mitt romney from becoming president, there's nothing to stop them anymore. know if they. "first look" is up next. wave of worry -- wall street suffers its worst day since 2008. so what's ahead for today? fanning the flames -- rioting spreads beyond the borders of london in a third night of violence. and whale of a task. a dramatic rescue of a baby humpback on australia's gold coast. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry, those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and of course we begin this

morning with panic point. standard and poor's historic downgrade of the nation's credit rating triggered a stomach-churning plunge on monday. the uncertainty continued overnight as asian stocks clawed back. u.s. market futures have fluctuated between up and down. and nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: in his first reaction since standard and poor's downgraded u.s. bonds late friday, president obama rejected the aa-plus rating. >> no matter what some agency will say, we've always been and always will be a aaa country. >> reporter: but the dow lost 5.55%. the s&p 5006.66%. the nasdaq off 6.9%, the biggest drops in years, gold was up to an all-time high, $1700, a sign

investors are scared. by last week's debt ceiling deal, not big or bold enough. no one touched entitlement spending, no one fundamentally touched tax reform. knoll republicans and democrats show an ounce of backbone and actually do what's in the interest of the american people, rather than what's in their immediate political interest, i can't argue with s&p 500's conclusion. >> our problems are imminently solvable and we know what we have to do to solve them. >> that pleased the head of standard and poor's. >> it was a renewed sense of urgency we heard from him was encouraging. >> s&p downgraded from aaa to aa-plus. >> mortgage giants own or guarantee half of american mortgages, rates could rise, driving down home values and sales. >> the markets continue to believe our credit status is aaa. >> reporter: in fact, as

investors dumped stocks, many bought u.s. treasuries, the same bonds downgraded by s&p. still seen as super-safe. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >> we'll have more on all of this coming up in business. but first, england's prime minister, david cameron has rushed home early from his vacation in italy to deal with the riots that have wreaked havoc on london streets for a third straight night. and now it's spread to other areas in the country. police are stretched thin and they're warning residents to stay inside. kerr simmons from our english broadcast partner, itn, has more. >> reporter: despite the condemnation and calls for calm, there are fires burning across london. south of the city, in croyden. and in lewisham. and east in hackney. where so brazen are the rioters, that even before night fell, they attacked police cars and looted shops.

>> reporter: attempts to regain control led to further confrontations with police. >> this is going to carry on for days, isn't it. >> reporter: hundreds have been arrested, many injured. for a third night, rioters are on the streets of london, they are attacking the shop just up there and grabbing anything they can. they've set light to cars and have been throwing missiles at the police who have backed away down the street. but continue to fight running battles with the rioters. there are further reports of clashes and looting in clapham and peckham, in south london and in birmingham. police and emergency services face a very difficult night. kerr simmons, itv news. here's your "first look" at other news going on around america today. folks in joplin, missouri, are making sure the fury of last spring's tornado is not

forgotten. school officials have released new video of the twister flattening the local high school. and they're doing this in hopes of fueling a fundraising boost. several cameras captured the destruction of the ef-5 storm tearing through the school. students have been attending classes inside a mall until construction on their school is complete. a rain delay in kansas city was nearly hazardous to the health of one grounds crew member. he was rolling out the tarp with co-workers when he took a tumble and he was almost trampled there. but he did avoid injury and some embarrassment. except for us showing this video and he made it on to his feet and scam perred out of the way. in western new york, one man attempted to break a record stroll by going for a walk at the bottom of a pool. he was aided by a 25-pound weight. the lifeguard attempted to break the record for longest underwater walk. the 21-year-old walked nearly

230 feet before coming up for air. guinness world record officials have jet to confirm his feat. but we commend him. now for a look at your national weather, we tur to nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill, how is your lung capacity in. >> not bad. i used to be able to go from one end of the pool to the other, under water. good morning, everyone. a lot of people spent a lot of time in the summer to beat the heat. now today things are starting to change ever so slightly. we're not watching the area of really, really hot temperatures being as widespread. it's very humid out there and we have a lot of rain to deal with over the next two to three days. we'll get drenched today, just like we did yesterday in the southeast. and we've got rain heading through the great lakes and new england throughout this evening. still very hot in texas, that's not going to change any time soon. the humid conditions in the southeast are here to stay. the changeable weather is

heading through the northern plains. finally, a nice cool fall air mass and the rain in the great lakes and get ready in new england, that rain will move your way later today and tonight. you do need the umbrella to walk out the door this morning in detroit we have rain. cleveland, that's going to spread to buffalo during the morning rush. pittsburgh has seen some showers on and off and that should continue throughout the morning. and for memphis, we have rain for you. little rock, you've had some on and off thunderstorms. fort smith, arkansas, same for you. so there's some areas of wet weather out there. the heat continues to be the story in texas. yesterday was day 38 now on friday we should tie the record, if we're going to break it, we need to be 100 each and every day until saturday and it looks like we're probably going to do that. today, 106 in dallas, that's where the dry air is. as far as the thunderstorms, we have a chance of them today in chicago all the way through d.c., philly and new york. it's still going to be hot today. areas like raleigh, near 97

today. heat index easily about 1035, 110. so coastal areas of north carolina, south carolina, all the way through south georgia, it will be very hot. and you'll be happy if it rains later this afternoon. as we mentioned yesterday, it's back to school for some people, too. so hopefully the ac is cranking in the classrooms, i know atlanta started yesterday, lynn, and they're probably not too thrilled. well, adding up the losses. looking at the trends and who traders hope will come to the rescue. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a streak, a pair of walk-offs and the ultimate batting practice. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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and here's some of the top stories making news this morning. amid the famine, crisis in africa, thousands of refugees have streamed into somalia's capital, serging for food after

the withdrawal of islamic rebels. their departure has raised homes that hume tearian groups will be able to set up aid deliveries for the first time in five years, the united nations was able to airlift aid to mogadishu. meanwhile, president obama has approved an additional $105 million for relief efforts in the horn of africa. the hotel maid who is accused ex-international monetary fund boss, dominique strauss-kahn of sexual assault is now suing him for unspecified damages. the woman, whose credibility has been questioned, says she was subjected to a violent and sadistic attack. strauss-kahn's lawyers say the lawsuit has no merit. after nearly 200 years, the house page program, a program that lets high school students serve as messengers, will end this month. lawmakers say the $5 million annual expense can no longer be justified. since messages can be sent

electrically. the senate, will keep its page program. and in australia's waters, rescuers rushed to save a baby humpback whale that had become stranded on a beach. the whale was guided out to sea. when an american serves in uniform, that's just half the sacrifice. the other half is at home. especially for their children. like the ones you're about to meet, who often go months waiting for a parent to come home from war. nbc's ann thompson reports on some folks who are helping these children find a little pure joy. >> reporter: it could be any summer fair with face-painting, ring toss and rock climbinging. but this is for military families in the norfolk, virginia area with a special toy give-away at the end. >> we're hoping for 5,000 children. and based on this line, i think we're going to get it. >> slurpees and snow cones are

four of the five of this family. their mom is a first lieutenant in the army, serving in afghanistan. >> hugs and kisses? >> reporter: they've been apart six months now. aden and jacob don't quite grasp p. but colin understands too well. >> colin, it's like you're about to cry. >> why are you crying, honey? you miss your mom? >> reporter: since heather left, colin marks the days on his calendar. he can't tell you when she's coming home. >> i just keep track of how long she's gone. >> it's a fear, a worry, chris can't make disappear. but the events like the toy give-away, can help. >> it gives them that enjoyment of just getting something for no other reason than they're just a kid. >> reporter: under the tents, it

looks like christmas. all donated by the toy industry and distributed by the boys and girls' clubs of america. >> what better way is there it relieve some of this stress than with a toy? >> reporter: they sent toys to 24 bases last year and this year they hope to bring toys to 31. and so far, they've never run out of toys. aden chose a fishing rod. jacob, an action toy. and colin, table soccer. cherishing a childhood joy in a very grown-up world. ann thompson, nbc news, virginia beach, virginia. great story there. well, it's time to head back to our top story -- after yesterday's tumultuous day on wall street, we're going to take a look at where investors will start off the day today. the dow opens at 10,8 09 after sinking 634 points yesterday. the s&p lost a whopping 79 points.

the nasdaq plunged 174. taking a a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei stumbled to 153-point loss. but in hong kong, the hang seng plunged 1,159. and of course, as reported earlier, america's financial downgrade hit wall street like a bomb yesterday. there were losses far greater than most had expected. stocks tumbled, despite moody's, standard and poor's rival, reaffirming its aaa rating on america. how hard and how fast was the selling? trading volume was the highest since september 2008. the fourth highest on record. at just under 18 billion shares. to put wall street's recent losses in perspective. consider in late july, the dow was flirting with the 13,000 mark. yesterday it fell below 11,000 for the first time since last november. the nasdaq and s&p 500 are both down about 18% since the end of april. the nation's smaller

companies have been battered as well. the russell 2000 index of small stocks has lost nearly 25% from its most recent high in april. and wall street's so-called fear index shot up 50% yesterday. that's its steepest one-day rise since february of 2007. oil fell more than 6% to 81.31 a barrel, the lowest price of the year. and on a day that saw every single s&p 500 stock fall, the biggest loser was bank of america. plunging about 20%, after insurer aig filed suit against the bank, alleging it sold aig overvalued mortgage-backed securities. bank of america is down 51% this year. and finally, later today, the fed meets on interest rates, many investors are calling for a third round of the central bank's buying billions in bonds to help stimulate the economy. but chairman ben bernanke and others have come out recently

against a so-called qe 3, citing inflation worries. coming up, a walk-off single for the mets, a walk-off homer for the rays and big papi walks all over the twins, plus the ultimate batting practice trick, by guys with way too much time on their hands. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

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tongues were wagging that big papi, boston's david ortiz was washed up. well, no one is saying that now. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning, a night after beating the yankees in extras, the red sox waited until their final at bat to pull off a win in minnesota. ellen degeneres on hand, it's big when she's here and she saw david ortiz put on a show. after hitting a home run, he delivered a go-ahead single of the night. ortiz was four hits, three rbi was a triple shy of the cycle. boston added a run and beat the twins 8-6. to the tampa and the royals, a home run to the deepest end of the park, rays 2-1 win. from one walk-off to another. mets down two in the ninth. rallied against the padres after pulling to within one, a seeing-eye single, mets win it 9-8. after the game, willie harris did something like duda, circling like a shark in the water, harris jumped on duda's

back and got him with a bhiped cream pie. the braves dan was streaking through florida, a hitting streak. he's hitting 29 straight. the braves beat the marlins 8-5. you ever wanted to play baseball but you couldn't find somebody to pitch? we have found the solution. no pitcher needed, just a few trampoli trampolines, the soft toss gets it going. a batter hits it to short and the fun begins, hits it to four trampolines, it takes an incredibly accurate hitter to get the ball bouncing, if you hit the sweet stop, there's no bouncing, this is probably the only time you would want to hit it right at the shortstop. don't know if it's real or fake. but one thing is pretty cool. at one point they toss one other ball into the mix. that's your first look at sports, i'm fred roggin. scouts are going to scramble to find out who that guy is. for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with a

look at the weather channel forecast. >> i can't believe fred would even say i'm not sure if this is real or not. impossible! >> anything is possible. >> no, no. you can't even hit it off one to hit another one. >> maybe you couldn't. >> no, lynn, no. there's a lot of bored men out there that do stupid things but that would be off the charts. there's no way. good morning, everyone. if you're just joining us from new england, we had thunderstorms roll through last night. today is going to be similar in the morning hours, dry, sunny, warm, the humidity levels are not too bad, but the clouds will be moving in. the rain that's now out for buffalo and pittsburgh will be moving through new england and the mid-atlantic later today with showers and thunderstorms. that's why your forecast has the sun first and then the showers and storms. temperatures will be a little lower today because the clouds will be moving in during the afternoon. the rest of the forecast, the southeast you'll have your afternoon showers and storms that will pop up in the heat continues in texas. but look at that, 87 in kansas city, that's more like it. >> yeah, absolutely. well kanye west has been

talking again. plus, six years later, new details emerge on the break-up of brad pitt and jennifer aniston. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead, you're watching "first look" on msnbc. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. 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.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. it's time for entertainment news. details have emerged about the 2005 break-up of brad pitt and jennifer aniston. it's all in a new book by the producer of "mr. and mrs. smith." he claims when nicole kidman was replaced on the film by angelina jolie, pitt then returned to the project. apparently pitt was infatuated with jolie from day one he says. he also writes that aniston

started asking around the set if pitt was involved with jolie, but no one told her out of loyalty to pitt. pitt finally admitted the affair to aniston on a caribbean vacation with courtney cox and david arquette. aniston then ordered him out of their home. well known for his outbursts, kanye west is at it again. he received some boos in england last weekend when he told a concert audience people look at him like he's insane. like he's hitler. in true kanye fashion, he added quote, one day the light will shine through and one day people will understand everything i ever did. and finally, tmz reports outspoken filmmaker, michael moore, is endorsing a presidential candidate for 2011. it happens to be actor matt damon. no word if ben affleck will be vice president. >> that would be a good movie. >> absolutely. >> i can hear the script being furiously written write as we

speak. >> it would have to be like the "bourne identity." he would have to be chased and run around. >> and have his memory swiped clean. i'm lynn berry, this is fist look on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. a day after the dow lost 630 points and lost 5.5% of its value. asian markets continue their fall, with france, germany and great britain sliding as well. the question is, what instruments do the world's governments have left to stop the bleeding? we'll get a live report from london and talk to andrew sorkin in a minute. meanwhile, british prime minister david cameron rushed home from vacation to deal with the violent riots that continued last night in london. and have now spread to three other cities. the question is, what is behind the rage of the british youth. and reports this morning say texas governor, rick perry, will make it clear on saturday that he's jumping into the 2012 presidential race. the question is,