool santana was an ice bath after the game. after a blown call ended a marathon, braves and pirates needed extra innings last night. this time, no doubt about it, a singled run, and safe, no controversy, just another braves win, 2-1. tonigh a home run against the reds, 11 rbi six games back. and they traded slugger beltran to the giants. speaking of wheeling and dealing, notable deals in the nfl, mcnabb to the vikings, cobb

to the cardinals and the jets agreed to santonio holmes. free agency begins tomorrow. and nothing more fun than a good wedding, a boston couple took it to a whole new level. the bridesmaids wore green dresses while the groomsmen were introduced in bruins jerseys. and then the bride and groom, too. big year for the bruins but even bigger year for this happy couple. i'm fred roggin. now for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i don't know if that wedding would be romantic with a sports theme. >> to each their own. >> i guess. >> let's talk about what's happening in the weather world. a lot of active weather out there. flash flooding, really, really heavy rainfall amounts in southern michigan. we have river flood warnings, flash flood warnings, and still more showers and storms heading from flint to detroit, all through southern michigan. then more to it, back outside chicago, south of milwaukee.

steady light rain in eastern iowa will spread to the lower great lakes today. if you're in the lower great lakes, plan on a very wet morning. now, as far as new york, hartford, boston goes, you may start off sunny but clouds increase during the day. more heavy rain coming over the top from cleveland. showers north of pittsburgh. a lot of these clouds move over philadelphia, too. that will help keep temperatures down today. lower than what we expected. so forecast highs today, we'll probably see mostly in the 80s throughout this region. you'll easily jump into the 90s, d.c. at 93. the other story, tropical storm don expected to hit texas saturday. >> bill, thank you for that. joe pesci gained weight and he's suing because of it. plus battered and bruised, the show must go on for alex trebek. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. lorie sweeteners.

this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. get more with new splenda® essentials™, a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. new splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. look in this sunday's paper for a three dollar coupon.

here's the truth: allstate can also protect your home or apartment. as well as your boat, motorcycle, rv, and snowmobile. and even your retirement and your life. not many insurance companies can say that. but allstate can. now that you know the truth, know this: the more of your world you put in good hands, the more you can save. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. >> announcer: this past year alone there's been a 67% spike in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever.

welcome back to "first look." last night on jimmy fallon, jimmy detailed the magnitude of the nation's debt. >> i read that if the u.s. debt were stacked into $100 bills, it would be as long as two football fields and as high as the statue of liberty. you know, just in case $14 trillion didn't seem like a lot to you. as big as a football field? two of them. whoa. and there's talk that john boehner and harry reid are offering a special plan to raise the ceiling for 30 days. and after that, you receive a

new debt plan every month from one of your favorite congressman. if at any time you want to cancel, just send back the old debt plan free of charge. does not include shipping and handling. nasa held a career fair to help former employees find new jobs now that the shuttle program is over. which explains that guy at the drive through who was like, that's one small fry for man. one giant coke for his big mac. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes julie ann moore, dominic cooper and beyonce. that's "lathe night with jimmy fallon," 11:35 on your local nbc station. jeopardy host alex trebek apparently doubles as a crime fighter. the 71-year-old snapped his achilles tendon and snapped his other leg chasing down a burglar who took cash and a bracelet his mother gave him from his san francisco hotel. a 56-year-old woman was later

caught and booked for felony burglary and possession of stolen property. joe pesci is shoeing the producers of the upcoming movie about mobster john gotti, claiming he was signed for the role. he claims he gained 30 pounds to play the character, only to have the deal pulled by producers. they claim it was pesci who tried to back out of the deal. and finally, you can't blame one sergeant for going for it. following the recent trend of celebrity invites to the marine ball, asking scarlett johansson to be his date, of course she declined due to previous commitments but she sent the sarge a present. >> the fact the woman tried to steal a bracelet from him. >> the story is he woke up, had to put on some clothes, chase

this lady and that's what happened to his ankle. >> it's a perfect sketch, isn't it? >> it hopefully will be. >> i'm amara sohn. stay tuned for "way too early" with willie geist. john boehner dresses down members of his own party holding up his debt ceiling plan telling them to get your arse in line. will they get their fannies behind boehner today? and what happens next as we sit now five days away from that august 2nd deadline. meanwhile, amon al zawahiri releases a video. the question is, what is his new message for the united states from that weakened terrorist group? and "jeopardy" host