mornings here on msnbc this fall. home stretch. the battle over the debt finally nears an end marked by the emotional return of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. ruckus in russia. a rare tornado makes a deadly strike in the country's far east. and surface snapshot. nasa unveils the first close-up images of an asteroid over 100 million miles from earth. good morning. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

almost a done deal. house lawmakers approved an 11th hour compromise to raise the debt limit in time to avoid a first-ever default. among the 269 congress members, gabrielle giffords making a return to the capitol to cast her vote. tracie potts joins us from washington with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. it will likely pass the senate this afternoon. meaning president obama will get this bill just hours before our government was set to default. >> the bill has passed without objection. >> reporter: it passed with the help of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> thank you, gabby. >> reporter: she returned to vote yes six months after being shot in the head. >> we were all crying, thrilled. we just knew she would make a triumphant return. >> reporter: 68 republicans and half the house democrats voted against the $2 trillion deal to cut america's deficit and allow more borrowing. >> i urge my democratic

colleagues not to be complicit in a republican plan to eventually cut medicare, social security, medicaid, and investment in our put, all while asking the rich to sacrifice nothing. >> i think the big win here for us and for the american people is the fact that there are no tax hikes in this package. >> reporter: today the senate votes at noon. there's significant opposition on both sides. >> it is not fair, this deal is not fair. >> we need to do better. we need to have some plan to balance the budget. >> i'm uneasy about what's contained in it. what does it do? >> reporter: a rushed deal to save america's credit and slow the upside down spending that's adding to the nation's mounting debt. this debt deal leaves a lot of questions about what could happen to medicare, medicaid and social security. when a special commission meets to consider more cuts this fall.

veronica? >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. although the debt bill made it through the house, it still didn't sit well with 161 lawmakers. barney frank voted no and he explained why. >> the bill puts caps on military spending and caps on domestic spending, but it exempts any cap at all spending in iraq and afghanistan. that's well over $100 billion. i can't vote to give a blank check for spending in afghanistan and then cut important programs for police and fire on the streets of the cities i represent. it also said, look, when we go forward, we'll have a 50/50 split in cuts. i was for that. but when i receipt tad the spec the split was only for the first two years. for the next eight year, this was no guarantee the military

wouldn't overdo it. finally we did in the health care bill put some cost savings in medicare. this bill would cut 2% from medicare off of providers. they're already off at the margins so you're cutting access to individuals who may not be able to get a doctor. >> the lard wos week nights at 8:00 p.m., only on msnbc. the place for politics. after wrapping up the debt debate, congress is expected to leave he tend of the week for august recession, so that means it's unlikely that the 4,000 furloughed employees at the faa will be going back to work anytime soon. lost revenue from uncollected airline ticket taxes could exceed $1.2 billion before lawmakers return on september 7th. there are new details about

the u.s. military operation that led to the death of osama bin laden. according to a report written by nicolas smittle by the new yorker magazine, we now know that the raid on the compound was never a kill or capture mission. officially termed operation neptune spear, the shoot to kill mission was led by 23 u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s accompanied by a translator and a dog named cairo. two s.e.a.l.s. captured bin laden hiding behind two of his wives. after they pulled the women out of the way, the second s.e.a.l. immediately fired the two fatal shots. here's your first look at other news around america. it was a major fender-bender inside a western new york bank after one driver's foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas. the suv plowed through the bank's front entrance coming to a stop before crashing into teller windows. five people suffered injuries in the accident. no charges have been filed against the driver. smoke billowed from an

intense fire in louisiana. the raging blaze ripped through a motel, producing flames that knock out power and created dangerous conditions for firefighters. crews battled the fire for several hours. over a dozen people were displaced, but no major injuries were reported. finally, in michigan one car that looked as if it came off an assembly line in the after-life was put on the auction block. the 1939 pontiac ghost car was the first plexiglas car built in america. the one of a kind see-through auto was put on display at new york's worlds fair and later at the smithsonian. it sold for $308,000. and no for a look at the national weather, we turn to bill karins. $308,000. worth is, what do you think? >> it's kind of cool. definitely unique. >> but what do you do with it

in. >> i don't know. >> sits in the garage, i guess. >> with a cover. good morning, every. two stories. we have a tropical storm and also the impressive heat in the middle of the country. but now that we're getting into the peak months of our tropical season, this is where we could get hurricanes. and this is our first storm that we really have a lot of interest in. all the ones we've had up to this point were kind of weak and they weren't going to head anywhere towards land. this is more serious because tropical storm emily is now in the caribbean sea. this is where the warm water is and it's surrounded by land, so emily has to hit some land area. the question is how much can she strengthen and will she survive to hit united states. right now heading into the extreme eastern caribbean sea. haiti may get the worst of it as far as heavy rains in the days ahead. so here's the new forecast just out from the national hurricane center. two things we like to avoid. storms going into the gulf of mexico because the water is extremely warm and then it

usually does hit the u.s. we like it to curve out to sea into the open atlantic. this storm will be interesting because it has to go first through the mountainous terrain of hispaniola. there's tall mountains here. there's a chance that emily won't survive that. if it does survive, then it will have a chances to regenerate. the hurricane center right now thinks that they're going half and half, they think it could dissipate, it may survivsurvive. it will be close to florida or the bahamas. and then the cone of uncertainty through georgia and south carolina. so areas in the northeast need to pay close attention. the key time period will be in two days from now if it survives going over haiti. if it doesn't, we're all fine. if it does survive, we could have serious problems. here's what our computers are saying. most of them rnking it will come up similar to the hurricane

threat and track the southeast coastline. so we'll wait and see. as far as the heat goes, it was 110 in it tulsa yesterday. 107 in dallas. the heat is just incredible. it's 87 that the hour in dallas this morning. and as far as the heat warnings go, they're widespread from southern iowa right through kansas city, st. louis irks it you will a, it's a dangerous date for heat. we'll talk more about impressive numbers. wall street responds to the debt deal. ford issues a major recall, and a dubious distinction for an ohio school. your first look at the business headlines are s. straight ahead. a grand slam. randy moss makes a decision, and the indians leave one red sox fan in stitches. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

can be even more powerful, with precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. in one place. the winning horse you could have picked. ♪ that "old flame" you should have called. ♪ that leap of faith you never took. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus is. but only until september 6th.

see your lexus dealer. handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. ♪

welcome back to "first look." here are some of the top stories

making news this morning. according to the washington post, the obama administration is moving towards easing anti-terrorism restrictions in somalia that have hampered the delivery of aid there. under current rules, groups could be prosecuted for -- the dilemma is that if regulations are relaxed some aid will likely be siphoned to the group. in new hampshire authorities say the body of a missing girl has been found in a river. the death of celina cass is considered suspicious. in syria yesterday, government forces pressed on with a deadly crackdown on protesters. a human rights group says 24 people died. the latest victims of president assad's attempt to quash an uprising now in its fifth month. a rare sight in russia. a powerful tornado touched down in the eastern part of the country. one person was killed. 28 others were injured. and a nasa probe is giving the first close-up look of an

asteroid about 117 million miles from earth. scientists believe it grew from a clump of gas and dust left over after the formation some four and a half billion years ago. the dow opens at 12,132 after losing ten points yesterday. the s&p was down five. the nasdaq, fell 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei stumbled to a 120 point loss, while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 241. just how long will the debt ceiling deal last on wall street? not very long. the dow started up 140 points as investors welcomed washington's agreement to raise the debt ceiling. by the closing bell concerns about the overall health of the economy dragged the blue chips into the red for a seventh straight day. july's first economic report showed u.s. manufacturing barely grew last month falling to its lowest level in two years.

the unexpected bad news fanned fears from last week's lower gdp to offset any relief while casting doubt on the fed's forecast for growth in the second half of the year. overseas harsh words from russian prime minister vladimir putin who called the usa a "parasite" because of its huge debt load. health care companies that rely heavily on medicare revenue were hit hard by the possible cuts to the government programs if a bipartisan congressional committee can't agree on $1 trillion on savings by november. shares jumped after hours of mcgraw-hill after they team up to buy a $500 million stake in its companies. tal 3w09 bottoms got a 15 ps boost after a private equity firm believed the struggling retailer is undervalued. ford is recalling more than one million f-150 and f-250 pickup trucks over fuel tanks that could fall off and catch fire.

some good news in education. congratulations to ohio university. the new top party school in the nation, and that is according to the princeton review. well, derek lee makes quite a debut as a pirate, and the rockies-phillies game goes down to the wire. plus, a baseball fan takes one for the team causing umps to overturn a call. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ay i'm missing england. i type in e-n-g... and he gives me a variety of options. would you like to have a look at a map, my lad? ah, why not? shall we check on the status of your knighthood? yes. again? yes, again, please! thank you. with my digital manservant, i'll never be homesick again. would you like me to put the kettle on, sir? no, i'd like you to get rid of that ostrich. it's been here a month. [ male announcer ] think, type, go. with just type. only on the new hp touchpad with webos. >> announcer: there's a new breakthrough for men experiencing hair loss. introducing the new extreme

lasercomb from hair club. it's quick, easy and affordable, and the extreme lasercomb is revolutionary. here's how it works. d.h.t. forms around the hair follicle, which shortens the lifespan of your hair. the extreme lasercomb combats hair loss, causing the hair follicle to grow thicker, stronger hair. this new technology is f.d.a.-cleared and clinically proven to work in 93% of candidates. call now for more information and get this free info kit mailed to you in a discreet envelope. hair club is the largest hair restoration provider, offering all proven hair loss solutions: non-surgical bio-matrix process, hair transplants, hair therapies and now the extreme lasercomb. >> hair club is not about one tool. it's about all proven hair loss solutions. what separates us from all the other hair loss companies is that only hair club provides all the proven technologies and solutions for hair loss that are available. >> announcer: imagine looking in the mirror and turning back time with more hair. call now to see if you're a candidate. call this number to get more information on the extreme lasercomb and all other proven options to get your hair back. just look at these amazing results from hair club's many proven options.

>> i found myself wearing hats all the time, and if someone out there has that same feeling, they need to go call hair club right now, because it's changed my life completely. i'm very excited about my hair. >> he was a good-looking guy before, but with his hair now, it's just this newfound confidence and there's a glow about him you just can't match. >> announcer: hair club provides customized hair loss solutions based on your age and type of hair loss. with locations nationwide, there's a hair club center near you. >> what's important is how you feel about yourself and how you look, and if you want to look better and if you want to feel better about yourself, hair club is the way to go. >> i'd look at it in the back and i'd start seeing thinning, and then it just kept falling out. getting my hair back was the best thing that ever happened to me. >> announcer: call for a free hair analysis and you could have more hair in as little as four weeks. hair club, america's hair loss experts since 1976. call now for your free info kit and free hair analysis.

welcome back to "first look." in sports, after a drama filled career on the field, randy moss is hanging up his spikes. here's mario solis. good morning. randy moss made his living as a deep threat on the field, but now the wide receiver decided to announce his retirement from the nfl, one of the most dynamic and polarizing players. he called it quits after 14 years in the league. he leaves the game tied for career touchdowns and most tds in a season when he caught 23 with the pats back in 2007. nbc sports group announcing that versus will be renamed the nbc sports network beginning next january. the network will serve as the company's 24-7 cable platform for everything sports-related. baseball. lucas with the two-run shot. new york rallies to force extra innings, but the celebration is

short-lived, bases loaded, and mike stanton. the grand slam home run. the fish win 7-3 in 10. mets and phillies. down two in the ninth. like the mets, they tie it with the home run. unlike new york, the phils complete the comeback. the go ahead homer. phillies beat the rockies 4-3 in ten. derek lee making quite an impression his first game as a pirate. not one, but two home runs against the cubs, but it's all for naught. chicago wins 5-3. not only did lee hit two, but the nationals doubled up against the braves. led off the first with a solo shot, and then blasting another one in the fifth. the nats beat the braves 5-3. the indians cabrera hit home runs against the red sox. the second is up for review. the umpires go to replay, and, yep, that's a homer, but they could have saved some time had they just looked at this guy's knee. the ball hit it and left a stitch mark on her leg. not the souvenir she was looking for.

indians win. 9-6. that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. now another quick look at the weather, here's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> good morning. we had quite the thunderstorms that came through young yesterday. a lot of problems out on long island with two inch large hail. other areas around philadelphia that got nailed by those storms, too. many of the big cities in the east a rough rush hour. this morning low 70s in most case. cooler than that in northern new england. the showers have headed off the coast. it's a dry morning commute. and the forecast will stay pretty dry today and sunny. you don't need to bring your umbrella will you, but it will be warm once again. the forecast for today, somewhere around 89 or so in new york city, did d.c. should be somewhere in the low 90s today. we will have a chance at scattered showers a storms along the gulf and the heat very

impressive. easily 105 to 110 today from kansas city southwards, they're saying this will probably be the warmest day in 30 years in kansas city. some impressive heat totals. we'll feel like phoenix, arizona from texas northwards up into missouri all day today. there will be showers and thunderstorms, though, rolling through minnesota down through wisconsin during the day. so also keep that in mind. we don't see the heat wave going anywhere. temperatures about 105 to 106 through dallas all the way out through at least friday. so just incredible stuff happening out there. >> impressive heat. indeed. >> yes. oscar winner helen miran gets recognized for more than her acting skills. your nirs look at first look at entertainment is straight ahead. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app. ♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade.

investing unleashed. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™.

welcome back to "first look." last night on late night with jimmy fall gone, jimmy was happy to announce that the big debate was over. >> after many rounds of negotiation and compromise on both sides, a deal was finally reached. that's right. my wife would go see cowboys and and i wiliens while he goi sei smurfs. mcdonald's is planning on opening a restaurant every day in china for the next four years. when kids get their happy meal toy, they're like, cool, i made this. >> big sports news.

plaxico burress is returning to no torq new york to play with the jets. which explains that new chant, j-e-t-s. >> tonight jimmy welcomes danny mcbride, and musical guest the sheepdogs. that's week nights at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. time for your first look at entertainment news. apparently owning your own tv network isn't all it's cracked up to be. after a week on the job, oprah winfrey says running her tv channel own is "ten times harder" than working on her talk show, and she's finding it difficult to adjust. talk about a dame. 66-year-old actress dame helen miran beat out elle mcpherson, and pippa middleton for the title of body of the year.

it's according to an english survey by "l.a. fitness." the wrap is reporting she'll get $20 million for her return to "american idol" for another season, and speaking of big paydays, the success of "inception" has pushed leonardo dicaprio in to the top spot of forbes highest paid actors list. $77 million in 2010. last year top earner johnny depp placed second. sandler with $40 million, will smith with $36 million, tom hanks with $35 million, and bill kirns karins, where are you on the list? >> no females on the list. >> kind of upsetting. j. lo, $20 million for "american idol." >> she's at least close.

>> where was brad pitt? >> he has a lot of kids to take care of. >> this is "first look" on ms c msnbc. "way too early" starts right now. after months of battle, the house passes a bill with bipartisan support to overt a crisis over the debt ceiling. with the senate expected to do the same today with no time to spare on this august 2nd, the day that's been circled on the calendar for months. the question is, with the politics of the debate behind us for the moment, what do the cuts in the bill mean for the health of the united states economy? the surprise star of the day, arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords who slipped in to washington to cast her first vote since she was shot through the head less than accept months aseven months ago. the question is, remember all the talk about civility some. and progressives grapple