them, one of the ranches in washington, d.c. seriously, it would have been way better if the man had left that a mystery. so much more fun to imagine vice president cheney in a field, in a secret lair, maybe something with a laser. oh, well. that does it for us tonight. i'm melissa perry sitting next to my daughter for rachel mad maddow. we'll see you later tonight. l something with a laser. oh, well. that does it for us tonight. i'm melissa harris perry sitting next to my daughter, parker, in for rachel maddow. we'll see you tomorrow night. up next, "first look." long gone but far from forgotten. days after irene crashed ashore, more high-water rescues as washed-away roads leave entire towns cut off. that's got to hurt. an arizona man impales himself

with gardening shears and lives to tell about it. and oh, lord, hockey's prized stanley cup is damaged after tumbling off a table. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. well, we begin this morning with an unnatural year of natural disasters. new climate data shows irene will rank as the $10 billion disaster of 2011, breaking a record set back in 1980. at least 39 people have died across 11 states including 3 in vermont where shellshocked residents are digging out with many still waiting for help. nbc's jay gray has our report. >> reporter: days after irene slammed into the eastern seaboard, its presence is still being felt. widespread flooding with river systems pushed to the brink. perhaps the greatest irony of

hurricane irene is that landlocked vermont is suffering the greatest impact from the storm. >> then the water started coming from the river. that's when it was time to get out. >> reporter: dozens of towns remain cut out. washed out bridges will take months to repair. the national guard is trucking in supplies where it can where choppers with being used for more remote areas. the scope is all too real. buildings ready to collapse. >> i really didn't think it would happen to this building. i thought it was structurally going to be okay because it had been here for so long. >> reporter: to the south in new jersey, residents awoke to another day surrounded by water. emergency crews continue to rescue stranded people by boat. >> a lot of our citizens are still reeling. >> reporter: president obama pledged support to those affe affected. >> as a government, we're going to make sure that states and communities have the support they need so their folks can

recover. >> reporter: recovery in north carolina will also take some time. the outer banks only highways washed out in several places. the cleanup crews continue to work round the clock as the region struggles to recover from hurricane irene. jay gray, nbc news, new york. last night on "the ed show," they told host ed schultz what he thinks about eric cantor's suggestion that no emergency relief funding will be or should be paid out unless it's offset by spending cuts elsewhere. >> i -- i've always believed that this is the united states of america. u-n-i-t-e-d, that we are one nation. that when there's a problem in the west coast or in louisiana, the people of vermont, the people of new jersey are there for them. when there's a problem on the east coast, people in the midwest who have suffered their tornadoes, they're there for us. this is what makes us a nation. and the idea that anybody in the

united states congress could say, i don't care, we're going to allow communities to be devastated, ed, we have closed hundreds of roads, dozens of bridges in the state of vermont have been destroyed or severely damaged. our rail system in some parts of the state is now under water. our major office complex in waterbury, vermont, 1700 workers shut down. they're not going to work right now. so we need, along with other states, help from the rest of the country, that our part of the country has provided in the past. that's what makes us a nation. >> each night veteran talk host ed schultz and his guests debate and discuss the most important issues aeffe s affecting americ. watch "the ed show" at 10:00 p.m. weeknights only on msnbc. in addition to monitoring irene's aftermath, president obama is working on a plan to relieve the nation's ailing economy. the president is expected to talk about jobs today. challenging congress to take

action. a preview of the larger economic proposals he'll be making and selling to congress next week. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington. >> reporter: he's appear in the rose garden. this is the big jobs speech we've been talking about, likely a preview. we're expecting the president to pitch infrastructure projects to create jobs plus extending tax credits for small businesses and the payroll tax cut from this year. all together he says these measures could create as many as 1 million jobs. and he says he'll be pitching some new ideas as well. and speaking of jobs, the nation's number one state job creator, governor rick perry of texas, is under fire from one of his republican presidential rivals, mitt romney. at a speech before the vfw, romney, not mentioning perry by name, talked about career

politicians trying to solve the nation's problems. he described himself as a conservative businessman who knows how to deal with the real economy. romney, of course, also a former governor of massachusetts. now, trailing perry in the polls. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a fast-moving texas fire is forcing residents in several towns to abandon their dwelling. it destroyed over 25 homes and threatening over 100 more. fueled by high winds and dry conditions, the wildfire continues to scorch thousands of acres, hundreds of firefighters are battling the massive blaze, but they are struggling to contain it. one arizona man is very lucky to be alive after a freak accident last month. the 86-year-old lost his balance as he bent down to pick up shears in his garden. well, he fell forward, impaling the shears through his right eye socket. plunging six inches into the man's skull. but surgeons were not only able

to remove them, they actually refer formed reconstructive surgery that saved the man's eye. and finally, one arkansas man was very -- on his very first plane ride when he caught a bird's-eye view of a burglary taking place right inside his home. being flown by a friend overhead, the man looked down, and he noticed two robbery suspects leaving with the items from his home. what's up with that? from the air, he directed police to the burglars who were later arrested. it doesn't happen every day, does it? now for a look at your national weather, we turn to wcau meteorologist michelle grossman. she has the weather channel forecast. good morning to you, michelle. >> good morning, lynn. we're not looking bad today. >> that's good. finally a little relief. >> yeah, especially looking good in the northeast. lots of sunshine. there's a few spots seeing wet weather today. that would be the northern plains. we do have a risk for severe weather as we head throughout the afternoon. seeing some showers early this morning. another spot that is seeing some showers early this morning is

through the upper midwest. you can see these line of showers, not terribly heavy, all advancing to the east. if we go a little closer now pushing through the state of indiana, so indianapolis starting to get wet weather moving through. that will push through ft. wayne and continue off to the east. and we could see some additional thunderstorms there later on this afternoon. another big weather story down in the south central states. 90 degrees right now. that is what you are waking up to. so already heating up. 79 in san antonio. this will be the hot spot today. and will continue to be the hot spot as we head throughout the afternoon. but then feeling like fall. you need the long sleeves early this morning in the northeast. 64 right now in boston. today's weather looking very good in the northeast. lots of sunshine from new england down through parts of the mid-atlantic. again, we are looking at that hot weather continuing to bake the south central states. 101 today in san antonio. minneapolis looking at 82 degrees. it's back to the west, we are watching the chance for some showers still in seattle, back through billings, we are looking

at the chance for severe weather. as we look towards tomorrow, we're going to increase a little cloud cover throughout the northeast. 85 in washington. and then looking at drenching downpours once again mainly in the afternoon hours in orlando, 90 degrees. pushing you back to the west, we are looking dry still in the south central states. look, not 100 degrees. by thursday in san antonio. that is good news. still hot in the upper 90s. 100 in dallas. >> look ma, no heat. michelle, thanks so much. well, consumer spending dries up. at&t makes promises. and facts about ceos you're probably not going to like. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, ryan howard hits the century mark, benches clear between the yanks and red sox. you want basketball? we've got it. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too?

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and here's some of the top stories making news this

morning. this august has been the deadliest month ever for u.s. forces in the long war in afghanistan. 66 service members died this month. nearly half of them when insurgents shot down a chinook helicopter. libya's new rebel leadership has given forces loyal to moammar gadhafi a deadline of saturday to surrender the pockets they still control. the ultimatum comes as rebels converge on gadhafi's hometown. a federal judge has blocked key provisions of a controversial new texas law that would require women seeking an abortion to view a sonogram and listen to the heartbeat of their fetus. the law was due to go into effect tomorrow. the judge ruled the measure violates the free speech rights of both doctors and patients. a new brookings institution report finds that over the past decade, minorities accounted for 98% of the population growth in the largest metro areas. hispanics and asians lead the boom. now whites are a minority in 22

of the country's 100 biggest urban areas. and notorious royal partier, prince harry was at it again. this time in croatia. some serious moves there. video of harry shows him dancing poolside and then jumping into the water with his clothes on. quite the party scene in croatia. who knew? well, now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,559 after adding 20 points yesterday. the s&p gained 2 points, and the nasdaq was up 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei inched up 1 point while in hong kong the hang seng rose 330. a nosedive in consumer confidence was offset on wall street tuesday by renewed hope for economic stimulus by the fed. a volatile day of trading ended higher after minutes from the fed's latest policy meeting showed bank officials discussing a variety of options to bolster

the economy including buying more treasury bonds. in the end, earlier news showing consumer confidence fell to its worst level in two years, only served to convince traders the fed will have to intervene soon. still companies reliant on consumer spending were hit hard. kohl's and lowe's both fell more than 2%. financials were the day's biggest losers. bank of america was off more than 3%. jpmorgan chase down 1.5%. exxon mobil dropped slightly after announcing the company and russia's state-owned rozneft will develop gas reserves in the russian arctic. boeing rose more than 2% on news the company was moving forward with plans to build a version of its 737 with a redesigned engine. dollar general was up almost 6% on a rising quarterly earnings. at&t promised to bring 5,000 jobs back to america if its deal to buy t-mobile usa wins u.s. regulars' approval.

later this morning, august employment data is expected to show the addition of 100,000 private sector jobs. and finally, this may not be too popular on main street. a study out today shows 25 of the 100 highest paid u.s. krechceos earned more than they paid in federal taxes. many companies also spent more on lobbying than they did on taxes. in health news this morning, a world health organization report shows babies in the u.s. have a higher risk of dying during their first month of life than babies born in 40 other countries. some of the countries ranking better, south korea, cuba, malaysia, lithuanilithuania, po israel. the u.s. has dropped from 28th to 41st and is now tied with qatar, croatia and the united arab emirates. for more on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. coming up, the tigers roar

in extra innings. the hammer comes down on the hurricanes. and the oldest trophy in sports. plus, last night in boston, ooh, the love affair between the yankees and the red sox was in full bloom. what's up with those red sox? come on. your first look at sports is ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] it's been a good year for the chevy silverado. and not because of the awards or the accolades. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up.

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with a verizon mobile hotspot, you can connect up to 5 wifi devices to the internet with lightning-fast verizon 4g lte speed. a gaming device. ereader. mp3 player. connect any 5 for wifi on the go. get the 4g lte mobile hotspot now for only $49.99. verizon is the place with the largest selection of 4g lte devices. on america's fastest, most advanced 4g network. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and in sports, two old opponents faced off once again last night

in familiar fashion. battling for first place. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. it is arguably the greatest rivalry in sports. and last night the yanks and red sox lived up to that hype. highly anticipated series in boston. in the fifth, yanks up one when they took john lackey deep over the green monster. just his second home run of the year. and check out the thunder clap when he hit home plate. lackey would remember that. in his next at-bat, lackey plunked him, stirred a bench-clearing staredown. the staring contest was a draw. the yanks won, 5-2. they're a half game back in the east. the phillies' ryan howard topped the 100 rbi mark in style with two homers against the reds. he's had 100 rbi in six straight seasons. roy halladay did the rest, struck out nine, allowed two hits. phils can't wait for the postseason to start. they beat the reds, 9 #-0. tigers and royals needed extra innings. santiago, boy, did he carry a

big bat. walkoff home run in the tenth. tigers won it, 2-1. college football, the ncaa has suspended eight players from the hurricanes football team for taking improper benefits from booster nevin shapiro. jacorey harris will miss the season opener against maryland opinion basketball, we've got it here. lebron james, chris paul, kevin arant and carmelo anthony hit the court for an exhibition game in baltimore. carmelo hit 59 and the game was all for fun. never has a lookout looked so good. finally, the stanley cup making its summer tour with the bruins. they set it on the table in newfoundland, down goes stanley. hit the ground with a thud. it dented the cup. michael ryder is no longer with the bruins, but he certainly left his mark. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> ouch. now for another quick look at the weather, here's wcau meteorologist michelle grossman with the weather channel forecast. good morning once again. someone's going to get fired for

that. >> that is not good. >> that's painful. >> that's something of a cringe moment. >> not something i would do. >> the weather's looking good in the northeast. waking up fall-like. you need the long sleeves. temperatures so comfortable, low dew points making it feel nice. 64 now in philadelphia. 58 in hartford. 57 degrees now in albany. we're going to continue the trend of nice weather in the northeast. much needed after last weekend. 86 with lots of sunshine in new york city, 87. a mixture of sun and clouds. even heading down to washington, d.c., we are looking at lots of sunshine. a place you may need the umbrella, the southeast. drenching downpours especially in the afternoon with daytime heating in parts of florida, orlando, miami. 92 in orlando. heading west, we are looking at the chance for showers, just very isolated in denver. for the most part, a mixture of sun and clouds and could see severe weather in the northern plains. that would include billings, 85. lynn? >> thanks so much. coming up, is the

self-proclaimed king of all media forcing his way into a role on "dancing with the stars"? plus, we'll tell you what's forcing george clooney to give up the coveted upcoming film role. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i'm good about washing my face.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," jimmy talked about a new product he's obviously not looking forward to. >> hey, guys, i heard that 7-eleven is now selling potato chips that taste like hot dogs. seriously? i'm still waiting for 7-eleven

to sell hot dogs that taste like hot dogs. what is that brown thing? hey, check this out. a new study found that women gain more weight after marriage, but men gain more weight after a divorce. yeah. the divorce usually takes place after men point out that women gain more weight after marriage. travel in new york is still crazy because of the hurricane. in fact, they lost a woman's cat at jfk. and the airline -- the airline put out food and water to try and lure it back. that is unbelievable. not that a cat was lost, that an airline is actually offering food and water. i want to get a ticket on that one. >> on "jimmy" tonight, actress christina ricci, animal handler jack nuzeal and comedian jim gaffigan. 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. it is time for your first

look at entertainment news. george clooney is losing a big upcoming film role thanks for injuries suffered in the line of duty. clooney is said to be dropping out of steven soderbergh's upcoming "man from uncle" film because of back injuries he suffered while filming a torture scene in his oscar-winning role in "syriana," injuries which have never really healed. i wonder what producers will feel about this one. apparently cast member david arquette wants howard stern to serve as his backstage coach. tuesday, actress darryl hannah was arrested in front of the white house along with other environmental protesters opposing a planned oil pipeline from canada to the u.s. gulf coast. and finally, how's this for a recipe for trouble? "us weekly" reports monday lindsay lohan tweeted chris brown saying, quote, want to meet? brown is still, of course, on probation for his infamous 2009

beating of then girlfriend rihanna. and lohan is, well, just plain infamous. apparently she really enjoyed his "vmas" performance and, you know, why not ask someone out on twitter? >> still 2011, you know? >> it equals trouble. how do we say that, pound trouble? >> hash tag. i'm lynn berry, and this is "first look." but stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist" starts right now. as fema director craig f fugate tours areas hit by hurricane katrina, the question is can washington put partisanship aside to help support the victims of this terrible disaster? plus, new details about the president's new job creation plan for the u.s. the question is will his ideas be bold enough for the president's base? and still no sign of