republicans might otherwise feel toward the office that president obama holds. i would love to hear them explain exactly what that is. in the last republican candidates' debate you may recall that texas fwompb governor rick perry told the nation social security is a ponzi scheme pitch means it's a criminal act that should be punished by locking somebody up and then of course it should be ended because it's a criminal activity. there has since been another debate. co-hosted cnn and a tea party group that is based out of a republican pr shop in california. weirdly. that debate is just wrapping up. "first look" is up next. selling the plan. president obama hits the road after laying out his massive jobs package. highway heroics. a group of bystanders launch a dramatic rescue in utah.

and financial flesh-eaters. why zombie bankers have taken over a business district in london. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with hitting home. president obama kicks off a high-profile road trip today drumming up support for his new jobs bill from americans who need it most. but republicans want to know how much the plan will cost and howl jobs it will create. nbc's trace trace is in washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning this is how it gets tricky because how the president pays for this job fight bill may draw up fight

with congress. >> reporter: in ohio today, republican john boehner's homestate, president obama is expected to reiterate what he said monday about his $447 billion jobs bill. >> it is fully paid for. it's not going to add a dime to the deficit. >> reporter: mostly by limiting charitable contributions on people who make over $200,000, closing loopholes for big oil companies and other tax change, is that speak the wealthy. republicans are already speaking out against tax increases they asked the congressional budget office if the numbers add up. republican candidates at last night's debate asked if the plan will work. >> i can do the math on that one. half of zero jobs is zero jobs. >> reporter: ron paul suggested maybe the president doesn't need to pay for the payroll tax cut. >> when you give people their money back, it's their money, you don't have to pay for it.

>> reporter: the big question is how many jobs would this create? the white house has been reluctant to say, but president obama did. >> this package, it's estimated, would help the economy grow by as much as an additional 2%. that could mean an additional 2 million jobs. >> reporter: the democratic party is getting behind the president's plan. they are running tv ads to promote it in key swing states. >> reporte republican presidential contenders were at it again, sparring in another political gop event last night this one in florida. it was an aggressive faceoff with rick perry at the center of a group of rivals looking to put a stop to his rise. >> reporter: in their second debate in less than a week, the republican presidential candidates spared no punches while zeroing in on texas

governor rick perry. >> under ann richards, job growth was 2% a year, under rick perry, 1% a year. >> reporter: on the issue of social security -- >> does governor perry continue to believe that social security should not be a federal program, that it's unconstitutional or will he retreat from that view? >> reporter: governor perry defended past comment calling social security a ponzi scheme. >> rather than trying to scare seniors, it's time to have a legitimate conversation. >> the term ponzi scheme is what scared seniors. >> reporter: it was on perry to mandate for young girls to have hpv vaccine for cervical cancer that drew the most fire. >> this was about trying to stop a cancer. i am always going to err on the side of life. >> reporter: as political rivals saw an opening and went on the attack. >> the question, is it about life or about millions of dollars in potentially billions

for drug companies? >> if you're saying i can be bought for 5,000, i'm offended. >> this is big government run amuck. it is bad policy. and it should not have been done. >> reporter: a no holds barred presidential debate with nearly five months until the first primary voters go to the polls. last night on "the last word" ronald reagan's daughter, patti davis, talked about how reflecting on september 11th brought her to some conclusions about the current field of gop presidential candidates. >> you know, we just obviously marked the anniversary of 9/11 yesterday. i was thinking yesterday that on 9/11, my mother and i stood at my father's bedside, he was already bedridden by then, we told him something terrible had happened to the world, something terrible happened to america and everyone missed him so much because he would be able to say something that would comfort us. and i really believe that the

majority of people in this country are -- that's what they're looking for. they're looking for someone who, as my friend harry smith said, has shoulders big enough for us to cry on. i don't see anybody like that on the horizon. it's one thing to emulate someone and admire someone and try to live up to the standards you see that they set, but that's not what i see here. i see people trying to twist and contort themselves into the shadow of someone else. that's not admiradmiration, than identity crisis. >> don't miss "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" weeknights at 8:00 p.m. on msnbc. here's some other news make making headlines today. a dramatic rescue played out in

utah after a fiery recollect. a rescue team of construction workers and students lifted a burning car long enough for a trapped man to be pulled to safety. the man became wedged under the vehicle after he crashed his bike into it. he suffered several broken bones but listed in stable condition. bipartisan bickering over government spending and job creation was all put on pause for a moment monday. as scores of lawmakers joined in song for a display of post-9/11 patriotism on the steps of the capitol. the 20-minute ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks culminated with a rendition of "god bless america" just as lawmakers did shortly after the attacks in 2001. finally for phillies second baseman pete orr, a recent milwaukee sausage race looked like a running of the bulls. he was almost trampled as he headed out on the field. a disaster was averted all thanks to orr's quick moves there. now for a look at your national

weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the nbc forecast. >> he's like what in the world is a sausage run doing here on the field. >> there's five there. we'll have to google that. good morning. let's talk about the weather and how beautiful it's going to be in the northern plains and how miserable it will be in texas this has been the theme of the summer. it's fitting we end our summer just like this. a gold front through the northern plains t will be much cooler today than yesterday around minneapolis, chicago, st. louis, kansas city. yesterday, by the way, minneapolis was 90. i'm sure that will be your last 90 degree day you'll see until next summer. the same for areas around kansas city. the cooler air is arriving on schedule. for texas it was 103 yesterday in dallas. today it will be 106. today we will break our record for most 100 degree days in a calendar year. wichita falls, texas, it will

hit a hundred 100 degree days. today the drought continues. it doesn't look like the pattern will change. hopefully this upcoming spring will get you more wet weather in texas. right now hot is the only word that describes it. the cool air is arriving to the north. joining us on the east coast, today will be just like yesterday. a touch of humid tity and it wi be 80 to 85. this is our 24-hour temperature change map. this shows you where the cooler air is, from now compared to yesterday at this time. it's ten degrees cooler already in minneapolis. that's a sign of things to come. today's high temperatures in the northern plains, yesterday 90. today only 69. that's a big drop. that cool air will arrive for the east coast cities as we go throughout more or less thursday. wednesday is the beginning of the change. you notice there's no rain on the forecast map at all. we feel bad for our friends in texas dealing with all that heat. >> all right, bill, thank you

very much. wall street rallies, bank of america gets out the axe and it pays to be warren buffett's lunch buddy. coming up, a record-setting night in the nfl. u.s. open crowns a new champ. and manny ramirez is arrested. you're watching "first look." emily's just starting out... and on a budget. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad tells nbc's ann kerry that the two american hikers jailed in iran since 2009 will be released, quote n two days on humanitarian grounds. the two were recently sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of illegally entering the country and espionage. ann will have much more coming up later on "today." the family of a 9/11 victim

tells new york's wnbc their loved one's name was misspelled on the memorial at ground zero. it opened to the public monday. a memorial spokesman says workers are working to fix the spelling. at least 75 people died monday in kenya after a leaking gasoline pipeline exploded in an nairobi slum. before the blast, some had been scooping up fuel escaping from the pipe. the cause is not yet known. the united nations says at least 2,600 people have died in the six months of unrest in syria. reuters reports syrian forces killed at least 22 yesterday. meanwhile, russia is rejecting calls from the west for wider sanctions on syria over its crackdown. along a river in china, surfers took advantage of a rare phenomenon, riding what's known as tidal bore. the walls of water appear every time this year, allowing surfers to cruise waves that can reach

29 feet. here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,061 after gaining 68 points yesterday. s&p inched up 8 points. the nasdaq rose 27. taking a look at overseas trading n tokyo the nikkei was up 80 points. the hang seng was closed for a holiday. a limber of hope for one of europe's ailing economies sparked a glimmer of hospitalmism on monday. the dow had been down by as many as 167 points, but stocks staged a major comeback, thanks in part to a report china is considering a significant purchase of italian government bonds. meanwhile, the possibility of a greek default dragged france's biggest banks down as much as 12%. treasury secretary timothy geithner is making a last-minute trip to europe this week for an unprecedented appearance at a eurozone finance meeting. back here at home, bank of

america inched up on its cost-cutting plans to slash $5 billion in annual costs and cut a staggering 30,000 jobs. shares of netlogic microsystems shot up 50% after wireless chipmaker broad com agreed to buy the company for $3.7 billion. mcgraw-hill rose 4% on news it's splitting into two separate companies. on the down sideside, tenet health care tumbled 10% after cautioning its earnings will take a hit next quarter. warren buffett landed himself a new interesting portfolio manager. apparently the two hit it off over the ers course of two charity auction lunches. the new employee won with buffett over the past two years for a total price of $5.3 million. finally protesters in england acted out their ainger over taxpayer subsidies for bankers, dressing up in ghoulish

get-ups pretending to suck the blood out of the public sector. well, serena gets a slap on the wrist. the yankees keep rolling. and the raiders try to tame the broncos. plus tom brady and the pats beat up on the fish. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. ( singing along ) ( singing high note ) that should do it. enjoy your new shower. ( door opens, closes )

welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. in sports, tom brady opened up

his nfl season last night with an impressive display that emphasized why so many say he's the best quarterback in the game. here's nbc's fred roggin. michael vick may have the $100 million contract, but there's no doubt that brady is the best that money can buy. career night against the dolphins, one touchdown in the first half but got things rolling in the third. connected with wes welker. pats up 21-14 and lead the rest of the way. last year's mvp capped it off in style with his back against the wall. he went to welker, it went for 99 yards. brady set a new team mark with 517 yards through the air and four touchdown passes. patriots head their way with the dolphins 38-24. record in miami and also one in denver. raiders janikowski lined up one up from 63 yards, it's up and good. tied an nfl mark for the longest field goal in league history. raiders led 16-3 at half. mcfadden did all the heavy lifting, 150 yards on the ground.

this long run set up the game-winning touchdown. raiders overcame 15 penalties and beat the broncos 23-20. baseball, yankees increase their lead in the a.l. east. teixeira took hernandez deep in the fourth. 37th homer of the year. yanks have a four-game lead over the red sox. off the field, manny ramirez has hit a new low. the former world series mvp was arrested and charged with battery after a domestic dispute at his home. according to reports he slapped his wife in the face. she called police in fear that the situation would escalate. ramirez was booked and held overnight. a bond for the case will be set today. serena williams fined 2 grand for her outburst at the u.s. open. now to the men and a rare monday final because of all the rain last week in new york. djokovic knocked off the defending champ, beating nadal in four sets. djokovic is a 62-4 this season after winning his first u.s. hope. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. for another quick look at

the weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has the weather channel forecast. >> ready to put the summer stuff away and get the fall stuff out? >> let's do this. this weekend especially, friday, saturday, sunday for everyone in the northeast and mid-atlantic, will you see overnight lows in some areas in the 40s, then highs in the 60s. it will be a drastic change, considering what we're dealing with now. more on that in a second. first we still have tropical storm maria out there producing over the virgin islands and puerto rico. this storm system will get to bermuda by thursday, and then harmlessly out to sea. nothing that changed with the system it is meandering near puerto rico longer than they wanted. as far as the forecast for today goes, enjoy the summer-like air while it lasts. temperatures in the low to mid 80s. a bit of humidity out there but it won't be raining. buffalo and syracuse with a chance of afternoon showers and storms. the cool air that will arrive on the east coast today is here in

the northern plains. 69, that's it in minneapolis. 72 in chicago. it's on its way. it will be -- >> football weather. >> very good, lynn. >> you say it as if i'm that slow. >> just little surprised. all right. thank you very much. coming up, which original star wars cast member has a gripe about not making more from the film's marketing success? plus madonna takes on the burning issue of her hatred of hydrangeas. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. there's only one bottle left !

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with

jimmy fallon," jimmy outsmarted a new poll that ranked president obama's intelligence. >> listen to this. according to a new poll, only 55% of americans think president obama is intelligent. yeah. that may not sound impressive but it's up 55% over the last president, so -- this is interesting. a new study found a mother's diet effects her baby's allergies. which can only mean one thing -- my mom ate cats. this is not good. a truck in california carrying 35,000 pounds of beer overturned on the highway. instead of a roadside flashing delays ahead, it just said, dude, seriously love you, guys. you're my best friends.

>> tonight jimmy welcomes will arnett, richard branson, and the band girls. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" weeknights at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. it is time for your "first look" at entertainment news. madonna still hates hydrangeas, but at least she's showing a sense of humor about it now. after being caught at the venice film festival saying how much she loathed the flower, madonna released a youtube video including a heart-felt apology to one of the flowers and then threw it on the floor, stomped on it and reaffirmed her dislike for it. carrie fisher's pore trailer of princess leah in the star wars franchise may have earned her cinema immortality but not much in her pocketbook, apparently. she complained to "newsweek" she hasn't earned a dime from the merchandise on sale because

there were no contract clauses covering merchandise back when she signed on for the films. note to self, bill, when you're signing your contract, get all the "first look" merchandise branded. and finally, last night in brazil, miss angola, 25-year-old leila lopes became the 60th woman to win the coveted crown of miss universe. she has three tips for beauty. ready? how are you doing with those things, bill? >> i don't like contests like that. >> why? >> you have 60 beautiful women. it's personal preference at that point. i'm lynn berry, willie geist starts right now. president obama travels to ohio to promote the jobs bill he sent down yesterday. was the president right when he said yesterday the only thing stopping the passages of his bill is partisan